High Rock Park and Moses' Mountain

Once owned by the Boy Scouts Council, then the Girl Scouts Council, High Rock Park is today the centerpiece of the Staten Island Greenbelt. Though only 94 acres, it provides one of New York City's best "walk in the woods" experiences. Stride through the Gretta Moulton Gate, and you feel you've really left the craziness of the city behind.

In late March, last fall's leaves still lie thick on the ground, with the new year's foliage yet to appear.

But green shoots underfoot announce that spring has sprung.

And so do the frogs in Loosestrife Swamp, a short walk from the park's entrance. (Turn up the volume!)

Follow one of the marked trails west, cross Manor Road, and you'll bump into Moses' Mountain. This 260-foot hill is made of rock excavated for the construction of the Staten Island Expressway and named, of course, for NYC's legendary Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. Along with Gretta Moulton and others, the Power Broker had a hand in preserving this area as parkland in the 1960s.

We missed the quick left turn to the path that spirals up the hill, and ended up circling the rise for a while before we found the way.

God wasn't helping.

But we encountered a couple of like-minded outdoorsfolk who pointed the way. A short climb later, we summited.

Eureka!

The "360-degree panoramic view" lauded on the Greenbelt website is, let's be honest, underwhelming.

But my sense of accomplishment was surprisingly strong at having climbed such a tiny "mountain." I think that was because of where we were: Staten Island. New York City. High above sea level, without being in a building. Without a building in sight. In the presence of nature's elements, witnessing their reckoning with the changing seasons. Lifting our bodies into the clean air.

Postscript: The day we visited High Rock Park and Moses' Mountain we had lunch at our favorite Staten Island restaurant, the fabulous Sri Lankan eatery Lakruwana. Since then, the horrific mass murders in Sri Lanka have put that country on the map in people's minds around the world. Park Odyssey would like to extend our appreciation, and sympathies, to NYC's Sri Lankan community. Whatever your religion and whyever you came, we're glad you're here.