Impressive hike for a preteen?

“My wife and I are having my brother-inlaw stay with us for the summer, he is 12. His parents are divorced and he is going through a really tought time. He has not had alot of outdoors experience, his fathers idea of camping is staying at a motel instead of a Marriot resort. I really think that getting him exposed to the outdoors would do him alot of good.
He will come to our house in CT in May after school lets out and stay with us until Sept. Like I said the outdoors are new to him, he has no equipement for backpacking. I will buy him some boots and a pack, the rest of the gear will be some of my old stuff.

Anyone have any recommendations for some great experience hikes that are not to hard. Maybe not too far from the trailhead. But will give him the wow factor?”

“How far are you from the Catskills? There is a book called Hikes for Children in the NY-Hudson Valley area that includes Catskills and Harriman. Some of them seem like great hikes with waterfalls, lakes etc.”

“Lt - Lyndy said it. You should definitely drag him to the Catskills. There are countless shorties there - little effort for much reward. Kaaterskills Falls is a pitifully short hike, but the falls are really something to see! For a great walk with camping options, take him to Overlook Mountain, via the Devil's Path. There is a decent leanto just a mile or two in, at the Devil's Kitchen. From there, you could dayhike to the Mountain House ruins and/or Echo Lake.

I believe it is accessed via Saugherties off of the thruway, if I remember correctly.

Good luck!”

“Maybe the trail maintenance wouldn't be such a good idea for him, eh Lt?”

“Thanks, I was thinking about the Catskills, probable car camp with him at first then try an overnighter. Katterskills falls is a great place, so is overlook.

I am really looking forward to this summer with him. He is a great kid, unfortunetly he is really getting a raw deal. Without going into too much detail his mom works full time and his dad is in jail. So he does not have any good male role models. Not that I am a perfect role model but I think I am better than what he has.
Does anyone know if EMS rents kids packs and gear?

I was thinking about the family car camping trip in MD but it is just too far away.”

“Might be good for him to do some hard work Treebeard. Make him sleep good at night. Got lots of projects for him this summer. He has never even cut the grass.”

“Lt, if you can make that trip, it may be just perfect for him. There are going to be a lot of kids there and of ages that he will probably relate to. this one might be worth considering if you can swing getting there...”

“"family car camping on MD", and you are worried about a bad influence???”

“I'll check the dates again. Thanks”

“Don't underestimate kids. My nephew and two of his buddies did Katahdin when they were 9 or 10. They did the knife edge for the first time the following year. Pretty much they're into bragging rites and farting contests rather than views. :)”

“Ice Tea shouldn't you be in class? MD is Maryland, maybe you should attend geograph as well as spelling.”

“Lt, I know I sounded facetious there, but I was originally thinking about the trail maintenance but thought different after you said you didn't want it to be too hard. But, maybe this would be good. You and he are most definitely welcome...”

“I am still planning on this trip, I was hoping to get somemore people to go as a weekend trip and then meet up with you on sunday. Maybe start at Devils Tombstone on Sat and hike to the lean-to then backtrack to meet up with you on Sunday Morning. He won't be here until after that trip.”

“Cool, Lt. You also asked about a possible ride on Sunday, i believe? If you need it, discuss it with us and we will work something out...”

“LT, did you email corp yet?

they were interested for the overnight!”

“That depends on what happens. I might just park where you are going to park and hike up to the lean-to for a solo on Saturday. That is if no one else want to hike with me. I feel so alone.”

“Maybe Corp Nasty will be interested. Didn't Dare say he night go too??”

“LT, you may have to park elsewhere on Sat. we only are allowed to park a couple of cars for the day. this is a new trail, and the only parking is on private prop.”

“night = might”

“The AT in Connecticut, NY and Massachusetts has some nice spots for hiking and backpacking. You might consider trying a series of hikes, so he can "hike the whole state" over the summer. Sages Ravine was really pretty, and the climbs up Bear Mountain, Graymoor, etc. in Mass. were good challenges. I would make sure that there is some water along the way to play in -- i.e. Bear Mountain/Harriman Parks in NY, or High Point in NJ - so the experience is a mixture of hiking and swimming, with time to play. Or find a place with rocks to climb, for a break.

And as others have said, don't underestimate him. If he likes the outdoors, he will probably outhike you. And if he doesn't, it won't matter where you take him, he'll drag. I know a couple of 8 year olds who have hiked the Long Trail -- very hard, but they enjoy the challenge.”

“LT, do you have any ideas for Dates yet?


Mapleleaf(password hell)”

“No dates yet I think I am just going to play it by ear and see what he is into.”

“I was dragged kicking & screaming into the Taconics on the Mass, Conn & NY border but had a very nice 9 mile hike. June would prob be nice for the mountain laurel.”

“Thanks Cats, I think a short backpacking trip would be good for him. I am really leaning towards the Overlook doen to the lake, or maybe panther to giant ledge.”

“we did the Overlook last year. very cool! great view, ruins of an old hotel, nice and easy(for the most part) hike and last but not least, is the fire tower. that in its self is worth it.
yes, I think that would be a great first hike for him.
treebeard has not gone backpacking in years, and this is the same route that I want to take him.”

“Maybe we could make it a weekend.”

“even an overnighter. thats what we did.”

“LtHiker - you said "Not that I am a perfect role model ..."

You sound pretty good to me.

dawn”

“Thanks Dawn!”

“Lt, why don't you choose a hike from the CT walk book or from the 50 hikes in CT? Get him started in CT and then work him up to the Catskills.

There are a number of fun hikes in CT that will give him the wow that you are looking for.”

“Overlook is strait up an old road to ruins & radio tower. Stay out of the quarries. Echo lake has a lean-to & radio tower above it in the distance. Panther Mt tuckered me out one early spring when it warmed up about 2pm. I broke thru the snow up to my waist with every other step & had no snowshoes with me. Finally I made some out of balsam branches & parachute cord (always handy stuff)to get off the top. Next morning the ground was re-frozen & I booked.”

“Mad River, I will take him on some day hikes in the Cockaponset State Forest to break him in. It is right outside my backdoor.

Cats, this will be a summer hike probably not until late June of July. I hope the snow is gone. What is wrong with the Quarries? Rattlesnake tastes like chicken.”

“I ate a Rattler in a stew once. It did taste like chicken...”

“It is a Bytch when you get the rattles stuck in your teeth.”

“lol. yeah and next time we should take the skin off...


j/k”