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On Sunday, September 20, a group of members of Euzko Etxea of New York went hiking on a day-trip to Harriman State Park, also known as Bear Mountain. The area is just an hour away by train from the Big Apple. “We often associate New York with Manhattan, chaos, and rush hour, but there is a lot of wild and beautiful nature close by,” said Leyre Areizaga, organizer, in a conversation with EuskalKultura.com.

New York, NY, USA. Eight members of the Euzko Etxea of New York, including two kids, went on this hike to Harriman Park/Bear Mountain. Organized by Leyre Areizaga, the plan was for everyone to enjoy themselves, so they divided the route into two parts. For the first hour and a half, the hikers enjoyed the vistas of the beautiful state park together and, at around noon, they stopped to eat and drink something.

After refueling, Iban Ubarretxena, president of Euzko Etxea, and his family went back home, while the other four resumed the hike. “It was a very nice hike and we stopped often to take pictures,” explained Areizaga.

Four hikes a year

Areizaga, born in the Basque coastal city of Zarautz (Gipuzkoa), moved to New York at the beginning of the year to work as a financier for Reuters. She loves hiking so, right after settling down in the Big Apple, she started looking for mountainerring clubs and people alike. Then she thought that, since Basques usually enjoy going to the mountains, she might as well organize some trips with Euzko Etxea members and so that's what she did.

Her plan is to organize one day-trip every season. Two people joined her on the spring-hike and, for the second one, there were already eight. Now she’s thinking of organizing a hike with snowshoes for winter, but she hasn't researched it yet and so the date is not set. “I bought some maps and have been looking for information. I know that not everybody is used to hiking so I try to organize these trips for everybody to enjoy,” she concluded.