Catskillmountaineer.com Forum

Today we headed up the Batavia Valley and parked at the end of the road in the DEC PA. We headed up the trail. We had a chance to cross the two new bridges on the creek. Both were ruined by Hurricane Irene last August 2011. We then headed up the trail to Lockwood Gap. The trail is rocky, but most of the rocks are flat so they didn't shift around a lot. Always enjoy the switchbacks below Lockwood Gap. We then headed up the trail to Black Dome. On the trail up the hill to Black Dome requires a few difficult sections. Nothing terrible, but there is a little bit of a challenge. When we got to the top of the climb we were rewarded with some very nice views. Today was a perfect day out in the woods. We had a nice breeze and a clear day with good views.

We then headed up to Black Dome. Took in some views at the view point just past the summit. We then headed over to Thomas Cole. Thomas Cole doesn't have any views. From time-to-time, you can get a quick and limited view through the leaves. We then headed back. We stopped for lunch around the summit of Black Dome. We then headed down. We ran into some kids who were "running" up the trail late in the afternoon.

We had a great day hiking in the Catskills. Here are some pictures:


New bridge


another new bridge


More Hurricane Irene damage


View of Blackdome


View of the Hudson Valley


Capra Lake with Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top in the background


Blackhead Mountain


Panoramic view of Blackhead Mountain and Hudson Valley


Capra Lake (left) and Colgate Lake (right) from the view point on Black Dome

Nice shots I like the vertical ones with the mountains and you can still see the ground.

Very nice pics! I don't think I have been to this view spot? Where exactly is it? Love how the clouds in the picture really bring it alive. I agree with Jon, the vertical ones with the ground showing are the best ones.

No owls this week Mike?

This is a new view spot. It is right near the top. Pretty big ledge, so you don't want to fall off.

No owls, but we were looking. Might be some Saw-Whet Owls there. Plenty of rodents.

Great shots. I hiked Blackhead, Blackdome and Thomas Cole at the end of April. My friend who did the hike before didn't remember that view point either.

Thanks for the report. I plan on hitting the blackhead range on Saturday with some friends. Hopefully we get in more than one peak.

You want to start as early as you can in the morning. 5-6am if possible. The heat tomorrow will be awful. It is also suppose to be a little windy which will help with heat, but evaporation will be an issue. Bring LOTS of water. There is a covered Spring part way up. It is going to be hazy this weekend, so an early start might give you some views. By afternoon, it will be very hazy. Oh...have FUN!

I hiked last Thursday and it was pretty warm (90's). Started at like 9am and wasn't too bad until the early/mid afternoon which was on the way back and going down so not too bad. I'm having everyone bring 4L of water and we'll top off at the spring when we go by on the way up; hoping to be on the trail by 8-8:30.