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Westkill Mountain Hike

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Catskill Hike Series: View of the Black Head Range from West Kill Mountain
View from Buck Ridge lookout

April’s featured Catskill Social Series hike is Westkill Mountain.

Westkill Mountain is the 6th highest peak in the Catskills and the highest point on the Devil’s Path trail (nearby Hunter Mountain is taller but the trail doesn’t pass over it’s summit). This trek is a great introduction to the Devil’s path on one of the gentler sections of the famous trail.

Join us on April 8 as we hike past waterfalls and great views to the evergreen clad summit. There may still be snow and ice in places and we’ll need appropriate footwear and traction devices.

This is a mostly moderate hike despite the lofty summit at less than an arms length shy of 3900 feet. There are one or two tricky ledges, especially if ice persists.

Reserve your spot for Westkill Mountain

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See the full schedule of the Catskill Hikes 2021 Social Series

2021 social series

 

Catskill Backpacking for Beginners

Posted on by Posted in Articles, Backpacking, Catskill Backpacking, Catskills, Trip Reports, Upcoming Trips

Our Catskill Backpacking experience is a fully guided overnight hiking and camping trip that is ideal for beginners and novices.   This fun and hands-on experience will focus on teaching backcountry fundamentals in a small group setting. Therefore, it is ideal for backpackers who want to learn new skills or brush up on old ones while getting away for a relaxing weekend in an enchanting location.

We will hike between 2 and 4 miles with modest elevation gain to a beautiful campsite in the Catskill Mountains. Your experienced guide will provide assistance, instruction, and coaching as you learn by doing.

Dates: We are happy to schedule specific dates upon request and also periodically run open enrollment trips.

Come explore the wonders of backcountry camping with us.

Price: $249

Weekend and Weekday dates available.  Reserve your backpacking experience now!  Contact Ed to schedule specific dates.

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Catskill Hikes 2021 Social Series

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Catskill Hikes: Eastern Outdoor Experiences group at the Balsam Cap summit.

We’re continuing the popular tradition in 2021 of monthly Catskill “social” hikes.  The turnout in 2020 was tremendous with registrations for hikes filling up well in advance.  Each month on a Thursday we meet for a guided hike of one or more of the Catskill 3500 peaks. Although we’ve tried to keep things relatively simple, most of these hikes have some challenging sections.

Hike with a Guide

This is a great chance to hike with a guide and meet fellow Catskill hiking enthusiasts. Along the way we’ll learn about the history, geology and plant life of the Catskills as well as some basic navigation skills. 

Get Introduced to Local Hiking Clubs

Many of these hikes are also being offered to Adirondack Mountain Club and Catskill 3500 Club Members.  Both are non-profit hiking clubs that do great work in New York State and I’m a proud member of both organizations. The Catskill 3500 Club awards a patch and membership to hikers who summit all 35 of the Catskill high peaks plus four more that have to be hiked twice with at least one of the hikes during the winter.  It’s a lot of fun and a great motivator.  You can find more information about the Catskill 3500 Club on their website: 

http://catskill-3500-club.org/membership.php

2021 Catskill Social Series Schedule

Below is the list of Thursday Catskill group social hikes scheduled for 2021.   Click the links for more information about the hikes and how to register.  Please read the hike descriptions and gear requirements before registering. There is no charge for these hikes but you will need to sign the typical liability waivers. 

I hope you’ll be able to join for one or more of these hikes.  Drop me a note with any questions via the contact form or use the phone number or email listed on the contact form. You can also use the contact form to join the mailing list for our “HerdPath” newsletter:


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Our 2021 Catskill Social series hike schedule will be published soon

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To get an advanced copy of the schedule, use the Contact button below to subscribe to our newsletter.

Due to the overwhelming success of our 2020 Catskill Social series (there has been a wait-list for every hike since resuming after lockdown) we’re gonna do it again in 2021. Once a month, usually the 1st or 2nd Thursday of the month we’ll feature a fun social hike to one or more of the Catskill 3500 foot peaks. These hikes are open to all in appropriate condition and with the appropriate gear for the conditions including members of local hiking clubs and our followers on social media.

Our first social hike of the season will be a combination trail hike and bushwhack of Kaaterskill High Peak on Thursday January 7. Stay tuned for the full 2021 schedule.

Please contact us with any questions, suggestions, or requests to be added to our newsletter mailing list. Newsletter subscribers will be first to see the full 2021 schedule.

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Santanoni Backpack

Posted on by Posted in Adirondacks, Backpacking

Our next Santanoni Backpack trip is scheduled for August 7 – 9, 2020. This trip features 2 nights of camping and hiking the Santanoni Range, which includes three of the Adirondack 46’er peaks. We will summit Santanoni Peak, Panther Mountain, and the “character building” Couchsachraga Peak.  This will be a small group with appropriate social distancing and PPE guidelines followed.
View of Couchsachraga
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Catskill Hikes 2020 Social Series

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Join us for some or all of the monthly hikes in our series of free Catskill hikes.  Each month on a Thursday we’ll meet for a guided hike of one or more of the Catskill 3500 peaks.  Although we’ve tried to keep things relatively simple, most of these hikes have some challenging sections.

This is a great chance to hike with a guide and meet fellow Catskill hiking enthusiasts.

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Full Moon Backpacking in the Catskills

Posted on by Posted in Backpacking, Bushwhacking, Catskill Backpacking, Catskills, Trip Reports, Upcoming Trips

Full Moon Backpacking in the Catskills is a special experiences that you’ll want to bring friends along and repeat. Our take on this amazing experience goes off-trail and navigates a fun route to an amazing remote campsite. The camping location is next to an open summit that (weather permitting) will allow fantastic views of the full moon. Please book in advance so that we can take take maximum advantage of timing of the full moon.

Full Moon Backpacking in a secluded mountain-top location

This full moon backpacking is definitely off the beaten path (pun intended) and is a Catskill bucket-list experience. It is strenuous covering 9 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain over the 2 days while carrying overnight gear. Clear skies not guaranteed, but this is a fantastic trip even without the moon.

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COVID-19 Impacts on Hiking and Camping

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The COVID-19 impacts on hiking include the universal disruption of plans, including ours. 

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

Like lots of people, I’m going more than a little stir crazy due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I’ve been taking local hikes to get some fresh air and exercise and this really does help. It’s been a challenge to keep up with constantly changing COVID-19 impacts on hiking activities.    Active guiding is on hold for now and near-term trips that were planned have been canceled.  Longer term everything is tentative, although we are still taking bookings for guided trips.  These will be dependent on both public health policy and local rules as well as common sense regarding COVID-19

Officially, we are still encouraged to get outside, but there are important common-sense guidelines.  Below are some key takeaways regarding COVID-19 impacts on hiking and camping, my personal thoughts and interpretations regarding access and safety considerations, and some links you can use to keep track of rapidly changing guidelines for outdoor recreation

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Burroughs Range Traverse – February 6

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Catskill Free Guided Hike Series

This challenging winter through-hike of the Burroughs Range is not for everyone. The 10 mile hike with 3800 feet of elevation gain includes three Catskill high peaks (Wittenberg – elevation 3782 feet, Cornell – elevation 3858 feet, and Slide Mountain – elevation 4184 feet). Along the way we’ll negotiate many steep ledges including the famous Cornell Crack. The Burroughs Range Traverse is a fun hike for fit hikers who enjoy some light scrambling.

There are several spectacular viewpoints along the route including the famous views from the Wittenberg summit, spectacular views of Wittenberg and Slide Mountain from Cornell, and others.

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