Sherrill - North Dome from rt 42
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 5:15 pm
First post, hope this adds some useful info to this great forum.
Haven't seen any recaps of this route, and particularly end of June. In hindsight I'm sure it's much, much easier to do this in winter to avoid the vegetation. After having done the 4 35'r bushwacks east of Peekamoose and thinking no other bushwacks could be as difficult, these 2 came close.
My friend and I started from Shaft Rd parking around 5:30pm, with the aim to reach the ledge with the great campsite at around 2700 described on this site. There is a great un-maintained path up the north side of the ridge just south of the stream between Balsam and Sherrill. We gladly followed this up to about 2700 then 'contoured' around to the south side of the ridge to find the ledge and our camp for the night. This gave us our first taste of bushwack conditions and wasn't too bad, only made tiring by the fact that we hiked Halcott earlier in the day. The ledge was decidedly less ideal for camp than in winter, as it was covered in stinging nettles and assorted other tangly low growth. We were able find a couple spots for sleeping pads and with perfect summer weather did enjoy unique views off the ledge into the forest and horizon beyond.
Leaving our packs for pick up on the return, we headed off at 7:30am to summit Sherrill, then North Dome and back. And wow, on the menu in order of decreasing difficulty were plenty of standing and blown-down beech thickets, tripping and whipping, thick patches of stinging nettles and hobblebush, tripping and stinging, impressive boulder fields and plenty of decaying leaf litter to challenge nearly every step. Encountering the few tall ledges was a relief from these things in terms of frustration but no less tiring. The east side of Sherrill offers a break from this due to its relative steepness, making for a fun scramble down (and a heart-pounding climb back). A marsh appears on North Dome's west slope, making for a uniquely interesting micro system, just make sure to hike around it. After failing to find the canister on North Dome (a common problem it seems) we pushed on east to find a viewpoint. It was a small rock ledge, barely the size of the hood of a car, with views partially obscured by the tops of trees, but after the morning's struggles boy was it a glorious view out towards West Kill and the Devils Path (we hiked 2 months before). The treetops hugging the cliff barely obscure the the drama of the 1000-foot drop to Mink Hollow.
Retracing our steps back was not any easier, but was made more satisfying having notched 2 more 35'rs. The summer warmth also made me wish I had brought more than a liter water, made more annoying when we missed the marsh to the north on the return so couldn't get a refill before the climb up Sherril's steep east side. After failing to find Sherril's southern 'viewpoint' (maybe only in winter?), we headed toward our stashed packs. GPS saved us from hiking down the steep north slope of the ridge, making our packs harder to find than we anticipated, but once found we easily found the path we started on, and sweet, sweet relief in the stream at the bottom dipping shirts and hats in the icy water. Back to the car at 2pm.
I can say with confidence I will not be visiting these peaks in the Summer ever again, but I do appreciate they gave us a hike to remember!
Haven't seen any recaps of this route, and particularly end of June. In hindsight I'm sure it's much, much easier to do this in winter to avoid the vegetation. After having done the 4 35'r bushwacks east of Peekamoose and thinking no other bushwacks could be as difficult, these 2 came close.
My friend and I started from Shaft Rd parking around 5:30pm, with the aim to reach the ledge with the great campsite at around 2700 described on this site. There is a great un-maintained path up the north side of the ridge just south of the stream between Balsam and Sherrill. We gladly followed this up to about 2700 then 'contoured' around to the south side of the ridge to find the ledge and our camp for the night. This gave us our first taste of bushwack conditions and wasn't too bad, only made tiring by the fact that we hiked Halcott earlier in the day. The ledge was decidedly less ideal for camp than in winter, as it was covered in stinging nettles and assorted other tangly low growth. We were able find a couple spots for sleeping pads and with perfect summer weather did enjoy unique views off the ledge into the forest and horizon beyond.
Leaving our packs for pick up on the return, we headed off at 7:30am to summit Sherrill, then North Dome and back. And wow, on the menu in order of decreasing difficulty were plenty of standing and blown-down beech thickets, tripping and whipping, thick patches of stinging nettles and hobblebush, tripping and stinging, impressive boulder fields and plenty of decaying leaf litter to challenge nearly every step. Encountering the few tall ledges was a relief from these things in terms of frustration but no less tiring. The east side of Sherrill offers a break from this due to its relative steepness, making for a fun scramble down (and a heart-pounding climb back). A marsh appears on North Dome's west slope, making for a uniquely interesting micro system, just make sure to hike around it. After failing to find the canister on North Dome (a common problem it seems) we pushed on east to find a viewpoint. It was a small rock ledge, barely the size of the hood of a car, with views partially obscured by the tops of trees, but after the morning's struggles boy was it a glorious view out towards West Kill and the Devils Path (we hiked 2 months before). The treetops hugging the cliff barely obscure the the drama of the 1000-foot drop to Mink Hollow.
Retracing our steps back was not any easier, but was made more satisfying having notched 2 more 35'rs. The summer warmth also made me wish I had brought more than a liter water, made more annoying when we missed the marsh to the north on the return so couldn't get a refill before the climb up Sherril's steep east side. After failing to find Sherril's southern 'viewpoint' (maybe only in winter?), we headed toward our stashed packs. GPS saved us from hiking down the steep north slope of the ridge, making our packs harder to find than we anticipated, but once found we easily found the path we started on, and sweet, sweet relief in the stream at the bottom dipping shirts and hats in the icy water. Back to the car at 2pm.
I can say with confidence I will not be visiting these peaks in the Summer ever again, but I do appreciate they gave us a hike to remember!