by Major
Tom
Silent Panther and Major Tom had a
crazy idea…a 2-day hike in the Southern Catskills! We would do Samson Mountain
and Bangle Hill the first day, camp at Sundown Primitive Campground, and hike
Peekamoose and Table Mountain the second day. What could go wrong?
Day 1 was a 10-mile hike from
Riggsville to Bull Run. The weather was great, we got an early start, and life
was peachy keen. We left a car at Sundown, drove down to Upper Cherrytown Road,
and got rolling.
Even though we started with a long
uphill climb, we were amazed at our progress…we were averaging 2 miles per hour
over rough terrain! We took pictures at the beautiful Vernooy Falls…would have
been happy to spend the day there. In fact, we both had a nice Hikers’ High,
and were in great spirits J
We crossed countless streams, over
innumerable bridges, every shape, size and style. The first wildflowers were
opening up, almost before our eyes. There was virtually no animal activity
visible, and hardly any bird calls. We literally did not see a single other
hiker in 6 hours. It was a beautiful day…where was everybody?
Maybe they were scared away by the
“steep and long” descent at the end of the hike! Ascending Bangle Hill was
smooth sailing, but the downhill was brutal and interminable. We have hiked
many trails over several years, done much longer hikes, and climbed up and down
slopes where all fours were required. But never has a hill taken such an epic
toll on the knees! Perhaps because the old wood road was so long and steep,
perhaps because the slope never changed, I don’t know. But Major Tom had to
stop and rest his knees a few times.
Silent Panther was giddy and goofy.
He said “The farther down I go, the higher I get!” We followed a beautiful stream
with endless small waterfalls, over a mile of straight descent in a V-shaped
valley. When we got to the trail register at the bottom, Major Tom wobbled over
to sign out. The previous entry read: “Bangle Hill. Steep descent? Nah.” We
assumed that was Hikers’ Sarcasm.
As the trail reached Peekamoose Road,
there was an enormous boulder decorated with grafitti. We were impressed to see
that Kim Jon Ill (sic) had left his calling card! As we walked to the campsite,
we felt that our tribulations were all behind us. Little did we know…
Since we had made such good time, we
had plenty of daylight to set up camp. We wrangled the tent together, and built
a nice fire. There was no electricity, no running water, no cell service, but
hey…it was the wilderness! As the fire dimmed, the stars blazed. We saw the Big
Dipper, Orion, Taurus and the Pleidaes. When it got really dark, we saw the
Milky Way, which is not visible at home. While looking for a meteor, we found
the International Space Station, and followed its orbit. All this while
enjoying sandwiches and water! Life was good.
But…as the night progressed, the
temperature dropped alarmingly. Major Tom’s sleeping bag turned out to be
lacking a zipper. This proved troublesome all night, as his feet turned into
blocks of ice! We woke up to frost in the morning, gulped down a cold
breakfast, and hit the road. The adventures of the second day will be
chronicled by Silent Panther, in Part 2.
However, I would like to end Part 1
on a happy note. Back in the 1970’s, I had visited my Aunt Helen in Ithaca, NY.
She took my family to the Cornell Ornithology Lab, and we met the legendary
Peter Paul Kellogg. He taught us the call of the Barred Owl: “Who cooks for
you? Who cooks for you all?” In all the years since, I have never heard that
call in nature (although I have imitated it for many young uns).
As night fell on day 1, we heard an
owl across the stream. It was saying “Who cooks? Who cooks?” I was
disappointed, because I did not recognize that call. But toward morning, after
a long night of tossing and turning and freezing, I heard what seemed to be the
same owl. And this time, it asked about “you all”. Thank you, Mr. Kellogg.
