Queen of the Catskills

Eagle and Haynes from Seager via Seager Trail to Pine Hill West Branch to Intersection on Oliverea Mapledale Trail (All Trails Challenge Map 142) I find the most nerve wracking part of hiking and ski touring to be wondering if there will be a parking spot available. Fortunately, despite my late start, I arrived to an empty lot. The trails are slippery since they’re carpeted with dead leaves and the water crossings could be tricky at times. (I’ll admit I fell.) However, I only saw two people near Eagle and was alone the rest of the time, so I can live with that. This week I learned something about how the universe doles out karma. When my divorce first happened, I remember getting on my knees and praying for justice. I wasn’t spiritual back then, but I was desperate and powerless. It’s those moments that humble us all, and make us finally ask God for help even if we don’t necessarily believe in God at the time. In my mind justice meant my enemies suffered in that they would fail in achi...

Windham High Peak and Burnt Knob via Route 23 The view from Burnt Knob was calling me today, so I took a break from my project to answer that call, and I wasn’t disappointed. The trail was as breathtaking as the viewpoints, although the leaves made it slippery—especially on the bushwhack to the summit of BK. The Peck Rd. lot was full so I opted for the route from 23.  On my walk, I was thinking about something that happened Friday afternoon. I haven’t communicated with my ex wife in any way since 2018. But for a long time, I thought I was fully healed from my divorce because I no longer thought about her. My ego still felt she was too dangerous to engage with despite her desperate attempts to contact me.  Concurrently, I’ve been feeling like some part of me is trapped and desperate to be freed. During meditation I kept thinking back to those scenes from Pink Floyd’s The Wall where Pink is slamming himself against a stone enclosure trying to find a way out and also where the an...

Peekamoose Mountain via Peekamoose-Table Trail (All Trails Challenge NYNJTC Map 143) I love when responsibilities overlap with personal goals. Saturday, I volunteered to do trail maintenance with the Catskill 3500 Club, while also making progress toward my personal project. (Win-win.) We started at about 9 from Peekamoose road, while another team came up from the Denning side. You don’t have to bring your own tools and a group leader will show you what to do. In this case, my friend Larry was showing me how to use hand saws and ropes to cut up blow down and pull it off the trail. One of the blowdowns took 45 minutes to clear.  There are a few spots left on the trail that the DEC has to come in and clear. These are mainly spots where trees have collapsed and, instead of falling to the ground, have precariously lodged themselves into an adjacent tree on the other side of the trail. That stuff is above our pay grade.   It was a fun day getting to know other Club members, learning...

Balsam Lake Mtn. via Alder Lake Loop and Mill Brook Ridge Trail (All Trails Challenge NYNJTC Map 142) = Everything about this hike is lovely: gentle gradient, a couple of lakes, historic ruins, beaver dams, and intense foliage. Right past the trailhead you see the old stone vestiges of the Coykendall Lodge which was built in 1899, and torn down by the state due to disrepair. It sits on the shore of the beautiful Alder Lake.  While I was walking I was thinking about how ever since that book The Secret came out, people are obsessed with this idea that we can manifest the lives we want in precise detail. However, I don’t know if that should really be the goal. I’ve always planned and worked my ass off to make outcomes happen, only for them to end up going in a direction I never could’ve anticipated. I always joke that not even my sexuality was something I could predict. It’s as though life was teaching me that I’m not in control as much as I think I am, and that if I stop fighting the...

Bearpen and North Bearpen Peak foliage, mid-afternoon start, and Columbus Day weekend, yet I still managed to have the entire mountain to myself. Talk about luck. Trails are in good condition, but the North Bearpen summit has some deep pockets of mud. Other than that, it was a perfect fall day. Life is very much like my experience getting to Bearpen. I went my normal route, but the road was closed due to construction, so I had to drive all the way around to get there via an alternate route. I thought this was an inconvenience that would make it less likely for me to find parking. However, this situation that I deemed negative, or at least annoying, was probably what prevented others from going to Bearpen too. It was a gift in disguise that allowed me to have my precious solitude on the mountain. I guess we shouldn’t be so quick to judge situations as good or bad because we don’t really know the big picture of how events might impact us. Today’s beer was Wrench by @industrialartsbrewin...

Big Indian: Pine Hill West Branch Trail to Intersection of Seager Trail (All Trails Challenge NYNJTC Maps 142 & 143) I got a late start because of the rain, but the lack of traffic Friday indicated I might be able to get away with it this weekend, and I was correct. Only two cars in the tiny lot when I arrived.  The ground was damp so the roots and wet leaves could make the trail slippery at times. I couldn’t move as fast as I wanted to. The streams are running, but the crossings were a piece of cake. Saw two bear scats near the herd path to the summit that were so large, I audibly said, “Whoa!” (Pictures never do it justice.) One was right on the trail. But if anyone can solve the mystery of what they’re eating that makes it look like corn on the cob, I’d be grateful. It’s like some type of seeds in there. Just don’t know what kind specifically.  I was thinking how life is very ironic at times. Often, when I’ve been critical of someone, I ended up experiencing what I crit...