We had a full group of 12 hike the three peaks of the Blackhead Range on a beautiful autumn day following an early snowfall. Due to the trail conditions, we wore microspikes for the first time this season.
Tag Archives: Catskills
Halcott Mountain – October 19, 2013
We hiked Halcott Mountain a beautiful fall day. For MK, this was #38; the next to last peak on his quest to earn his 3500 patch.
From the parking area we crossed the creek above the waterfall on the north branch of the Bushnellsville Creek. We continued through the cairn fields and then stayed on the north side of the next creek, paralleling it while climbing mainly towards the west-northwest.
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Hunter Mountain and Leavitt Peak – June 29, 2013
We hiked Hunter Mountain and Leavitt Peak (also know as Southwest Hunter) on a warm early summer day. It was a sort of a belated Father’s Day hike as both of my sons came along and we had another father-daughter combination there as well. We hiked a loop starting on the Spruceton Trail and ending up back at Spruceton Road via the Devil’s Path and Diamond Notch trails.
Witttenberg, Cornell, and Slide Mountains – June 15, 2013
We traversed the Burroughs Range from Woodland Valley State Campground to the Slide Mountain parking area on Route 47. Along the way we enjoyed the many viewpoints and short rock scrambles as we followed the Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide trail over its namesake mountains. This is one of my favorite routes in the Catskills owing to those same views and scrambles. Continue reading
North Dome and Sherrill – April 28, 2013
I
guided MK to North Dome and Sherrill as part of his successful quest to complete the Catskill 3500 list. It was a rather warm late April day and the ground surprisingly dry for the spring. We started the bushwhack near the beaver pond by the turn in the Devil’s Path west of St Annes Peak.
Thomas Cole Mountain Bushwhack – March 17, 2013
On St Patrick’s Day we bushwhacked Thomas Cole Mountain via a route less traveled from private property with permission from the landowner. The weather was perfect for a late winter hike with sunshine and the temperature not too far below freezing and enough snow to comfortably wear our snowshoes for the entire hike.
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Plateau and Sugarloaf Mountain – July 14, 2012
I led a diverse group of 10 hikers including hiking club members and guests from a local boy scout troop on a challenging hike of Plateau and Sugarloaf Mountains. We followed the Devil’s Path from Notch Lake and completed the hike through Pecoy Notch.
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Panther – Giant Ledge Backpack – December 29, 2011
This was a winter backpack from Fox Hollow to Giant Ledge. We hiked over Panther Mountain on the way to the campsite and the views were excellent. While hiking we saw lots of wildlife footprints in the snow, including bobcat and coyote.
The temperatures were in the mid teens when we set up our campsite, but warmed somewhat overnight along with a new dusting of snow while we were sleeping. Continue reading
Peekamoose and Table Mountain – July 2, 2011
A group of four of us hiked Peekamoose and Table Mountains on a warm July 4th weekend. At a little over 2600 feet elevation gain from the trailhead on Peekamoose Road, this is the greatest climb directly to a trailed summit in the Catskills, but it is a very nicely maintained trail with excellent viewpoints. Continue reading
Blackhead-Black Dome – January 29, 2011
Hike of Blackhead and Black Dome on a nice winter day with deep snow cover. We hiked both summits from Big Hollow Road via the Black Dome Range Trail Continue reading