Sunday, December 30, 2012

Bare Hill End of Year Short Loop, Wonder Lake

December 30, 2012

Distance: 1.6 miles
Time: 1 hour
Map: Wonder Lake Sometimes printed maps are available at the trailhead.  This is also available as an interactive smartphone app - PDF Maps - which allows you to see your current position on the trail.
Parking: Dirt parking lot off of road. Room for around 20 cars. GPS address: 380 Ludingtonville Road, Holmes, NY
Post hike dinner: n/a

Directions: This is a lollypop hike. Start of hike follows teal blazed Highlands Trail & yellow blazed Bridle Path trail. When trails split, follow yellow blazed Bridle Path Trail to the left (Highlands Trail leaves to the right). Turn right on red blazed Bare Hill Trail, ascend Bare Hill, and continue following the red blazed trail until it ends at the Highlands Trail. Turn right on the Highlands Trail. Continue back to parking lot.

There was lots of snow and we barebooted it. It felt like we were going very, very slow.

Year to date miles 400.9! We met our new goal of hiking 400 miles this year! Happy new year!


This shows the short loop we did, clockwise.
Intersection with the red blazed trail.
I was trying to capture the snow flying around. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was picking up snow and blowing it.
Teal blazed Highlands Trail
Happy End of Year Hike!

Yokun Ridge North Attempt, Lenox, MA

December 30, 2012
Distance: 0.6 miles (intended route was 3.2 miles)
Time: 25 minutes
Map: Yokun Ridge North Guide
Parking: Parking lot on Lenox Road, room for around 6 cars.
Restrooms: None
Post hike dinner: n/a

Directions: Yokun Ridge North Guide
Notes:
Nice view from the parking lot. Burbank Trail starts across the street from the parking lot. We gave up on this hike early on. It was 20 degrees out with 20 mph winds, and snow whipping into our faces. We wore snowshoes, and early on started having to break trail. If it had been less windy, we would have completed the hike.

This hike can be extended by adding on 1.6 miles from Yokun Ridge South Guide,

Year to date miles 399.3

Sign for parking lot.
View from parking lot
Bundled up
Intersection where trail for Monks Pond leaves to the right, Burbank trail goes straight. At this point, we had to start breaking trail.
Yeehaw!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Blackhead Mountain Attempt, Catskills

December 23, 2012
Distance: 5.4 miles
Time: 4 hours 36 minutes
Map: Catskill Trails Map Set
Parking: Snowplow turnaround (don't block), Big Hollow Road. There is a parking lot beyond the snowplow turnaround, but a sign said the road is closed during the winter (starting November 1). There were cars parked there anyways. The walk to the trailhead was about 15 minutes.
Restrooms: None
Notes: Catskill 3500 footer
Post hike dinner: Garden Cafe on the Green, Woodstock

Directions: http://www.catskillhiker.net/Catskill35/peaks/blackhead.shtml
Continue straight along the road. Trailhead for the Black Dome Range Trail is straight ahead. Continue .6 miles. Bear left on yellow blazed Batavia Kill Trail and continue for .9 miles. Turn right on blue blazed Escarpment Trail. Hike 1 mile to the summit.

Note:
From the Catskill Mountainer website:
Blackhead - East access has a 30-40 degree climb near the top for about 100 vertical feet.

This climb at the end is ice! We had microspikes on, but they were not sufficient. We found ourselves in a dangerous situation. We were very close to the summit, but ended up deciding to turn around (see note about 30-40 degree climb!). Going down was much harder than going up. We were sliding down, holding onto tree trunks, because our microspikes couldn't grip. There was a man with 2 boys behind us without microspike/crampons, and they turned around before us (the teenagers were complaining about turning around, but luckily the father had sense). Even so, they were spending a lot of time on their hands and knees. Our dogs found it difficult too. Next time we try this in the winter, we will try the west route, and bring crampons in case they are needed.

Year to date miles 398.7

At the trailhead, there was only a light coating of snow. The trail follows a stream. One of the stream crossings was difficult. It was wide, and very hard to find enough rocks to step on. And the rocks were icy. ACK! I hate stream crossings. Especially in winter.
The beginning of the hike isn't difficult, though the further you get, the steeper it seems to get.
On the blue blazed Escarpment Trail, we started sliding too much, so on went the microspikes.
We didn't take too many photos of views on the way up, but this was one of them. At this point, the hike was tiring, but still doable with microspikes.
One unhappy dog. It might look like snow, but underneath the thin coat of snow, the rocks are covered in a thick layer of ice. There isn't much to hold onto. Trek didn't want to go down.
Glen and Moxie at the top of an ice patch. Again, it looks snowy, but as you can see, Moxie is having a hard time getting down - here she is frantic, trying to find a way down. At one of these icy inclines, I tried hiking down the side, which looked like pure snow - figuring it would be easier. It wasn't. Underneath the snow was ice. My microspikes couldn't get a grip, and I ended up sliding down, hanging onto tree roots going down. It was not fun. The photo doesn't do it justice as to how difficult this was.
Going down, turning onto the yellow trail.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Mossy Glen/Blueberry Run/Long Path/Hamilton Point Loop

December 9, 2012
Distance: 9.1 miles
Time: 3 hours 58 minutes (hiking fast for us)
Map: Shawangunk Trails
Parking: Parking on Route 44/55. Pay $8 parking fee at entrance. We realized today that fees for Minnewaska versus Mohonk are different. Immediately after the parking booth, turn right - don't go straight. Turning right will lead you to the parking lot with the trailhead (versus straight which will lead you to the parking area next to Lake Minnewaska).
Restrooms: Porta potties in parking lot. Nicer restrooms available in non-winter months.
Post hike dinner: Karma Road, New Paltz (vegan)
Directions: Mossy Glen, Blueberry Run, Long Path, Hamilton Point Loop

Notes: This hike is idyllic, even on a cold grey day in December. We saw very few people on the trails until we got to Lake Minnewaska at the end. Before then, we only saw a handful of joggers on the carriage roads. Minnewaska State Park has incredible views. This hike is rated moderate. The carriage roads make for easy hiking. The trails are not difficult either, though there is occasional rock scrambling (we had to airlift Moxie once after she failed to scale an 8 foot wall - what was she thinking???).

The bridge on the Mossy Glen Path is out. Actually, we saw no sign of a bridge. The stream crossing was a little tricky - hiking poles were very helpful.

In the hike description, the trail mentions the aqua blazed Long Path. That section is now blazed orange - 90% of the aqua Long Path blazes are covered in orange.

Year to date miles: 393.3

Portion of the stream crossing
Mossy Glen is a beautiful section of the trail, with large rocks alongside the river.
The rocks are VERY slippery when wet.
Intersection with Blueberry Run Path
Blue blazed Blueberry Run Path
Intersection of Blueberry Run Path and Upper Awosting Carriageway
Turning right onto Upper Awosting Carriageway
Same view as above - trying out zoom feature on my camera
Sign for Rainbow Falls, which we didn't visit. We turned the opposite direction (left) onto the Long Path/Rainbow Falls Trail
Turning left onto the Rainbow Falls Trail/Long Path
The aqua Long Path blazes have been painted over with orange.  Not sure if the Long Path has been re-routed?
Views of the Catskills in the background
Catskills partially in the clouds
This reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree
Trek on top of a rock scramble
Glen climbing onto a ledge
Glen says that is far enough....
Dogs on ledge, Lake Awosting in background
Lynn & dogs on opposite ledge
A family of cairns
Turn left on Hamilton Point Carriageway
Glen testing the echo.
Lake Minnewaska beach
Lake Minnewaska, view near parking lot