Buttermilk Falls & Colgate Lake
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 6:30 pm
Rain has been plaguing us for weeks. And, hoping that this weekend would be different. When we left this morning it start to rain about 5 minutes from the house. In spite of the rain, we continued to the Catskills. Instead of a regular hike, we chose to pick a hike that was close to the car, but still had a good impact on us. We parked at the PA just below Bastion Falls.
We walked up the road and hiked down to Lake Creek. With all the rain we have had over the past couple of weeks, the creeks were roaring with crashing water. The water wasn't real high, but flowing quite well. It was still misting when we started, but we marched on. The rocks were mossy and wet, so it was slippery. Lake creek looked real nice. But, it could not be crossed or fjorded. We then hiked down to the intersection Kaaterskill Creek, Lake Creek, and Santa Cruz creek. The water was running well.
We then hiked down to Buttermilk Falls #6. The falls were running well, but not raging. Kaaterskill Creek was up a couple feet, but flooding or raging. Too low for kayaking, but too deep for cross or fjord. When we got done looking at the Kiersted Tannery, we hiked back up to the car. When we drove past Bastion Falls, the PA for Kaaterskill Falls was jam packed with cars and starting to overflow. The water was flowing well, so it was a good day to visit Kaaterskill Falls. We have been there when the water was flowing much better, so we skipped that hike today.
We then headed over to Colgate Lake to wonder around. Cloudy, but not raining. The sun was trying to peak out of the clouds, but it never came out.
We only hiked 3-4 miles, but still had a good time.
Buttermilk Falls #6
Lake Creek
Colgate Lake
Panorama of Colgate Lake with the Blackhead Mtns in the background
Colgate Lake with West Stoppel in the background
We walked up the road and hiked down to Lake Creek. With all the rain we have had over the past couple of weeks, the creeks were roaring with crashing water. The water wasn't real high, but flowing quite well. It was still misting when we started, but we marched on. The rocks were mossy and wet, so it was slippery. Lake creek looked real nice. But, it could not be crossed or fjorded. We then hiked down to the intersection Kaaterskill Creek, Lake Creek, and Santa Cruz creek. The water was running well.
We then hiked down to Buttermilk Falls #6. The falls were running well, but not raging. Kaaterskill Creek was up a couple feet, but flooding or raging. Too low for kayaking, but too deep for cross or fjord. When we got done looking at the Kiersted Tannery, we hiked back up to the car. When we drove past Bastion Falls, the PA for Kaaterskill Falls was jam packed with cars and starting to overflow. The water was flowing well, so it was a good day to visit Kaaterskill Falls. We have been there when the water was flowing much better, so we skipped that hike today.
We then headed over to Colgate Lake to wonder around. Cloudy, but not raining. The sun was trying to peak out of the clouds, but it never came out.
We only hiked 3-4 miles, but still had a good time.
Buttermilk Falls #6
Lake Creek
Colgate Lake
Panorama of Colgate Lake with the Blackhead Mtns in the background
Colgate Lake with West Stoppel in the background