Skillz to Hike the Catskills - Episode 2

“LThiker: Initial plan:

Hike into Balsam Lake leanto on a Friday, then early saturday get the summit of Balsam and then bushwack over to Graham and depending on time maybe over to Doubletop, returning to the leanto for saturday night.

--
LT - how far of a hike is it to the Leanto from the trailhead? I have to work that friday, but I could probably check out a little early. Is it short enough for a night hike?”

“it's less than 1 1/2 miles to the lean-to from the trailhead on Beaver Kill Rd. I haven't done any of these peaks, so if it's doable, I will be there. There is a group from Views From the Top doing Graham and Balsam Lake Mt tomorrow (the 31st), so I will be interested in how they make out.

I haven't heard of a route from Graham to Doubletop, so some resarch may be in order. Also, I'll play with my Topo program and come up with some maps.”

“Sounds like Pennsy likes his new toy. Xmas present?

I think the plan right now is very preliminary.
last edited: 12/30/04 5:09:41 PM”

“Definately a Xmas present. I won't be buying any new toys for a while.

This from the Catskills 3500 Club site about Graham:

"Graham is one of four Catskill peaks on private property. There is an old abandoned road to the summit, which is frequently used by snowmobilers in the winter. At the summit there is an old abandoned building that once may have been a weather station or a relay tower. The summit offers an open view to the western Catskills. Best access is from the west using the Dry Brook Ridge Trail from Mill Brook Road and then the abandoned road to the summit. Access is also from Seager and Turner Hollow or via a bushwhack from Doubletop. Since access is across private property, please respect the rights of the landowner so as to help ensure continued access by hikers."

So, perhaps Doubletop is doable. Of course you'll know when you're on Graham staring over at it. I'll snag waypoints and compass bearings as well.”

“Beaver Kill Rd? Lew Beach? That's Banjo country!

Actually I like the area. A Rockefeller (David?) owns most of it & sold some to the rich & powerful with deed restrictions. Some celebs up that way too, but prob more on summer weekends. I've gone that way a few times. Has a nice batch of raspberries in summer. I've cut over to Graham & think (been a long time) that there's an abandoned tower structure on top. I've never cut across to Doubletop but have climbed it from (county47- west branch rd) The Frost Valley YMCA folks kinda claim it for their own (testy) so I try to avoid them.

I did have a rough night bushwhacking from double top in winter over to PW (pine hill-west branch trail). Needed my ice axe & crampons to get down doubletop & then I missed this trail intersection in the dark.

Ended up hiking out thru a gorge. Stood on a HUGE rock & the whole rock started sliding down the hill. All I could think of was being pinned against a tree/rock while hiking alone off the trail. The guy that cut his arm off comes to mind now, though I don't think I'd do that. It would stink to have critters nibbling on ya though.

Anyway, that turned out ok, but a branch snagged my brand new solstice breathable parka hanging off my pack. Had to hike back about a mile or two to find it. Then I hit a gorge to cross. It was a slippery log, so I shimmied across.

I had left my wife a note saying I'd be late, but boy was she pissed when I got home. Said she was 10 seconds away from calling the ranger who lived up the road. The wives & kid were chums and he NEVER would have let me live that down. He's a Lt. on the Canadian border now.

Down the other side of Balsam is a trail that leads to Alder Lake, which belonged to an old railroad tycoon. Forgot his name, but a nice place with free primitive campsites around the lake. It's abandoned but think they're gonna fix it up.

I pulled ANOTHER bonehead stunt there. My wife had cancer (better now) and I just wanted to take a SHORT hike around Alder Lake (you can drive up to it in summer) Don't know if it's plowed or the barricade is open now. Anyway put a hiking addict in the woods & WHO KNOWS what will happen. I should have stopped when I locked my keys in the jeep, but I had that problem before on Lows Lake. Just snapped off the radio antennae & popped it open.

I kept hiking further & further feeding my addiction, ridge after ridge. Then finally, I figured that I'd call my wife, daughter, friend or son-in-law to come get me from Beaver Kill Rd. I knew there was a cell tower in Livingston Manor & had service from the Balsam Lake fire tower.

Wouldn't you know it? NOBODY was home. I should have hiked back thru the woods but thought it would be faster along the road. Big mistake. That blacktop KILLED my feet after hiking all day. The road goes along a stream & I ran out of water & never bothered to bring my filter. Boy was I thirsty.

Then it was a thunderstorm & naturally it was lightning as I crossed open field. Then off in the distance I see a Soda machine (another addiction) at the private fish hatchery. It was like an Oasis. Cheered me right up, but wouldn't take my dollar bill. Think I would have hit it, except for the house there.

Hiked on down to my jeep. The old house was spooky at night but I kept a coke in my jeep so didn't care.”

“you should join us. I was trying to remember you TT name so I could send you an invite.”

“Those are great stories, and I enjoyed reading them. Thanks for sharing.

Banjo country, eh? I hope they aren't the duelin type. This trip could get REAL interestin, especially if we get off the beaten path and end up on some private property.”

“wait a sec ENS. He lives up that way. Ask him if he owns a banjo before you invite him. ;o)”

“Geez, I go to work and find out someone planned a trip for me how nice. lol

This sounds like it could be a fun little trip I hope that there is snow up there then, a couple feet would make it aot more fun.

the location is not written in stone either, it was just the first map I looked at.”

“lol, I got excited. Sorry for the hijack. I'll turn it over to you if you want it.

Snow would be awesome, I want to get some use outta my crampons (but I want to keep my gators in good shape).”

“Hey dudes! Damn - I'll be outta togwn, in Las Vegas on business starting that weekend. I may get a hike in down there - the casinos are lame after one day.

I'll be in the 'dacks Presidents week, skiing Whiteface a couple of days, and day snowshoeing. Stayin' with my kids in a cabin...can't wait!!”

“hey M.spray - sounds like fun!”

“The casinos are lame........PERIOD!!!”

“I honestly wish I was capable of playing a banjo,but I'm not. Zip on musical ability. I did buy a harmonica to play with on the trail (hike alone usually) but never used it.

Some day..... I work horendous hours & never know when my day is going to start or end. My (work) partner is always volunteering us for extra duty. Makes me money. It's a good thing we get along so well because I spend more time with him, than my wife.

Always seem to be in trouble parking on sidewalks in NYC, running tollbooths on the thruway (couldn't believe coxsackie called the troopers on me) or lights.

Anyway we like putting on paper jumpsuits or wearing fit masks. Nothing clears a hallway or road when people see you dressed like that.”

“Pennsy has a harmonica and so do I. If you come we can do a harmonica ensemble. I bet it would be enough to keep all the rodents away and get the dogs howling for miles.”

“Thanks for the invite ENS, but I won't be able to pull it off. Too close to the Ice Fall Ball. Too bad, I used to have an awesome set of pipes to go along with your harmonicas. Air raid siren, AKA Bruce Dickinson. LOL”

“I'll have to see whether I can make this one, but as of now, there is no snow up there whatsoever.

None.

Apparently Friday's rainstorm that reached as far north as the Adirondacks and Southern Vermont melted every existing bit of snow away. Although I'm sure it will be replaced by the time of this trip.”

“Are these trips purposefully scheduled for when I'm in Nashville?”

“lol, you go to Nashville almost every weekend.”

“ENS - unfortuneatly Rotier's was closed when we went out for dinner, had a great burger at Houston's though.”

“Hey you NYers. Any of you have any information or would care to comment on the Shawangunks Ridge Trail? Looking to hike it sometime and just can't find a whole lot of info on it. I know the Long Path Guide covers it.
Thanks.
dniersbach@mhhc.org”

“Thanks for the invitation. I'd love to go if I can swing it. I got a bunch of stuff for Xmas I'd like to try out. GPS, new Gregory pack and Snow Shoes. I'll let you know as the date gets closer.”

“I like the idea that LT came up with. A night hike into the shelter is completeyl plausible. Although it is a steep hike. I won't be getting there until 11ish.”

“The Shawangunk Ridge Trail is a connector trail between the AT at High Point, NJ and the New York Long Path near Wurtsboro, NY. I haven't been that way in a while, but from what I remember of it, it's mostly roadwalks, as the NY-NJ Trail Conference is having trouble obtaining land in that area.

Heading North from Wurtsboro, the Long Path goes up to Sam's Point and Minnewaska State Park before hanging a left across Rondout Valley and into the Catskills. Both are excellent places for day hiking, but there is no legal trail camping (and thus lousy backpacking) anywhere along the Shawangunk Ridge, at least that I know of :(

Hope this helps...”

“Well, it's 7:45am (weds 1-5-05)& snowing in the Catskills.

The Shawangunks (gunks) are nice. Mohonk (fee access) Minewaska State Park have a lot of heavily used trails. Lot of bike riding. The gunks are a plateau that overlook the "plains" looking east. Every now & then small aircraft plow into this cliff & further north on the Catskill Mt escarpment.

The trails are OK. Lots of rattle snakes in the warmer months. Big popular Rock Climbing area. Lots of very deep narrow crevices off trail, so be carefull there. Caves, Mountain Laurel etc.

Take 44/55 thru the New Paltz or off 209 from Wurtsboro or Kingston. I live & work nearby.”

“Everything you always wanted to know about this trip but afraid to ask. Keep in mind that I have never been on this section, and my info is gathered from the Topo program and other sources. The routes and distances I plotted may not be exact, but I think they are pretty close.

Here's the map route. To see all the details, I'd view it at full size.

Trailhead (elev 2535') to the Balsam Lake Mt Lean-to (elev 3500'): 1.35 miles (route marked in red)
The trailhead is located at the end of Beaver Kill Rd near the entrance to the Balsam Lake Club. Follow the blue blazed Dry Brook Ridge Trail .9 miles, and turn left on the red blazed Balsam Lake Mt Trail (route marked in green). The Dry Brook Ridge Trail continues straight (route marked with white dashes). Continue on the Balsam Lake Mt Trail about .4 miles to the lean-to on the left. There should be a spring on the right. The elevation gain from the trailhead to the lean-to is about 1000 ft. The first .9 miles is a gradual climb, but the last .4 miles to the lean-to is very steep.

Lean-to to Balsam Lake Mt Summit (elev 3723'): .37 miles (route marked in green)
Elevation gain is only about 200 ft. Steep just above the lean-to but levels out somewhat towards the summit and lookout tower.

Balsam Lake Mt summit to the herd path leading to Graham Mt: .79 miles (route marked in blue)
it's about a 400ft drop in .6 miles to where the BLM trail meets the blue blazed Dry Brook Ridge Trail. Turn left on the DBR trail and start looking for the herd path in about .2 miles. The path to Graham is supposed to be an old abandonded road frequented by snowmobiles, so hopefully it will be easy to spot.

herd path to Graham Mt summit (elev 3868 ft): 1.67 miles (route marked in yellow)
the route I marked is just a guess as to where the actual herd path is. Hopefully it will be obvious, since it's supposed to be an old road. Elevation gain is around 630 ft, most of it in the last .7 miles.


Graham summit (elev 3868 ft) to Doubletop summit (elev 3860 ft): 1.57 miles (route marked in purple)
again, the route I marked is a guess. There may not even be any herd path at all. It could be a total bushwhack. The col drops to 3000' so it's 800+ ft down and up to Doubletop, and vice versa. I have the waypoint posted below for GPS'ers, and the compass bearing from Graham to Doubletop is 128 degrees.

Total mileage from the lean-to to Graham summit and back is about 5.7 miles. Going to Doubletop and back will add about 3.2 miles, for a 9 mile day. Time of day, conditions etc will decide if that is doable.

Waypoints:

Balsam Lake Mt: 42.04592 N, 74.59404 W, elevation 3721 ft
Herd path to Graham: 42.04708 N, 74.57927 W, elevation 3302 ft
Graham Mt: 42.03926 N, 74.54960 W, elevation 3868 ft
Doubletop Mt: 42.02759 N, 74.52821 W, elevation 3860 ft
compass bearing from Graham summit to Doubletop is 128 degrees.
last edited: 1/06/05 4:55:07 PM”

“Pennsy, what an awesome program! You are now the offical TT Topo Guy. Will this trip require crampons?”

“about the only good thing about being on strike is that I've had time to play with the program.

it's hard to say about crampons. Hopefully, we'll have an idea about trail conditions before the trip. If there is a bunch of snow, perhaps good snowshoes will be good enough. If there isn't much snow, I imagine it would be icy which would probably require crampons. If it's wintry enough up there, I'll probably wear my plastic boots and step-in crampons. If so, I have a pair of strap crampons I could loan out.”

“Hey Phantom and Pennsy...not sure this old guy could handle all this bushwacking but I did Alder Lake to the Balsom Mtn lean to over the summer and loved the area. As the time gets closer I will know better if I can make it, possibly I can at least hook up for one night and part of the hike.”

“We got about 10" of snow Thursday morning in the Catskills. Freezing rain Thurs afternoon at 1750'. Prob more snow in higher elevations. I ended up working in Westchester today, which mostly had rain. Had fun watching the 6-7 cars that passed us by(we drive slow) sliding off the road & spinning around. Don't know why they're in such a rush.”

“Thanks for that info, Cats. I was wondering what kind of weather you got up there. All we got was rain.

Jack - probably the only true bushwhacking will be over to Doubletop from Graham. The route to Graham is supposed to very accessable, and it's not written in stone that we'll try Doubletop. Heck, it's not written in stone that I'll be on this trip, but I'm pretty confidant. I hope you can come along.”

“Pennsy, is it alright if I post that under the trip description? I'll give you the credit. :) Thanks for doing all that research!”

“Sure, go right ahead. YOU take the credit. Then, if the crap hits the fan, they won't come after me. ;o)”

“Pennsy, that route looks really awesome! I think this is going to be a very fun trip. We'll decide on Doubletop after getting Graham based on time and conditions like you said. I hope you can make it. If not, I'll be catching up to you in Catskill Peaks. This trip will give me 10 possibly. If you're still on strike you can ride up with me. I probably won't get there until 10ish though.

How's the strike looking?”

“Wow, look at you and your new toy! I don't think I've ever seen the Catskills portrayed in such a way. In fact, for a second there, I thought this was LZ fooling around with us about the Adirondacks...

Now that being said, exactly which Wilderness is this in? I can't seem to recognize it just by looking at the topo... :(”

“You've got some work to catch me, ENS. I've got 22 of the 35, and after this trip, I'll have 24 or 25. The strike is a month old with no settlement in sight. I'm looking for part time work which is about the only thing that could stop me from this trip.

Souldude - most of this area is in the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest. Part of Doubletop Mt is in the Big Indian Wilderness. Map 42 Central Catskills if you have the set.”

“warm with a lot of ice lately.....I'm not sure if I will be able to attend. If I do it will be a last minute decision. We were up in the Whites over New Years and it was a sloppy mess. I sure hope things start to cool down a bit and freeze up.”

“I'm glad I picked such a great trip and have had so much input into its planning. I hope I can go.”

“Hey Lt - after all the time and effort you put into planning this trip, you really should go. ;o)

Catskhiker said they got 10+ inches of snow up there Thurs, and it looks likes it's either snowing or freezing rain now. The long range forecast looks good. With the exception of some rain this wed, it looks to be cold and snowy the next 2 weeks.”

“btw, Hey Pete - no trip report from your White Mt adventure?”

“awesome Pete, it'd be great if you can mae it. I'm pretty excited about this trip.”

“It's rained today (regular rain, not freezing) as far north as Albany today. If it doesn't cool down and freeze over by the time of this trip (which it still can and hopefully will), this could be one wet and sloppy trip...”

“When will you be getting there PS?”

“Don't know yet (or if I will even be there). Ask again when it gets closer to the trip.

I'll give ya the maybe for now though.”

“Got to work in Brooklyn today. Now THAT was a sloppy mess. Rained all day. Came home to the Catskills about 1:30pm (Sat) and all the tree's were encased in ice. The snow compressed with the rain.”

“Brooklyn is always a sloppy mess, even when the sun is out and it's 70* outside.

So it did ice in the Catskills. Once again, the weather forecast was wrong (like that never happens...)”

“The Catskills has many micro climates for different sections. It also changes drastically with elevation. It can be springtime with the flowers out at work & I'll head home (climbing a mere 1500') to a raging blizzard.”

“Hey what's wrong everyone! Not many people signing up for this trip!

What are you scared of?? Last years Catskills trip was great, I just hoope that we have better luck building a fire this time. I have never sen so many people work for so long with so many firestarters and not get a fire going. Pyro Ice Tea even failed on this trip.”

“I'm really looking forward to this trip. Last time in the Catskills was a blass. This is a hike not yet attempted by TTers and should be a lot of fun. I hope to see more people signed up. It's just a little over a week away.”