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Rich and I had been looking for a great day to hike up KHP from the west access trail. But, all summer long the weather just did not cooperate. When it was good, I had family obligations. The last week was lousy for weather. Each day it was overcast or raining. On Friday, the weather was forecasting a great day Saturday. I Emailed Rich, and proposed tomorrow as a day. It was very short notice. Rich asked some of his friends, but they already had things going on. So, Rich and I met at 10 am at the end of Gillespie Road to hike up the west access trail to KHP. The morning was cool, and the air was crisp. It was not crystal clear, but it was still mighty good.

We headed up the trail. We then bushwhacked up to the Snowmobile Trail (SMT). We then hiked up the north side until we reached the entrance. We then followed the trail the best we could. Hiked off the trail a couple times, but we always found it quickly again. We hiked up into the first conifer forest. Beautiful as usual. We then drifted off the trail as we approached the 3250 ledge on Round Top. But, in the end, we found the 3250 trail. Took a nice hike across the ledge. We stopped for a moment. Birds then surrounded us looking for a handout. They didn't eat out of our hand, but probably would have.

We then hiked into the col in between Round Top and KHP. We somehow walked off the trail and missed the Tory Fort. We tried to find it, but finally decided to move on. Because we missed the Tory Fort, we found part of the old trail and hiked up near the northern Hanging Ledge. The only words to describe it is WOW! Here is a picture:

Northerly Hanging Ledge:

The ledge sticks out 20-25' and is about 6' high. Nice campsite under it.

Rich and I moved on. Saw a few lookout points. They will be great after the leaves fall. Stopped by the huge Beech tree and bog. Always quite impressive tree. Hiked further up to KHP.

We then hiked down to Hurricane Ledge. Met two nice guys out for a hike. Then we hiked down to Hurricane Ledge. Rich then showed me the hidden Hurricane Ledges. Quite awesome!

Hidden Hurricane Ledge with view of Round Top:


We then Hiked back up to KHP and down to the Easterly Ledge. Absolutely awesome!

Easterly Ledge - View of North-South Lake region:


Easterly Ledge - View of Hudson River:


Easterly Ledge - View of Devil's Kitchen and Overlook Mtn:


We also checked out the upper plane crash on KHP. To get to the base of the plane crash walk the north-easterly trail from the summit about 600 feet (500' to the top). Here are some pictures:

Plane crash #2 - Fuselage from the bottom:


Plane crash #2 - Blow back of parts from the ledge they flew into:


Plane crash #2 - Looking from the top of the ledge - You can see the wings - Fuselage is down in the trees below:


Rich and I plan on returning soon to explore some more. If you would like to join us, please let us know.

Mike, thanks again for such a great day. I really hope we can do this hike again in the next few weeks.

Mike's post pretty much covered it all, but I'd still like to share the notes that I gathered from our hike:

On Saturday 09/11/2010, Mike and I finally had schedules that coincided allowing us to hike together. We met at the end of Gillespie Road around 10:00 am and hiked the West Access Trail to Round Top and Kaaterskill High Peak. For details of the route we took, please refer to the full description for the West Access Hike to KHP that is posted on this site in the “Hiking” section.

Mike’s GPS and excellent sense of direction allowed us to bushwhack directly to the Snowmobile “spur” trail that goes to Cortina. Referencing the Snowmobile trail can be confusing since there are really three components to the Snowmobile trail system:
1. The “main” loop trail that encircles Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top
2. The spur trail that runs west from the loop and accesses the former Cortina ski area
3. The short connector that runs north from the loop and joins the Long Path.

Once on the Snowmobile spur trail, we turned right (east) and walked a short distance to the junction with the Snowmobile loop trail. From there, we veered left (north) and proceeded for approximately a quarter of a mile to where the West Access trail begins. The entrance is marked by a tree shaped like a wishbone. In all honesty, I could not discern any hint of a trail, but Mike was able to spot it from having hiked it multiple times.

The West Access trail is a truly beautiful walk through the woods, and it is a crying shame that it is not a marked path so that everyone can enjoy it. Except for a few scrambles up rather steep ledges, the trail is a very gentle ascent up Round Top and (later on) up to Kaaterskill High Peak. A few observations about the trail:
1. Although the trail is fairly obvious in some areas, in others areas it completely disappears. Consider this hike to be a bushwhack – period.
2. Do not try this trail if you have a poor sense of direction or if you are not comfortable with bushwhacking. From the point of entrance, it is two and a half miles until the summit of KHP. If you get hopelessly lost, it will be very difficult for anyone to find you.
3. It is amazingly easy to walk off the trail. Mike and I fell prey to losing the trail more times than we could count. Mike taught me a valuable skill in these circumstances which is to hike in a broad zigzag pattern until you re-acquire the trail.
4. Making things more difficult (or easier, depending on your point of view) is that the trail seems to have been relocated in many areas. Consequently, there are often two parallel trails that are usually separated by 50 to 100 feet.
5. You will frequently run into cleanly cut branches and saplings – apparently the work of hikers who are intimately familiar with the trail and are trying to maintain it. These cut branches are the next best thing to markers and were a tremendous help towards assuring us that we were on the trail.
6. By far, the biggest challenge is finding the “3250 Ledge” by Round Top. After ascending a series of ledges, you will be tempted to follow your intuition and continue straight along the north rim of Round Top with yet another high ledge to your right (south). Resist the temptation (!) as this path leads to a dead end! Instead, turn to your right, walk a short distance (25 to 30 feet) along the base of the ledge, and then jog to your left and ascend the ledge through a steep (but not difficult) opening. Once at the top, you will be at the 3250 foot level. Turn left and walk a few steps. You will soon acquire the trail, which will be very obvious at this point. Congratulations! You’ve just survived the most difficult part!



Mike and I crossed Round Top and dropped into the col between Round Top and KHP and were determined to locate the Tory Fort (which Mike had successfully located in 2009). Unfortunately, Round Top played a mean trick on us and completely hid the fort. We searched in vain for an hour but could not find it! Of course, neither of us had the presence of mind to bring the coordinates, which could have been uploaded into Mike’s GPS, making the quest a breeze. Oh well, there’s always next time!
On the other hand, we discovered a vague woods road gently descending from the col in an easterly direction. Mike and I suspect that the road may have been used to bring horses and supplies up to the fort. We both agreed that we need to explore that road some time.

However, the biggest prize of the day was at the eastern end of col, just before the ascent to KHP. Mike and I found the “Hanging Ledges”. There are two ledges, though the northerly “hanging ledge” is far more spectacular than its “little brother” just to the south. As mentioned earlier, the West Access trail has undergone several relocations. One of these relocations is by the hanging ledges. One trail runs to the north of both ledges while another trail runs between them.

The northern “Hanging Ledge” is truly awesome. There is an enormous slab of rock extending at least 20 feet out over a cave-like area. The slab probably weighs in the area of 100 tons – almost the equivalent of a train locomotive! Mike posed by the hanging ledge to provide some perspective. Mind you, Mike is well over 6 feet tall, though he is totally dwarfed by the massive formation. When the West Access trail was in frequent use, there is no doubt that these hanging ledges were the highlight of the hike.


Mike and I continued our bushwhack to KHP and came out almost exactly at the summit. The trail becomes very vague near the summit. In fact, we came out several feet away from where we both agreed the West Access trail actually joins the north-south trail over the summit. Somehow we drifted, but no matter! One point of note is that the West Access trail becomes very narrow near the summit and you have to squeeze through a thick conifer forest. Unlike deciduous branches that are, for the most part, soft and flexible, conifer branches are rigidly hard and VERY sharp. You can easily incur a serious puncture wound if you are not careful.

From the summit, we drifted down to Hurricane Ledge and met two other hikers (John and Paul) who asked us for the best route back to the Platte Cove Parking area. We advised them to descend KHP via the south access, then follow the Snowmobile trail to the “lower” plane wreck (KHP has two plane wrecks) and then bushwhack to the Long Path.



All four of us enjoyed the view from Hurricane Ledge while Mike and I had lunch. After a much-deserved rest, we bushwhacked from Hurricane Ledge a short distance west to a spectacular lookout featuring a grand view of Round Top. Extreme caution is required at this ledge. You must “slither” your way under low trees and brush and then lower yourself down a steep rocky incline to a tiny ledge. Only one person at a time can safely stand on the ledge (“safely” being a relative term in this case).


From Hurricane Ledge, Mike and I said “good-bye” to John and Paul. Mike and I then returned to the summit and explored the “upper” plane wreck and the spectacular view from another ledge located about 200 feet from the wreck on the east side of KHP.


By this time, it was nearly 4:30 pm and Mike and I realized that we really needed to leave and return to our cars while there was still light. We crossed the summit one more time, and then descended the north access trail to the Snowmobile trail. From there, we turned left and followed the Snowmobile trail back to where the West Access trail departed. From there, we retraced our steps from earlier in the morning and arrived back at our cars around 6:30 pm.

Mike and I had a great day and the weather was gorgeous – clear skies, low humidity, and temperatures in the 60’s – perfect weather for hiking!

We want to revisit this area in the coming weeks not only to locate the Tory Fort (which eluded us this time), but also to explore the summit of Round Top. As Mike mentioned, anyone interested is welcome to join us.

On Saturday 09/18/2010, Mike and I met up again and redid the West Access Trail. Awesome day! We hiked to the top of Round Top (first time I was ever up there), found the elusive Tory Fort, and explored the area around Kaaterskill High Peak.

My pictures really didn't come out too well. With my lens set on manual many of the pictures came out poor. Your pictures looked great. A couple have told me that they want do do the hike. We'll see.

Mike,

Sorry to hear your pictures didn't come out. Have you tried Photo Shop? If you wish, send me one of the shots, and I'll see what I can do with it. That's great that another couple would like to do the West Access trail. As you know, I'm always up for doing that hike!

Are you still planning to do one of the hikes this Saturday (October 2nd) with the Mountain Top Society? If time permits, I'd like to do the U&D hike.

Take care,
Rich

Most of the pictures are out of focus. Sometimes I hit the switch for manual or automatic focus. And, this is what happens. Photoshop will not help these pictures.

Yeah, we are going to be doing the U&D hike. I hope to sign up today. It would be great to see you there. A pretty easy hike. Done it before.

Oh...before I forget. When we were there on the 18th, a hiker got lost on KHP. I think it was the guy asking where the plane crash was. Seems he called 911 around 5 pm. They dispatched the NYS Rangers. Told him to stay put, but he went down the North Access. Instead of turning right on the SMT, he turned LEFT. Got really lost. His cell phone died, so he couldn't be contacted again. Finally, the Rangers found him.

I thought that it was strange that we didn't see him on our way to the easterly ledge. I think that he might have taken one of the other paths? If he had just waited a minute or two, we could have taken him there.

Mike,

I think I remember who you're talking about. Just to get my bearings, back on our first hike (9/11) we ran into the two guys on Hurricane Ledge who we advised how to bushwhack back to the Plattekill Parking area. It wasn't them.

On our second hike, we ran into the two friendly ladies on Hurricane Ledge. If memory serves, another fellow ascended from the south access right about the time I departed the group to shoot Round Top from that westerly facing ledge. That must be the guy.

You're absolutely right! How did we not run into him? We left Hurricane Ledge shortly after I got back and pretty much followed the exact route he did. It's amazing we didn't catch up with him.

In any event, I'm glad that he is OK. Thanks for sharing that story.

Rich

PS: I should know by Wednesday if I'm free for Saturday. I'll look forward to seeing you. I was tempted by the Slide/Cornell/Wittenberg hike (also on the 2nd), but I think I'd rather go for the history.