New Years in the Catskills?

“twigeater-
Easy little trip, huh?

That wouldn't be down the garden path now would it?”

“no really, 4.2 miles to a bunkhouse on snowmobile packed trails. Hardly worth the time it takes to drive there.

o(:{”

“Santartex - do you have an email address I could send a message to about the trip?”

“Although it appears the Thruway goes North after Albany, it actually turns west there. Continuing North at Albany means getting off at exit 24 & getting onto the Northway (to Canada & Adirondacks)

Exit 19 on the NYS Thruway is at Harriman & turns into Route 17 (which is slowly being changed into Interstate 86). Exit 19 (on the second exit to Glens Falls) is actually on the Northway & not the NYS thruway.”

“The ranger you met in the Catskills is probably Pat Rudge. A very nice knowledgeable lady ranger who gave me a long talk about climbing Peekamoose (many moons ago) in the dead of winter without crampons.”

“Twinkles - yes, email me at artex_ny@yahoo.com.”

“twigeater-
I think its about 750 mile from B'more to B'xter......yeah, I think I'll take my four-day weekend, Jan 17-20, in West Virginia.....my own little FYAO trip.
I WILL see you and the rest of the wackos end of Feb.

catshiker-
Thanks for the geography.
The location of the Catskills was a mystery.
I must go there in the new year and whip up on those bad cats.”

“The Catskills are my favorite although water gets scarce in the summer. I love to Bushwhack, but there are rattlesnakes/Copperheads. Usually never see them on the trail. The trails are rocky, but bugs aren't too bad.

The Adirondacks are very nice too, but buggy. I especially like to canoe & portage long distances there. You have them to yourself if you stay out of the High Peaks (rocky)area. Much nicer in the other areas, no snakes outside the hudson & champlain valley & the trails are soft.”

“Thanks for the warning Tommy T! ;o)

Are fires banned up on Slide? If we're going to bring in the new year up there, it would be nice to have a fire going.”

“Can I go?”

“Thats a cheap imitation of a fiddle if I've ever seen one.”

“You can have a fire up to 3500' feet. The top of slide is above that mark.

While Slide is the highest mountain in the Catskills, it is fairly easy to get to. The elevation climb isn't that great. Views are restricted by balsams. The valley behind slide is like another world showing a valley & 5 trailess mountains.

Keep going & Wittenberg opens up onto a view of the Ashokan (NYC) reservoir.”

“I know that camping above 3500' is prohibited except in winter, but I wasn't sure about fires. A fire on New Year's Eve would be great.

I've got some photos of Slide on my photo album from my April trip on the Wittenburg-Cornel-Slide trail.

Wittenberg-Cornel-Slide Photos”

“The 4 trailess mountains that I like are between Cornell & Peekamoose. They're Friday, Balsam Cap, Rocky & Lone. I hiked up the Neversink River & climbed Slide from the back. That was a little treacherous in winter. I was happy to see the balsams until I had to fight my way thru them. Ran into a den of Rattlers on Terrace Mt nearby in warmer weather.”

“Would you guys want to consider an alternate plan so we can have a fire? I agree, a warm fire would be nice. What do you guys think? I'm flexible.”

“How about Times Square??

Nah, you couldn't pay me to put up with that chaos.

I'm flexible also, but nothing comes to mind right now. Btw - I'm pretty sure about getting out of work at 11 on the 31st.”

“Hey Santa - when is your brother coming in? Are you sure you can't get away tomorrow? I'm probably going to leave early and get to the Devil Path's trailhead on 214 at 7am.

I might do a loop including Hunter peak, Colonel's Chair, and Diamond Notch. Depending on conditions, this could be a day-hike. It rained today so I don't know what it will be like tomorrow. It's definately an improvisational hike.”

“I thought about coming up and maybe doing a dayhike with you.. my brother dosen't fly in until late. But I got too much crap I gotta take care of before he gets here. Have a blast though. Drop me an email when you get back.”

“Any ideas about alternate locations yet Santa, or just stick to the originial Slide spot, but with no fire?”

“how about finding a spot where we can incorporate a view and a fire.....just a thought.”

“How about Echo Lake? Great scenery, we could have a fire, camp right near the lake.... whadda ya guys think?”

“This trip is now posted in the new Trip section, FYI.”

“I've never been there but it sounds good to me.”

“im there guys........i replaced my crampons, and im at full strength, Artex, I dunno about rides and all, but I may need to get a ride with you mate, no worries, gas and laughter is on me mate.....”

“You guys may need snowshoes for this. They’re saying 1 – 2 feet of snow is possible at my house on Christmas day into Thursday. The Catskills are just a little northeast of me.”

“Six inches on the southern Sullivan/Ulster corner of the Catskill Park (1700') at 2:30pm”

“I was up on Hunter last weekend before this snow and could have used snowshoes (the dummy left em behind), so I bet they will be in order for New Year's.

What's the final verdict of snow fall in the 'Skills and Dacks, anybody know?”

“I bet they got a good amount. I have 20 inches at my house.”

“We received between 20-30" (varying elevations/locations)in the lower corner of the Catskill Park at 1700'. They claim Slide Mt. received 17". Generally Liberty/Parksville/Neversink get hit & usually sites along the Hudson River Valley on up fare better.”

“Check out some recent Catskills trail reports at "Views From The Top"...

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/

Besides snowshoes, be sure to bring strong legs and pain relievers.”

“Unforunately, it looks like there'll be a lot of rain over New Years Eve and New Years up in the Catskills. Not snow, but rain, and pretty good amounts of it. If this is the case, I may not be going. If it were to just snow, I'd totally welcome it. But rain, and when it's cold, that's no fun.”

“oh well, Lets plan another1 soon enough, with a lil ice climbing during the day....top rope, and all the fun stuff, hey....anyone hear from Corporal nasty?”