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Memorial Day weekend hikes

Post future hikes, Looking for hiking partners.
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cmu268
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Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by cmu268 »

I'm heading down to the Catskills this weekend to do a few day hikes, not sure where I'm going to be camping overnight yet.

Planning to do:
  • Saturday - Hunter + SW Hunter/Leavitt loop from Spruceton Rd
  • Sunday - Windham High Peak/Burnt Knob
  • Monday - Bearpen + Vly
It sounds like it's fairly easy to get to SW Hunter following the herd path, anyone have any insights they can give?

My usual hiking partner is out thru-hiking the PCT, so I'm trying to bag a few of the easier ones solo. If anyone's around feel free to join!
dundee
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by dundee »

The LT at Diamon Notch might make a good base camp while you do SW Hunter.

I climbed SW from the LT in Diamond Notch, but most folks take the trail to Devils Acre (?) LT near the summit of Hunter and take the old logging railbed towards SW. I believe it will take yoou most of the way there.
mtnclimber
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by mtnclimber »

The John Robb lean to is a better location. Lots of water too. The views over the spruceton valley is excellent.
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kennykb
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by kennykb »

The old railbed from Devil's Acre most of the time has the turnoff marked with a small cairn. The railbed is easy to follow, and usually the herd path to the top is pretty obvious (and marked with a cairn in the railbed). If you lose the herd path in blowdown, go around the mess to the right. If you go around to the left and head uphill, you'll climb to the true summit of Southwest Hunter, which isn't where the canister is. (Or it surely looked as if I hiked downhill to the canister from there!)

John Robb is a beautiful spot. I hear that Devil's Acre lean-to is getting a new roof. Diamond Notch is lower down and closer to the road, and has more of a rodent problem. All three have good water sources.

If you wind up adding Rusk to the Hunter/Southwest loop, there's a herd path over East Rusk that starts from the hitching post at the old road intersection. You'll lose it in blowdown at the summit of East Rusk. Go around on the north side. South is both dense spruce and very ledgy. When I did it a couple of years ago, I made the mistake of circling to the south, and wound up camping on a ledge on East Rusk because the going was so slow. My wife wasn't happy that my daughter and I were a day late getting back.

WHP and Burnt Knob: There's a longish roadwalk back unless you're shuttling cars (or you do something like stash a bicycle near the Elm Ridge trailhead). I liked doing it as a two day hike with a stay at the Batavia Kill lean-to. I did the Blackheads on the first day, and Acra Point/Burnt Knob/WHP the second. There's about a three-mile roadwalk from Elm Ridge to the Thomas Cole trailhead, but I got offered a ride. More energetic hikers than me do it in a day, but I like to have time for lallygagging, and I'm pretty slow even at the best of times.

Bearpen, you're on the roads for the abandoned ski area the whole way. Park on County Road 3 in either direction, climb to the ridge, and head west at the hunter's cabin. Don't miss the gorgeous view of the valley toward Ski Plattekill west of the summit, just before where the snowmobile trail starts to descend steeply.I've talked to people who thought that the north viewpoints where the lifts used to be were the only views.

The turnoff for Vly is right at the south boundary of the state land. There's a very well beaten herd path that follows the blue survey blazes along the property line. There's one little bit where there's no paint, but some of the trees have old hatchet blazes. The alternative is to go downhill a little bit to the north on County Road 3, and find an old logging road that heads east. That brings you north of the summit, so at some point you have to turn south off the old road and scramble up to the ridge. The canister is west of the summit, on the state property line. The flies were awful when I was there last year. Rather than hang out at the little summit clearing, my daughter and I just signed in as quickly as possible and kept moving.

My usual partners all seem to be out of commission lately for one reason or another (and I've had something or other in town most weekends the last few months). My schedule looks to be loosening for the summer; can I interest you one of these weeks in Halcott, Sherrill, Doubletop, Big Indian, Fir or Friday? That's what I have left undone. I managed to get Balsam Cap without Friday because I was attempting to do Lone, Rocky, BC and Friday at one go and ran out of time. I bailed out down the Neversink since the car was at the Denning trailhead.
Birdman
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by Birdman »

kenny, I would be interested in hiking with you. We were going to hike one time but I had to bail out. Waiting for first grandchild so June is kinda out. After that should be good. I have your email and number. Want me to call or email. I have never done any of those on your list so I would be in. Under my spring hikes I was going to do Thomas Cole today but had a family matter. Some others went but only got to Camel's Hump with cold weather and rain. Regards. Ed
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kennykb
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by kennykb »

Sure, shoot me an email when your life loosens up a little. Good luck to your family, and congratulations on the impending arrival!
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cmu268
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by cmu268 »

Thanks for all the info, everyone!

kennykb - really great info! I appreciate much, hopefully I'll have time to add Rusk in there too. I'd certainly be interested in hiking any of those peaks. The only one I've done is Friday, hiked last summer on a loop around the Slide Mtn. Wilderness. But we weren't able to locate the canister and had to keep moving because of time. We bushwhacked over from Cornell, going right over Dink, and was so incredibly difficult that in order to get to where we planned to camp between BC and Rocky we just had to keep moving.
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mike
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by mike »

Bushwhacking from Cornell to Friday is really tough! The Balsam's are really thick. I think Kevin K had a pretty good description of it at one time. If you are in the col between Slide and Cornell, this is a better place to cut across to Friday and BC. Probably the easiest spot to cut across. But, still difficult. Some people have hiked Slide. Then do Wittenberg and Cornell. Then cut across the col to Friday and BC. Then hike down to Moon Haw Road. Long day, but doable. If you are 20 years old, then you can knock off all 9 in a day.
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cmu268
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by cmu268 »

We were able to do 7 of the 9 in a weekend last year. And did that at 30, so not much more than a 20 yr old, and can't imagine doing all 9 in a day!

I had heard people say the bushwhack from Lone to Table was difficult, but after what we had already done I found it to be a piece of cake ;)
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kennykb
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Re: Memorial Day weekend hikes

Unread post by kennykb »

cmu268 wrote:We were able to do 7 of the 9 in a weekend last year. And did that at 30, so not much more than a 20 yr old, and can't imagine doing all 9 in a day!
They do it in high summer, start at Denning in the dark, and wind up coming down the Slide Mountain jeep trail in the dark to the old carriage road. As I said, they come out bloody, with their clothing in shreds.

Last summer, I saw an entry in the summit canister on Rocky signed by a guy who claimed to have made it there from Lone in less than half an hour. There's an OK herd path that drops off Lone to the north, and then veers right to the col. But I lost it there, and saw no sign of it going west from the canister, either. How the heck did the guy push through that mess in half an hour?
I'm not lost. I know exactly where I am. I'm right here.
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