Queen of the Catskills

  Hawk Rock 285 feet elevation gain Deb and I were itching to hike so we settled on a super short one in the rain. Still got some views despite the gloom. The trail was obviously wet and the rocks were slippery, but it wasn’t bad at all. Not a lot of puddles or mud. Plus, we got to bask in self satisfaction for motivating ourselves in shit weather. Went to REI after and finally got bear spray. Looking forward to doing more hiking in Deb’s hood.

Bearpen 5.2 miles 1762 elevation gain I had an urge to do a high peak again because it’s been a minute, so I went to an old fave. The grass is a bit high at the beginning of the trail but once you walk a few feet it gets matted down. Most of the trail is pretty dry. There is some high grass near one of the hairpin turns, but it’s a short stretch. Make sure you wear your tick spray. The summit walk has some big puddles and slippery mud, but nothing you can’t maneuver around. The bugs also weren’t very much of an issue today. As I ran down, a guy on an ATV was riding up. I love my sunset hikes on this peak. It really has a special place in my heart. Deborah and I came up with the idea that if we ever had kids, we’d have them cremate us when we die and bury some of our ashes on each of the 35s in the Catskills. I’d tell them to make sure they put a little extra on Balsam Lake where Deb and I met, and some extra on Hunter and Bearpen, where I’ve had so many fun ski tours that made me reall...

Pratt Rock Short walk to show Deborah (@pathswithpadilla ) Pratt Rock (aka New York’s Mount Rushmore aka America’s First Mount Rushmore). Maybe the only thing I have in common with my dad is the need to point out things in our settings and tell interesting facts or stories about them—even if people have heard the story a thousand times before. So Deb probably already knew that Zadock Pratt had the largest tannery in the world at the time (roughly mid 1800s). He built the town to house his labor force. He was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He had five wives. Seems they’d die of something like tuberculosis or childbirth and then he’d marry that wife’s sister. He did that with two sets of women. (Seems caddish by today’s standards, but probably honorable back then? Not sure.) Legend has it Zadock hired an out of work stone cutter to tell the story of his life, but historians believe it was actually done by a number of different stonecutters over a period of 28 years. ...

  Campgaw Mountain So I spent the day in the suburbs of NJ yesterday. Not normally where I hang, but if you live in a town with your own little ski hill, then I guess I can see the appeal. Part of Campgaw is a ski resort with a couple of lifts, a few trails, snowmaking capabilities, night skiing, and tubing. If I have to choose between going to Big Snow to get midweek laps in the city or going to Campgaw, I would definitely drive the extra 20 minutes for the latter. Campgaw has many hiking trails that include a disc golf course. It also has very spaced apart trees, so my backcountry ski obsessed mind was already imagining possibilities. The trails aren’t very rocky. The gradient is super mellow and might be great for someone who wants to dip their toes into trail running. It could be fun to explore on skis for sure. The trails also weren’t really wet yesterday, which was a nice change from the mosquito swarming wetness we’ve had in the Catskills recently. They also have a lot of le...

High Knob (2/19) Been trying to hit some smaller peaks and explore new zones in the Catskills. I pulled into what I’m assuming is the parking area, but I didn’t see a sign. I stepped out of the car and much like a bad lover, the hike seemed over instantly. As is also with the experience of a bad lover, I was left feeling stunned, confused, and disappointed. The hike is pretty, don’t get me wrong, but I hadn’t anticipated it would be so fast and easy. I left the car at 7:30 and was back by 7:45. The trail is pretty dry and firm. It’s very easy to follow as well. There is one part that cuts across a tiny field and might be hard to follow, but if you keep going straight you’ll pick up the path again. There are many leaves of three, and as much as I wanted to follow the sage advice of letting them be, you never know if you accidentally touched one. I get kind of paranoid about these things. The path soooo mellow it’s like a nature walk. It is also cut maybe a couple hundred feet below the ...

Queen of the Catskills meets the Adirondacks. Check out the swag!

Bald Mountain (1/19) 4.5 miles 875 feet elevation gain I’m never really in this part of the Catskills. It’s north and west of me and I’m usually hanging in zones a bit more south. I have to say I look forward to exploring this area more because it’s gorgeous. My snowmobile friends had told me about this place over the winter and so I came to check it out for ski season shenanigans. On the way up, the trails had some slippery muddy spots and a lot of bear scat. There were even some cool bear tracks in the mud. There are a bunch of crisscrossing trails, so it helps to have a map. Apart from that, the flies were a bit of a nuisance. The hike is super mellow except for maybe the last 2/10 mile which is a bit steep. At the top are the remnants of the old Scotch Valley ski resort that closed in 1998. Apparently, in 1965 a 150 foot ski jump was constructed. Aside from lodge, trails, chairlifts, and rope tows, the resort also had cross country skiing and a bowling alley. I find it interesting ...

Vly via County Rte. 3 (Fleishman’s) 3.4 miles 1,260 feet of elevation gain Draw the curtains, pour the brandy, and turn on some slow jazz because I’ve done another CAD hike (Catskills After Dark). I never take this route to hike, though I’ve been this way before via snowmobile. We wanted to just knock out Vly quickly as we’d already done Bearpen. I’m amazed at how much longer it takes to get there and how much shorter the route is to hike. The trail is rocky and a running stream in some spots, sink to your ankles deep mud in other sections, and some wet but firm steep sections. The herd path is very easy to follow, even in the dark. The canister comes up as such a surprise on this hike. I’m always elated to see the canister sooner than expected. Deb wasn’t feeling well at all so it’s even more of a blessing that the hike was short. We were glad we did it even though we had a very “let’s get this over with” mindset when we began.

Mount Washington 8.4 miles 4,242 feet elevation gain Every time I hike or ski tour on this mountain, it feels like such a slog. It’s gorgeous, but it can be very slow going for various reasons. When hiking, the issue is the endless piles of rocks that you have to maneuver. We started at around 9 and the bugs were pretty much a non-issue. Trails were damp and there were puddles in spots. The Lion Head trail had wet rocks, but they were still easily managed on the way up. At one point, Deb and I shared a @benthillbrewery Blood Orange IPA. It made me feel like Popeye after he takes his spinach. I was totally recharged. All these summer White Claws had me forgetting the performance enhancing benefits of beer. We summited what felt like 10 years later and waited for our turn to take the selfie in front of the summit sign. Two people saw my Ski the East headband and started shouting, “Yeah, Ski the East!” and we all enjoyed the stoke. I noticed a ot of people have this sticker that says, “Th...

Eagle and Haynes via Seager 12.3 miles 2,297 feet elevation gain We got a very late start. The mosquitoes were vicious despite the bug spray. They kept getting stuck in our eyes. The trail was initially damp but firm. However, it can be confusing to follow—especially on the way back in the dark. There is a lot of blowdown which makes staying on the trail or even finding a way through the blowdown difficult at times. You have to cross Dry Brook multiple times. On the way there the water crossings were pretty easy, but once the rain came it was a bit more challenging. This trail is mellow in terms of gradient. You feel like you can walk forever—so much so that we decided we were going to do Eagle, Haynes, Balsam, and hit Big Indian on the way back. I remember looking at my phone and being incredulous at how many hours had passed. It reminded me of those stories of people being abducted by aliens and waking up in their cars wondering where the time had gone. Deb signed her first canister ...