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Platte Clove - March 2012

Buttermilk Falls, Cortina, Devil's Kitchen, Haines Falls, Hawkeye, Huckleberry Point, Johnson's Point, Kaaterskill High Peak, Poet's Ledge, Round Top, Viola Falls, Wildcat Falls
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TobiasTicetonyk
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Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by TobiasTicetonyk »

On 2 separate days I explored the all too familiar Devil's Kitchen. I didn't hike the whole thing (don't listen to the naysayers- it's not really that crazy). I didn't see the middle 2 gargantuan falls, or the top Plattekil waterfall, or Black Chasm but I was happy, as my trip down Hell's Hole now allows me to claim that I have seen every waterfall in the Plaaterzkillz. If anyone wants to know how to get down there from the bottom or top and safely and efficiently navigate the clove, message me and ask. I plan on hiking the whole thing this May, and I have hiked every section of it in bits and pieces of it throughout my entire life, but honestly that's not a very long time. My favorite part is still Black Chasm. I would love to go up Black Chasm to Indian Head, then over to Plattekil falls and Hell's Hole to hike back down.

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 844&type=3

Some select pictures that radiate awesomeness.... if anyone has other names, go ahead and regurgitate them:

"Honolulu", lower section of the clove
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The other side of "Honolulu"
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"The Icebox", lower section of the clove
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"That-Place-We-Went-To-On-Your-Fourtysomethinth-Birthday-And-I-Still-Have-A-Piece-Of-Red-Shale-I-Painted-Myself-With-Hole", lower clove
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"That-Place-We-Went-To-On-Your-Fourtysomethinth-Birthday-And-I-Still-Have-A-Piece-Of-Red-Shale-I-Painted-Myself-With-Hole", lower clove
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"Grandma's Hole", lower clove
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AND NOW FOR THE UPPER CLOVE!!


WELCOME TO HELL'S HOLE
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At the bottom of Hell's Hole... big boulder jam-dam. straight down from below me. I had to skirt around this waterfall, on top of it. It was actually wide for platte clove standards, dry, flat, and stable. If I fell to my left it would not have ended well, but it was by no means a risk to take this walk. It is a safe route. Hell, it's the only route!!! :mrgreen:
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And upstream from there... Bridal Veil Falls!!! Wooooooo!!!....woo.....oooo...o?
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Turn around from that view of Bridal Veil, and the Hudson River! Imagine standing on a boat, centuries ago, first sailing up, and seeing this.. somehow... Personally, I'd rather be standing here!
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Lots of effects on this photo, but it was so blurry and crappy that I consider this a salvage job.
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more bridal veil
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Ok, so that stable waterfall escarpment I mentioned earlier only got me to the top of the Hell Hole waterfall confluence, below Bridal Veil. To get to the actual bottom of hell hole and that waterfall, I had to get to the bottom of Bridal Veil, up above it on a slope, and down said slope, making one multi-elevation not-exactly-closed circle to the bottom of the boulder jam-dam. I call the slope I went down the "slopes of insanity" Here is a view looking back into Hell's Hole from the Slopes of Insanity. They were not deadly. Just... fast.
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The last stretch of the Slopes of Insanity. Looking at the boulder jam-dam and HellHole Confluence falls. I really need a name for this one.
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Ok, so this is the waterfall downstream from the hell hole confluence waterfall. At the bottom of this gully, there is a formidable drop. To get around this one, take the southern bank. No deadly cliffs, just bushwhack up steepness. Follow the blue markers. Downstream from that waterfall that you cannot see in this picture, there is another large waterfall. I'll post pictures of them eventually. That one has a very deep and wide swimming hole. Tall fall. Awesome. The next one downstream from that is "The Icebox". Get it??
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Turned around as I went back up Hell Hole
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Lower section of Hell's Hole Falls
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Top part of Hell's hole falls coming out of the gully beneath the bridge
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Upstream, below the bridge. Is this Schalk's Falls?
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And on my drive down Platte Clove road back to Wittenberg Valley, I stopped to take this awful, overexposed picture of Black Chasm Falls. I love this waterfall. I have a post for it in the Indian Head Wilderness section of this website.
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WELL, there you go! Another trip report that features my pictures and incoherent ramblings!!! I'll post pictures of the rest of Devil's Kitchen eventually, so ya'll can see what I didn't go to in this excursion. Questionz? Commentz?
Last edited by TobiasTicetonyk on Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:46 pm, edited 6 times in total.
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mike
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Re: Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by mike »

Great Photos! I would love to join you sometime. I can also show you some places where there are other large waterfalls that you don't know about. Rich K and I have measure and photographed about 70 of them.
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TobiasTicetonyk
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Re: Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by TobiasTicetonyk »

mike wrote:Great Photos! I would love to join you sometime. I can also show you some places where there are other large waterfalls that you don't know about. Rich K and I have measure and photographed about 70 of them.
I will let you know next time I am able to go down. I'd love to check out Kaaterskill Clove. I've walked through the main stream a few times around the swimming holes, but I have never been up any of those side gullies. Once we get a large rainstorm and a hot day soon after, It'll be time to check these areas out.

I noticed on the trail map that there are parking areas at the bottom of Kaaterskill Clove. Does this sound feasible: Leave a car at the bottom, and another car at the Kaaterskill Falls parking area. Hike through the stream from the bottom, checking out each waterfall, swimming hole, and side ravine waterfall series along the way. Eventually, go up the tributary for Kaaterskill Falls, and make our way up to the waterfall, maybe even the middle level where I have been told there is a great swimming hole. Then walk back out to the parking lot, and drive down to the other car...? That would be pretty intense. We could even try some kind of marathon, hiking up one of the ravines, over KHP area, not necessarily the summit, as fast as we can and down the huckleberry point trail to Hell Hole, and descend Platte Clove... just sayin'

There's also that Solstice Clove place on the Rondout Creek, better off holding off on that till later in the spring.
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mike
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Re: Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by mike »

No problem. Sometimes the decision to go is a last minute thing. I'm pretty spontaneous, so I do the same thing often. Sometimes I start driving there and make up my mind on the hike on the way there.

No swimming holes on Lake Creek or Spruce Creek. Been all the way up both. I have seen people swimming in the hole at the very top of KF. Very dangerous idea. Dumb too. Most of the swimming holes are below Moore's Bridge to Palenville. One of the Rangers told me that there are a lot of hidden logs in some of the swimming holes after Hurricane Irene.

We have a couple hidden places where there are significant number of great waterfalls we can show you. I would love to do Solstice Clove. I will PM you with some of the information.
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Jon
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Re: Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by Jon »

Hey I took a hike up platte-clove with a couple of friends of mine and the only falls we didn't get to was the Bridal Veil and hell's hole. We hit several waterfalls of varying heights, and could not get to bridal veil base. We had to pass a series of ledges above the highest falls (before trail system) and did not find a way to the right (toward) the waterfalls, we had to force left to get above the ledges.

If you are still active can you email me so I can find out what route you take and what you know? I will post trail report in a bit.
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mike
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Re: Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by mike »

He moved out west.
mtnclimber
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Re: Platte Clove - March 2012

Unread post by mtnclimber »

Pretty sure he moved to Missoula MT about a year ago. Maybe you could Email him?
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