After a short while I arrived at the Elm Ridge Lean-to. After a short break, I continued on into the thick old growth plantations. I gotta say, it was kinda unnerving walking into such a dense, dark, forest! Really beautiful though.
I came across a lot of little animal tracks on the trail. The most notable looked like coyote or fox tracks. I'm no expert, maybe someone can help ease my curiosity here.
I made it to the summit after a gentle hike and enjoyed the 3 views on Windham Mountain. I had lunch on the ledge, overlooking the Blackheads. What a beautifully warm and sunny day up there!
By the time I started to head back down, temps were peaking in the low-mid 40s and the ice was beginning to melt. I was starting to wish I had microspikes as well, because most spots were exposed earth with only patches of ice. I eventually took of the crampons and avoided the few remaining ice patches. I passed one other hiker one the way down.
I got back to my car around 2PM and decided to stop at Kaaterskill Falls off 23a on the way back. I took some pictures from the road, and headed home. Eventually, I'd like to do the short hike from 23a to get a better view of the falls.
Icy path up:
Tracks:
Elm Ridge Lean-to:
Dense old growth:
First views of the BlackHead Range:
From Windham summit:
Kaaterskill Falls, lower tier from 23a:
