Trout Pond, Catskills

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/21/2018	4 miles				51.1

Map: NYNJTC Western Catskill Trails, Map 144
Parking: Campbell Brook Road, on the shoulder
Directions: Hike southbound to Trout Pond. Turn around and head back to the parking area.

We had warm weather today and were able to head out to the Catskills. We woke up really early, but still didn't get there until around 11 am. Our low tire pressure light was on in our car, so we had to deal with that before we headed out. The drive to the trailhead was on roads that I think were gravel roads - they were plowed, but not snow free. I was glad we have 4WD and snow tires. Parking in the winter is always like rolling the dice. Luckily, the shoulder of the road was plowed enough that there was room for 2 cars to fit in. We parked, crossed the street and signed the trail register. The trail north of the road wasn't broken at all. We were heading southbound. We started off barebooting it. Some snowshoers had already been there, so the trail was packed enough that we weren't postholing. We had worn microspikes yesterday, and for both of us, they make our feet sore after a while. Today there was ice under the snow - sometimes hard, thick ice, and sometimes thinner ice that you could fall through. I decided to wear snowshoes pretty early on. Glen held out, but had to give in when we were hiking uphill and he was sliding on the ice under the snow. Microspikes would probably have been easier than snowshoes, but I wasn't feeling like wearing my microspikes due to my feet being sore from yesterday's hike. Hiking was slow, but was actually faster than our Harriman hike yesterday.

There were a number of blowdowns on the trail. I'm interested in adopting a trail (i.e. trail maintenance), so nowadays when I do a hike, I am thinking about whether it would be a section I'd like to maintain. After most of the blowdowns, the trail was packed down by snowmobile tracks. That had the benefit of making a wider packed trail than the snowshoers made. We got to Trout Pond and checked out the trout ladder. No trout swimming upstream today. My feet ended up soaked on this hike! I was wearing my Lowa Renegades which are no longer water resistant at all. A couple of years ago I had bought Salomon winter boots, but they squeeze my soles too much. I really, really need to find new winter boots but I'm struggling. I'd prefer some with more rubber on the bottom, and less leather. After the weekend, I ordered 2 different styles of Merrell winter boots. They were both toasty, but they squeeze my toes too much. Luckily I figured that out in my house, not on the trail, so I can still return them. I'm wondering if men's boots are wider. I might need to take a trip to Campmor or REI to see if I can find anything.

Small pullout for 2 cars

The trail going the other way hadn't been broken yet.

Trout Pond shelter

Trout Pond