Breakneck Ridge Trail

[johnnybgood]

....has been rated as #1 hike three years running by Trails .com in their Top 100 trails count down.

Has anyone hiked this trail in the Hudson Highlands State Park and is it really deserving of that first place ranking ?

P.S. ( What are the grading parameters for such a list )
Just Wondering:-?

[bustedchucks]

I'd wonder how they decide which is the "best". There is a good chance it goes by votes and Breakneck Ridge is 60 mi. away from nyc and public trans friendly, so lots of people are familiar with it. easy to get to and very near a major metropolitan area means it gets a lot of action, so you're not getting a wilderness experience or solitude and the views, of the hudson river and the highlands are damn near chock a block with human artifacts; trains, bridges, highways, boats, citys.

That said, it's great. Steep as hell and very exposed,and the views are frequent and long ranging on a clear day: catskills to the northwest, nyc to the south and south beacon is the hightest mountain in the hudson highlands and has a newly renovated fire tower. I hike it 2-3 times a year, but i always make sure i get there early so as to beat the crowds, beacause it really, really does get crowded.

summitpost has some good pics if you google breakneck ridge.

[LIhikers]

It's a nice hike, once up on the top, but I don't know about rating it #1 out of 100. Talking to someone a few years back it seems more than a few people have been killed or hurt on the ascent/descent, hence the name Breakneck. Of course, there are other trails to get to the top of the ridge that don't have the risk and connect once on top.

[hootyhoo]

I am glad they did not pick one where I hike - notoriety brings crowds. A buddy of mine read an article about fishing the Davidson River and we went - it was ridiculous. It was so crowded that you had to bring your own rock to have a place to stand.