Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 5 hours 7 minutes
Map: Catskill Trails Map Set
Parking: See directions link
Restrooms: None
Notes: Catskill 3500 footer
Post hike dinner: Garden Cafe on the Green, Woodstock
Directions: Rusk
Spruceton trail, cross bridge, leave trail at the hairpin turn.
From there it is a bushwhack.
This was our 3rd Catskill bushwhack, and our first challenging one.
It can best be described as blood, sweat, and bugs.
We used our compasses & didn't do too bad at finding the summit.
GPS was used to help find the canister.
This was an ideal time to go - no snow on the ground, and the nettles were still tiny & didn't bother us at all.
However, we did get scratched up a lot from thorny bushes.
We didn't find a herd path (supposedly there is one).
Our route up was very steep.
Footing was often difficult - lots of unstable rocks, dead trees that we tried to hold onto for balance, mossy rocks, etc. Lots of falling down.
Knees were sore after this one.
Bugs were out like crazy - I ate many.
Positives - the dogs loved the stream we followed during half of the hike.
I really wanted to stop at the end and soak my feet in my stream, but whenever we stopped, the bugs swarmed us.
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| I'm ready for an adventure! |
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| Wide Spruceton Trail, crossing bridge. |
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| We've just left the trail at the hairpin turn. Time to navigate.... |
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| Glen climbing up the mountain, using his hands. Steep! |
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| There were plenty of wildflowers on this hike. So many that sometimes you end up stepping on them (I felt bad about that). |
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| Looking behind us |
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| Glen negotiating the brush. |
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| Moxie under an interesting rock formation |
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| Moxie waiting for Glen. Another example of thick brush. The dogs had an easier time than the humans on this hike. |
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| A happy sight! Summit canister. |
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| Glen signing it at canister register. |
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| Lynn, Moxie, Trek summit photo |
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| How do we get through this brush? |
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| View heading down the summit |
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| Woodpecker holes |
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| At times we tried hiking along dry stream beds. Fewer bushes, but the rocks were very unstable. |
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| Back to the very wide Spruceton trail. How civilzed it felt! |
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| Signing out at the trail head. |
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| Battle scars. I look like I was attacked by a wild animal after this hike.
Year to date miles: 130.7
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