Exploring the area around the Sphinx sounds like a great idea for a hike. I bet a lot people have never been to the Sphinx and would welcome the chance to see it. There's also supposed to be an overlook on Prospect Mountain (for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it) where you can see both Kaaterskill Falls and KHP. Bob Guildersleave mentions it in his superb book on the Catskills and I would love to find it. Perhaps we can try for both!
Since you mentioned that you've never been to the quarry on Prospect Mountain, I thought I'd share a few more photos.
More than anything else, these photos convey how precipitous the climb was! My footing was tenuous at best. As I mentioned before, extreme caution must be exercised.
The photo of the old road is rather disorienting, so I'll try to make some sense of it. Believe it or not, the photo is leveled correctly and I was not drunk when I took it! That is simply the slope of the land. I was standing with my back facing the base of ledge with the Sphinx about 30 feet above me and almost directly behind me. I am facing south (towards 23A) and looking down the steep incline towards Kaaterskill Clove. The path you see vaguely curving to the right is the old quarry road.
I am convinced beyond any doubt that our ancestors were "supermen". I was exhausted after that climb and I carried no more than my backpack and my camera bag. I cannot even imagine ascending or descending that hill with a load of stones!
By the way, I remember seeing the road on an old map (possibly either from Rusk or Van Loan, but I can't remember which). I also tried to locate the road by examining the north shoulder of Route 23A, but I could not find any trace. My guess is that the construction of the many retaining walls obliterated all traces of it.
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