Silent
Panther and I reached the last high peak of the Central Catskills. We do
need to go back and finish a section farther South (we hiked up Slide Mountain,
and back the same way). Once again, we stayed in the North South Lake
campground, which is a magical place. On previous visits, we did not have the
opportunity to fully appreciate the campground. This time, we experienced it to
the max!
We woke up
cold and stiff on Tuesday morning, fumbling around in the dark for our packs. I
went with my second-best shoes, since the best pair got soaked in last
evening’s storm (along with all our camping gear!).
We drove 30
minutes to drop a car at the end of the hike, at Elm Ridge Wild Forest. Ours
was the only car in the parking lot. It was cold for August! The sun was rising
and the fog was amazing. Then we drove back to the beginning of the hike, the
familiar parking lot at the end of Big Hollow Road. We hiked up toward the
Escarpment Trail, in a dense mist. Silent Panther went back for his sweatshirt,
and was grateful to have it. We crossed the Batavia Kill on a couple of nice
wooden bridges.
The ground
was wet, and there were amphibians everywhere, like Lucky Newt:
We reached
the Long Path/Escarpment Trail at the top of the ridge, and headed North.
At Acra
Point, there was not much of a view. Farther along the trail, we got a good look
at our upcoming challenge, Burnt Knob.
We walked
down into a valley, then back up again to the Knob. Here we had a great view West
to the Blackhead Range. From left to right, the peaks are named Blackhead,
Black Dome and Thomas Cole mountains.
Looking
North, we could see our next workout, Windham High Peak:
Back down
into another valley, then up to the Peak. Here we found the dramatically-named
“Great Northern Viewpoint.”
The
mountains are shorter as you go North from here, and the views less spectacular.
This picture shows some of the hills to the North that we will have to climb on
the way to Altamont.
We descended
from Windham High Peak, heading into Big Hollow. We saw a couple of interesting
things: a bear footprint and a cool snake.
Unfortunately,
I developed a big blister on my little toe, so the last couple of miles were
painful! When we arrived at the Elm Ridge parking lot, there were lots of cars,
and people biking on the trails.
Finishing
the 10 miles early gave us time to enjoy the campground. After years of
returning too late, we finally had a nice swim and soak in North Lake when we
got back to camp. We did some fishing, and explored the shoreline. It’s easy to
see how artists like Thomas Cole were inspired by this beautiful area.
