Vignettes of Poughkeepsie: Walkway Over the Hudson, Monday, January 23, 2017, 2:45 p.m.
On a cloudy Monday afternoon in January, with the temperature at 38 degrees, it was bitterly cold on the Walkway Over the Hudson. The bustle of college students and out-of-towners hiking across to get a quick Instagram picture was gone, replaced by an almost unsettling silence (save for the occasional gust of wind, of course, as a freezing rain storm was approaching Poughkeepsie).
I only made it halfway across the bridge before turning back due to the fact that I could not feel my fingers, but along the way I encountered just four people, two of whom were walking their dogs. When I reached the halfway point, a man looking just as cold and miserable as I probably did passed me. Having approached from the western side, he kept going as I stopped to take a few pictures.
Opened in 2009, the Walkway Over the Hudson has become quite the popular destination for both tourists and residents alike in the Hudson Valley region.
The walkway is located on the former Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge. Built in 1889, it remained in operation for 85 years until a fire forced it to close.
Now a foot and bike trail, it is most frequented between the spring and the fall; even during the warmer months, it can get pretty cold up there. For that reason, not many people make the trip during the winter.
It was strange to see the surrounding area seemingly barren; everything looked grey and dreary, whereas all my previous trips here were filled with color. It almost felt like Poughkeepsie and the Hudson River were hibernating during the cold months, waiting it out until coming back to life in the spring.
I headed back and as I approached the end of the bridge, I saw the same man I had encountered earlier. While I couldn’t wait to get back to my car and blast the heat, he was coming back for a second trip across the bridge.
I don’t know what would possess him to do so.
