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Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Guardian Mtn, Overlook Mtn, Plattekill Mtn, Indianhead Mtn, Twin Mtns, Sugarloaf Mtn, Plateau Mtn
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SNEAKers
Posts: 158
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:30 pm

Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by SNEAKers »

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures... I will have to go back and add them when I find the power cord to my external hard drive!

I tried to do Devil's Path in one day by myself late last summer, but had to stop in the middle (Devil's Tombstone) due to severe joint pain.
Trip Report here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=602&sid=53b3c106aad ... 24c58133be

This summer I had planned to try again with a revised strategy: slower on the downhill as well as with two other people to help keep the pace more reasonable !

We took the east to west direction again to get the most difficult half of the trail out of the way first. We started up the trailhead at the end of Prediger Road at 5:10am and it was pretty brisk at that time of the morning. The forecast for the day was sunny, but cool for this time of the year, about 65F as the high.

We arrived at the Indian Head summit at 7:10

Trail Junction between Indianhead and Twin at 7:30

Viewpoint at Twin 2 at 8:10 (did not mark the time at Twin 1)

Junction between Twin and Sugarloaf at 8:45 (did not mark the time at Sugarloaf summit)

Junction between Sugarloaf and Plateau at 10:40, this section we took significantly slower than last time. (I had made it to the top of Plateau last time in about 4 hours)

Top of Plateau at 11:20. While walking along the top of Plateau the guy in the lead leap to the left of the trail, but I had thought he tripped and caught himself. I continued to walk the path in his originally intended path and quickly noticed that he had jumped to the left to avoid stepping on the biggest porcupine I have ever seen! I was only about 4 feet from it when I figured that out. I moved to the left as well and pulled out my phone and was lucky enough to get a picture of it!

At 12:10 we were at Danny's lookout

At 1:05 we had made it to Devil's Tombstone. We stopped to have lunch, refill our water and evaluate the rest of the hike. After changing our socks, the three of us were feeling good and decided to continue. We left Devil's Tombstone at 1:55 and set out for the rest of the trail.

At 3:20 we had made it to the Lean to

4:38 was the first waterfall along the trail and then we crossed the stream at 5:00. Unfortunately, the bridge across the stream was out and at normal water levels would have been easy to cross upstream of the falls. Due to the heavy rains the previous days, it took about an hour to find a way to cross. Eventually we found a solid enough downed tree, not too high above the water and far enough from the falls that we wouldn't be swept over if we fell in.

At this point I stopped recording times. The remainder of the trail was not difficult in terms of elevation change, but was extremely wet and rocky. I was wearing shorts and tried to avoid the nettles as much as possible… It was futile attempt and eventually I stopped trying to avoid them. Walking right through them for extended periods of time is NOT recommended!

We continued along the trail and one of the guys' knee began to hurt. We stuck together and continued to slowly make progress. We ended up finishing in the dark at 9:48pm. It was a GREAT hike and a perfect day to attempt the feat!

The most impressive thing about the whole day is that the two guys I hiked with were 61 and 69 years old! If I can be in half the shape that they are at their age, I will certainly feel accomplished! Certainly an aggressive goal to do the path in one day, but it is certainly doable!
TrunksWD
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:38 pm

Re: Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by TrunksWD »

Great read and congratulations on doing the entire hike. You made great especially with how long it took to find away across the stream. I can't wait to see your pictures.

I'm planning on trying to hike the hard half in the fall with a buddy of mine. My biggest problem are definitely my knees. They always seem to start hurting before anything else, so I will have to pace myself going downhill.
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mike
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: Ravena, NY

Re: Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by mike »

It sounds like it was one very long day. It is a very tough hike. Congrats on finishing.

I can't believe that they still have not put that bridge back up yet.
SNEAKers
Posts: 158
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:30 pm

Re: Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by SNEAKers »

Thanks guys!

Trunks, should be ok as long as you're not jumping down rock to rock. If it wasn't logistically so hard to have two cars up there for me, I would do the first half of devil's path much more often!

Mike, I'm pretty surprised too. There were a few people that wanted to cross at the time we arrived. I think we were the only ones who did because it was pretty sketchy. We also had hiked pretty far upstream and after crossing had to bushwhack back to the trail.
TrunksWD
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:38 pm

Re: Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by TrunksWD »

I've always had the problem with leaning more weight on my left leg and my left knee starts hurting. I have to think about it to balance my weight more evenly.
mtnclimber
Posts: 496
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by mtnclimber »

I thought that they put up a new bridge? Anyway, congradulations on a doing the entire trail in one day. Lot of vertical for sure.
SNEAKers
Posts: 158
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:30 pm

Re: Devil's Path in one day - Take 2

Unread post by SNEAKers »

Thanks guys. Was a great hike!
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