| Date | Distance | Time | Elevation Gain | Average Moving Time | Year to Date Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/16/2016 | 7.7 miles | 4 hours 26 minutes | 1,195' | 2.09 mph | 30.4 |
Directions:
From parking lot turn left on Scutt Road.
Turn left on North Lake Road, and look for trail on right.
Follow red blazed Rock Shelter trail.
Cross red blazed Mary's Glen Trail.
Visit Badman Cave.
Turn right on blue blazed Escarpment Trail.
Pass by Newmans Ledge.
Take yellow blazed spur trail to Lookout Rock and Sunset Rock.
Return to Escarpment Trail and turn left.
Pass Artist's Rock.
Pass parking area (unplowed when we were there)
Pass Catskill Mountain House Site
Keep left on the Escarpment Trail when you hit the red blazed trail.
Pass Boulder Rock.
Pass Split Rock.
At intersection of Schutt Road Trail and Escarpment Trail, turn right on unmarked path and visit Kaaterskill Hotel site.
Retrace steps to intersection.
Follow red blazed Schutt Road Trail.
Pass yellow trail on left.
Stay straight an join blue blazed Escarpment trail.
Arrive at parking area.
Notes:
We were happy that the weather cooperated today and we had a 40 degree non-rainy afternoon to get a hike in. We had been to the North South Lake area before and had seen beautiful clouds. We were hoping that with today's weather we would get more of the same, and we did! This is a pretty easy hike with minimal elevation gain. It is very wet though. Today that meant tons of slush, water, and ice. We sometimes fell through ice into water - it was impossible to not get our boots wet. We had sections of solid ice as well. We got by with just microspikes. Crampons might have been helpful in a couple of steep spots, but we did fine without them. In general this hike doesn't have much elevation gain, so the ice was manageable. Really nice hike with lots of views.
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| Parking area |
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| Sign on North Lake Road for start of the Rock Shelter Trail |
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| One of the tricky parts where it was hard to know if you would fall through ice into water. |
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| Solid ice on the trail - we managed to get enough traction on the edge |
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| More solid ice |
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| One of the more slippery descents |
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| This is why I love this area! Hiking above the clouds. |
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| Trek cautiously peering over the cliff |
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| Short spur trail to more great views |
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| One of the hotel sites - where we stopped and spoke to a man who gave us some background on the hotels. |
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| Another of the hotel sites - just a few remains left |
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| Easy trail to the end |
Classic Catskill hike. Love the photos above the clouds!
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