Sometimes our Hudson Valley Hikes just let off a weird vibe. However, sometimes it goes beyond the weird feeling and something happens that makes Adventures of Abby Girl Hike just hike a little bit faster.
1. UTS, Barrytown New York AKA Unification Theological Seminary
This place has a very rich spiritual history. It hasn’t had just one denomination walk through its doors. According to New World Encyclopedia,
While the majority of UTS students have been Unification Church members, a growing number come from diverse churches and faiths. The seminary’s professors have always been drawn from a wide range of faiths: Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, and more.
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Unification_Theological_Seminary
Reverend Moon also was a regular on the campus in the early days lending spiritual guidance. In fact, many notable people have attended UTS since its beginning in 1975. To read more about the history, follow the link under the quote. Also, the mixture of Saint Statues, Zen Labyrinth, and alter looking structures all co-mingle throughout the property. This shows how it changed hands several times through the course of history lending to the vibes. For another article, read this from Hudson Valley One.
The Trails-
We have not walked them all yet. We started out parking in the lot to the right upon entering the grounds. There are big buildings just ahead. Then cross the street and head through the field. Don’t continue down the road. This trail is called Father’s Trail. Eventually, we came to an Exit sign where we were given the option to exit or continue into the deep dark woods. Alltrails.com wanted us to continue and so we did.
Soon, there will be a nice overlook of the river. This is a tribute rock to Rev. Moon from his followers here. He preached to them at this spot. People will also notice benches throughout for reflection. There are several other plaques to stumble upon wandering this trail. There is a spot for the dog to cool off in the water. However, I wouldn’t recommend it as it had a lot of oily spots. So, just hike on. You will literally feel an eerie calm in the woods.
The trail leads to a road. There is a farmhouse to the left and a rooster was crowing. Keep following the road. There was a small offshoot trail near a giant rock monument. I saw a person sitting on a tree and told my child not to bother the person. I blinked and the person was completely gone. Seconds later something black darted down into the field. Naturally, I followed it. The figure was a pure black cat. It took off and went and sat on the monument that appeared to be a tribute to a couple that had passed away about eighty years ago. The cat just stared at us.
We took this as a let’s not explore anymore and took off down the road and returned to our car. There are more trails to explore, so this is to be continued.
2. Cohotate Preserve Trail, Catskill NY-
Overall it isn’t too eventful. There are several Educational Kiosks in the park and a pond with an observation deck. There are a few offshoot trails. We took the loop to the left until we ended up skirting the Hudson River.
There was an opening to head down to the Hudson River and walk a bit of the shoreline. I saw a child playing on a fallen tree. Yes, the tree theme again. I told my child to make sure she practiced social distancing as there was a family playing down by the water. When I turned, there was no one but us standing on banks. Let’s just say, we turned and quickly got back on the trail.
This was the only odd experience at this place. We eventually took a wide path that led to a much better shoreline to relax and it was ghost free/ Afterwards, people can retrace their steps like we did and continue left on the loop.
The pond is a short loop to explore afterwards. Again, nothing strange.
To learn more about this preserve, read here.
3. Carnwath Farms Wappingers Falls, NY-
Lately, we have been randomly finding ourselves hiking in Religious Institutes completely unplanned. I honestly thought this was an actual farm that people hike in and that is not the case.
My friend at Love, Play, Create Shop, Meredith (FYI Creator of Awesome Playdough kits-read more) said it had dilapidated buildings and an eerie vibe. So naturally, we wanted to explore.
She was spot on. We drove up and parked in the designated lot. There was a huge old building with crosses in the bricks.
We followed the Wappingers Greenway trail around the left of the building. There was a fairytale-like building to our right. My child walked right up to the little red door and began to knock. I seriously would have pooped Twinkies if that door started creeping open.
Then down the road a bit, another huge spooky building. We turned around and stopped at the lookout Gazebo picking wild some wild berries before continuing to the backside of the building. As the huge building loomed behind us, Abby gleefully engorged herself with berries.
Finally, we traveled on skirting close to the building and at one point climbing a set of rickety stairs back to the parking lot.
That was not the end. We followed the road down and along both sides of the road where these religious, stone structures. Some had artwork in them. Eventually, there was a trail to the left. We followed that eating more berries along the path before it opened up into swooping fields. We ate more berries before retracing our steps back because it looked like rain.
As I approached the lot where the car was, I heard what sounded like drumming or banging from within the dumpster. No, I did not open the dumpster lid. That is a giant nope. It almost sounded tribal. Shortly after, we got back in our car and left.
Side notes on Carnwath-
Supposedly there are plans to rehabilitate the grounds. It even mentions gardens. However, all we saw was a fence around a clump of trees. For, now, enjoy the creepy vibes and if you hear the drumming, let us know.
The history of this place is pretty awesome too. Have a read here.
Bonus Read-
A couple of years ago we had a bunch of odd experiences in Ferncliff Forest. Read that post here.
Final Thoughts-
Is it an omen that all of a sudden these experiences are happening or is that we just spend so much time in the woods that we are more sensitive and tuned in to what is happening? Share your spooky trail experiences in the comments. We might even feature your experience on Facebook!
But for now, hike on and as always-Peace, Love and French Fries Adventures of Abby Girl
