The Catskills

Vinnie and I went for a hike in the Catskills this week.  It was my first time there and Vinnie's second.  He hiked something called the Devil's Armpit or some such dramatic nonsense in what sounds like a fittingly biblical flood.  The Escarpment Trail that we hiked this time was one of the most challenging trails I've been on.  Between the rocks, the humidity, the rocks, the elevation change, the rocks, the heat, and the rocks, it was pretty... wait for it... rocky. 

How the heck am I going to get all this stuff in my backpack.

So happy and ignorant.  No rocks here.  This is gonna be an easy hike, huh, Vinnie?  Vinnie, why are you laughing?  It's just 10 miles to Blackhead Mountain.

Camp one.  "Newt Camp"

Sweet olde school trail markers.  The trails were really well marked and nicely rustic.  For those who're familiar with mountain biking, the trails were rarely wider than single track.  Pretty impressively overgrown for such a popular park.

The two camps we stayed at had lean-tos.  We were pretty concerned about this situation, but the campers were quiet, kept to themselves, and didn't bother us.  They all had their own axes and several of them had the same backpacks.  Not sure if they were working the trails or just some weird adult scouting club or something.  Anyway, they went to bed early, hung their bear bag away from camp and were quiet.  Did I mention they were quiet... it was a concern they wouldn't be.  But they were. 

The main reason we stayed at established campsites, besides a fear that they might be the only places sans rocks (turns out there were at least two other rock free places on the trail), was because they were the only places on the whole trail with access to water.  This is the extra wide, relatively rock free trail down to the spring next to "Newt Camp".

Water for dinner.

Dinner.  It was a burden on the uphills, but I brought fresh summer squash and some summer sausage (some fresh from Erik's father in law's deer camp) to add to the rice and beans.  It's such a luxury to have a good tasting hot meal at the end of the day.

Vinnie built a ridiculous fire that didn't burn out until the second time I got up and out of the tent to extinguish it.

It is also a luxury to have hot toddies at the end of the day.  Vinnie approved.

Breakfast.  Cowboy coffee and oatmeal with blueberries and cranberries.  Also cinnamon.  Vinnie is really into cinnamon right now.

Another part of the trail that was not terribly rocky.

Amazing fungus.  Possibly Discina perlata.

Big hike, day 1.  

This backpack and nalgene have seen more miles than I know.  Nice that we're all still going.

.2 miles from the second night's campsite.  Am I happy?!

There's a story here that's too long to tell in detail.  The short of it is we got into camp to find a family of eight sprawled all over the campsite, leaving Vinnie and I to pitch the tent on a small square of grass below a no camping sign.  No kidding.  They decided to hike out rather than hike on.  The 12 miles had been too much the day before.  We both felt for them as there were two young girls, a bunch of brothers in their 20s and 30s, and parents in their 50s or so.  I'm really impressed they made it as far as they did.  I was sorry they couldn't make it, but it was nice to be able to move our tent to a functional campsite.  After that, Vinnie laid down in the lean-to for a bit and I walked down a side trail to the only real river I saw on the trail.  The water was so cold it made my bones ache, but man did it feel good on my feet and knees. 

A blurry picture of a butterfly that kept me company for awhile.

Amanita frostiana.  Not edible.

This was the meal of the trip.  Black beans and rice, green summer squash, Len's venison summer sausage and some fresh wood laurel from around the campsite.  Out. Standing.

Note the smaller wood on the fire on night two.

Carved this for Vinnie.  The stick, not the axe head.

Chillin' by the fire on a windy evening

Some altitude gain on day three.  We opted to hike the remaining 12 miles on the third day since the thunder and lightening were certainly coming on Thursday.  We gained about 1000 feet in the first mile to find the peak of Blackface Mountain... the high point of our trip.

Probably the low point of whatever trip this was.  Haven't looked it up yet, but it certainly put my aching knees into perspective.

Speaking of perspective.

And here's the trail.  Full disclosure, we took "Out #2" to avoid 7 additional miles of hiking on slick rocks in thunder and lightening.  I'll defend the decision all day.

I kid you not, Sarah was making pizza when I walked in the door.  As any hiker knows, pizza and a cold drink are the topics of conversation after day two.  Great time.  Great to be home with my girl and my animals.