Catskills, Prezzie's weekend

“I have only just begun to make trouble.... Mooo ha he hee hee ho ho
(can't even sound skeery when I'm feeling this impish....)”

“Got the map today Mr.Pete. Along with my food, and the necessary crap to concoct my first batch of muscle jerky.”

“Muscle Jerky? what's dat? BTW what time miss Amy are we getting together at Denning? Buddur what way are you coming up? rt 84 to Port Jervus?”

“Muscle jerky?!? I skeert! =:0

Buddur, Pete, and the rest of you catslackers!!!

I started an e-mail list dialogue just for you guys and got one reply. ONE! (ok two, but one wasn't really relevant to the subject at hand...lol)
...can we mebbe post the details there? pleeease

Men...sheesh, cannot follow directions...grumble grumble...sigh

Thanks!
>smooches<
;o)”

“Pete...I'll be coming from I-80 to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, and taking 52 through Carbondale to the PA/NY border to Liberty. Then 55 to 19 to Denning. Past Denning to the end of the road (Trailhead hopefully). Is that the spot ya'll are parking at too...should I park elsewhere?

If I leave on Fri by 8am, I sould be there by 4pm (assuming ~8hr drive). I just may leave Thurs night, sleep on the road, and arrive early enough on Fri so I won't be hiking in the dark.

AmyG...sorry no response on the Email. I'll make ya a shmore to make up for it!”

“Yeah...I bought a slab of fresh uncooked flesh yesterday and had the butchur slice tha bloody muscle into thin strips. Marinated it overnight, put it in the dehydrator this morning, and the house smells just delectable. Hope it turns out tasting as good as it smells.”

“ewwww, muscle jerky?!? shivers =:0

Buddur, I hope to be up there before dark Friday eve too...we'll have to exchange numbers and see if we can coordinate times.
...only if ya bring the s'mores, of course. ummmmm, chocolate!”

“oh yeah-

not to belabor the weather issue or nuttin' but I wanna make sure everyone is prepared...

Friday
Cloudy with a chance of rain/snow.
Lows in the mid 20s and highs in the upper 30s.

Saturday
Partly cloudy with a chance of sprinklesflurries. Lows in the upper 20s and highs in the upper 30s.

Sunday
Chance of snow showers. Lows zero to 15 above. Highs in the 20s.

Monday
Partly cloudy. Lows 10 below to 10 above. Highs in the 20s”

“Here's a bookmark link for the local weather.

I tasted the jerkey already and...ummmm...well...the taste is...ahhh...it's kind of like...damn, it doesn't taste all that good when yer tongue first hits it!

Sounds good AmyG wrt meeting somewhere Fri and hiking in together. Email me and maybe I'll respond back to ya!”

“Drats! I likes that chilly weather!! Hate to miss the very first Yankee ECT, but y'all will be my thoughts! Or at least AmyG will be, hehehe.”

“Catskills ain't no place for a warm hearted Naked Ape. LOL. I wont be leaving Bethlehem PA until at least 5pm so I will be walking by the lite of the silvery moon. I must say though that I have this seminar presentation due on Tuesday and I have been real tardy on getting it going.
I should be ok but there is a chance that I may have to bail out on this one. It definitly will be a last minute deal but I will keep all informed.”

“Now THAT sounds like my kinda TEMPS!!!! I wish I could go!”

“The weather forecast is lookin' SWEEEEEEEET!”

“Three more days!!!

I am positively giddy!

da bettah weatha checkah heeyah

;o)
gigglegigglegiggle”

“I am planning to do Rocky from Denning, probably along with Lone and Table mountains on Saturday or maybe on Sunday. Anybody else thinking about Rocky?

Rocky is infamous for being the least accessible of the Catskills high peaks, requiring the longest bushwhack, at least half a mile through very dense spruce. It may be a bit easier to navigate in the winter and blowdowns are less of a problem due to the snow depth.”

“Sounds like a plan, hem.

Denning to Table > Peekamoose and back > Lone > Rocky > Balsam > Friday > Cornell > Whittenberg and back > Slide.

Sound like a hardcore plan?...does to me! Looks easy on paper, but I'd be up to try it.”

“I am only thinking of one day hike - Rocky - Lone - Table - back to Denning. That would be about 12 miles from Denning parking area
(about 10 from your base camp) with about 2300' elevation gain. This is harder than it sounds. On the trailless peaks,
it would be hard to do even 1 mph through the thick spruce/balsam above 3000'. The summits are also hard to find.

The plan you suggest is easy for day 1 and 3, but exceptionally hard for day 2 (4 trailless peaks plus Cornell, Wittenberg *and back* in one day).
A more even itinerary for 3 days could be something like this:

1. Table-Peakamoose-Lone and back via Table.
(Option to skip Lone to make it easier.)

2. Rocky-Balsam Cap-Friday and back
(Option to skip one peak if too hard.)

3. One-way hike over Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg with car shuttle.”

“I agree hem...I especially wouldn't want to do the hike with a winter pack on my back! I'd rather "set up camp somewhere, and dayhike the next day" type of trip.

Anyways, I'm a follower on this trip...so far!”

“take plenty of pics”

“One more thing about the trailless peaks in this area. Lone-Rocky-Balsam Cap-Friday don't get too much traffic, so there may not be any broken paths. Snowdrifts of 3-4 feet are not unusual, so snowshoes are absolutely essential, particularly since fresh snow is expected. Goggles are also recommended for eye protection in the dense woods.”

“Table to Peekamoose to Lone sounds like a great plan for Sat. We can bushwhack a loop, it would seem...with maybe one obstacle being a crossover of Donovan creek. hmmmmmm

I am keeping my itinerary open, pending snow conditions there...
An unbroken trail is farrr preferable for snowshoe'n. If Phoenicia is a super-highway of post-holes, I'd just as soon do some whackin' instead. :o)

hittin' the trail, yeeehaw!

Gettin' close now!”

“With my dog...I'm always ready to snuggle.

Watched a show tonight about the "Storm Of The Century" in '93 earlier tonight. Hope we get some white stuff, but not as much as then. (got stuck in SW NC's mountains for 3 days during the storm) Snow sounds much better than icy trails!”

“Bushwhacking down from Lone may be a good alternative to returning via Table,
unless it is late in the day. The creek crossings should not be a problem. They may be completely frozen or have only minimal flow. You would have a good idea of what to expect, by looking at the Neversink East branch right at your base camp.”

“Weather update:

Friday-

Cloudy early in the morning - then snow, possibly mixed with sleet and freezing rain developing late in the morning. Highs near 30. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.

Friday Night-

Snow until a little after midnight...then cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s.

Saturday-

Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow flurries. Highs in the mid 30s.

Sunday-

Mostly cloudy. Lows in the teens and highs in the upper 20s.

Monday-

Cloudy. A chance of snow. Lows near 10 above and highs near 30

Looks like temps are slightly rising above what was first predicted...snow is a'coming! whoohooo! gooooood times...

Hem, are you meeting up with us on Sat. for some dayhiking? Drop me a line.

AmyGiddyGirl ;o)”

“"I'd just as soon do some whackin' instead." ---> AmyG

LOL I her'd dat!”

“wow, Nekkid, ya nailed me on that one! ;o)

I bet yer sorry dat ya won't be coming...

moohahahaaaa

ok, somebody take away my login until I get back...pleeease? I am outta control! hehehee”

“I'm leaving @ 8am sharp (w/ any luck) and should be at the trailhead by 4pm (w/ more luck)...fer anyone who cares!

Don't anyone leave me whackin'!”

“Buddur-

Give yerself plenty of time...you may hit some weather en route. The road to the trailhead is backcountry and windy...watch fer dear, etc. "yes mom"

I am leaving right after my class...hope to be up there, weather permitting, by 5(or at least by dark). Gweed scoped it out up there today and stashed some firewood...plenty of snow, we are good to go! yay!

Meet ya at the lean-to! wink wink

Pete, I hope yer planning on taking 209 up...that stretch of 80 that skirts NYC is gonna be crawling tomorrow(holiday weekend clusterfuuun). =:0

See ya'll soon!”

“I was iffy for this trip, now I'm officially going to have to bale.

Reason: My boss is an ass.

Sorry, I really look forward to meeting some of y'all face-to-face, and you guys are going to be very close. Hopefully sometime soon.. :-(

You guys have a great time, and stay safe!”

“I was iffy for this trip, now I'm officially going to have to bale.

Reason: My boss is an a$$.

Sorry, I really look forward to meeting some of y'all face-to-face, and you guys are going to be very close. Hopefully sometime soon.. :-(

You guys have a great time, and stay safe!”

“Can I get a confirmation from anyone where this lean-to is?

From what I gather from the map, head up Denning Rd trailhead, and take the R trail (to Table Mtn) when it forks, and the lean-to is ~1/4 mile up the trail and near the stream location. Is this correct?

Thanks for the firewood Gweed...I'll make sure one is kicking when ya'll get there...unless someone beats me to it!”

“Buddur,
You have it right. There are very good signs on all trailheads and junctions of marked trails in Catskills. You should have no trouble. The leanto is "in the middle of the river" (between two forks).”

“Buddur...the directions I sent to you in an e a few days ago are correct. The firewood is actually stashed in a secret place near the trailhead - hence the gear sled(cross your fingers). I should meet up with you at the lean not too far behind though, fear not. ;o)

Hem - Re: your e-mail
the Sat gig sounds good to me...see ya for coffee-time! :o)
(if you arrive late due to weather, we should be easy enough to track...ahh, who we kiddin', we'll still be there)

Sorry you can't make it Artex...next time.

Still on:
AmyG
Buddur and his person
Gweed
SirPete - still on, as far as I know
Hem - Sat dayhike
Feeney and D - Sat night arrival
MSilver and Sparky ^..^ -Sunday”

“You better believe dat hunnypie, I nailed ya onced already, tis a GRAND shame that I cannot be there to do it all over again!!!!!!!!!! I don't feel so good now.


I go to bed now.”

“Yall have fun this weekend! And don't be lettin sirpete start sayin stuff like "Yall Dang Yankees". Ya might need to remind him he ain't in the south no more. hehehe. Don't be a lettin him eat grits fer breakfast either. And one more thang, Don't rib him to much about having only one arm. He'll know what mean if ya ask him about it. hehehe”

“School's OUT!!!

C-yaaaaaaaa!

>:D <--happy girl now!”

“We're back!

Woah, whatta weekend it was! Brrrrrrrrrrr

Gooood times!
Trip report(s) soon...
feel free to chime in, guys

Everybody showed that said they would, except Pete(we thought we might find his frozen corpse on the way out Monday, but...) - ok, an exaggeration, but we did have some concern when he didn't show and we hadn't heard anything.

We took lots of pictures! The snow covered woods and iced branches were the perfect winter scene...we also had the nicest campsite spot, thanks to buddur, near a charming section of partially frozen creek.

All in all, a great trip. More soon...
my fingers are still thawing.
;o)”

“Sounds,peaceful! Did you find your firewood? Yo bear! I was there in spirit!Sir Pete? Where are you!Get out of that bag and post!”

“Glad it was a great trip. I imagine that you either base-camped, or at least spent one night in Denning Holler (the reference to the frozen creek). It's a beautiful place of uncharacteristically (for the 'skills) mature hemlock, beech, birch forest (scattered "abies balsamea" reaching up through the shadows). If you're planning, get the weather for Claryville; notice it's a good 10 degrees colder than, say, Hunter: This is the Siberia of the 'skills. And the Holler itself gets very little sunlight in the winter, while subjected to the creeping nighttime drafts from the surrounding high country... Brrr! Of course, this micro-climate makes for an ideal summer destination. I'll be there myself sometime during the week before Easter.If you basecamp in the Holler there are many options including on or off trail excursions: Follow the unmarked trail (faint in places, and especially hard to negotiate when you reach the spruce thickets near the top... unless you're Balboa)up the nascent E. Branch to the col below Slide and loop back on the trail... or climb some of the trailless peaks (Friday, Balsam, etc.) enclosing the Holler in their bowl. As for myself, my tent was pitched against a gale and blowing sand with a -20 wind chill on a lonely beach someplace. Saw coupla foxes (one left prints encircling the tent and another approached camp after dawn; when I reached for my camera, it bolted). Crouched at the foot of dune huddled over my Svea stove, encouraging it (it never blew out, but consumed fuel prodigiously). Best of all, on my several overnight visits to this site (exclusively in winter... the place is a tick factory)(there's a 7-mile wilderness beach, no roads), I've yet to encounter another hiker. Gonna due a vigorous one-overnight loop in Harriman Park leaving tomorrow a.m. (unfortunately, when I unpacked, my down booties were missing... must've blown into the ocean because I wasn't paying attention... damn! And the only place in the metro area with booties (made many calls) is Campmor, a twenty-five mi. across-bridge run. Gotta go!”

“I arrived at my parents house around 8pm last night, and will be home later today. As my NYE revolution is to start keeping a trail journal, I will start writing one as soon as I get home and post it within a few days.

One thing I'd like to say is...HEM, YOU THA'MAN!

My impromptu unabridged condensed asbtract of this trip is...$hitz & giggles!”

“I suck.....I wasn't able to go because as usual I procrastinated about doing my presentation. Heres the worst part I didn't do it until last night after work. I was up till 4 am so I could spit it out to class at 3pm this afternoon. I knew in my heart I wasn't gunna do it over the weekend and I should have gone on that darn trip, but I didn't and now I'm bummin! Yo Bear I'm not as everyready as I use to be!

but I didn't and I wonder why I guesss I felt like letting my freak flag fly...”

“Friday night-

I hiked in after dark, since the sleet and freezing rain delayed my travel time to NY. After loading up the gear sled, with the firewood gweed had stashed near the trailhead and the monster backpack I packed with goodies, I set out on my 1.5 mile trek to camp...

By light of headlamp, I navigated my way down the Phoenicia-East Branch Trail 1.2 miles to the junction with the blue-blazed Peekamoose trail, learning as I went, how to cross the little streams and such while pulling the gear sled and wearing snowshoes.

The Peekamoose trail was mostly downhill(and steep in parts) for the ?0.3 mile? I would be on it, so I ended up pushing the sled a lot, which was great! However, when I came to the East branch of the Neversink River, I had to abandon the sled...the only way across was a single log, flattened on top, but barely wide enough to safely accommodate foot travel.

At that point I was close to where the lean-to(our meeting point) was supposed to be. The snowshoe tracks I had been following veered off the trail at a marked campsite sign, so I followed, assuming it must be the lean-to...nope. After walking a while through the woods, the tracks circled me back in a circle. Whadafuh?

After quite a bit more of a search effort, I deduced that either there was no lean-to or that there was no way I would find it tonight. I called out to see if I could hone in on where Tom and Buddur might be camped...no answer. I walked back to the last place I had seen fresh tracks...and called again. This time, I got a distant whistle in response, but it was all but lost in the whistling wind and howling of coyotes. I moved towards where I thought it had come from and eventually, with calls back and forth, I found where Tom and Buddur had made camp.

I set up camp and hung out for a brief exchange with my new friends...and then crashed for the night. The long drive, coupled with the hike through blowing wind and sleet/snow made me eager to crawl into my beloved WM bag. :o)

Saturday Morning-

It snowed lightly off and on throughout the night. I got up early to wander the area and assess the sights. Also, since we weren?t camped where we had planned, I was concerned that the others, who were coming in that day, would miss us. On my stroll/jog to warm up, I found Gweed and Hem, separately and aimlessly both wandering the woods in search of us. LOL
What timing...

We went back to camp to get the rest of the gang and retrieve my daypack and snowshoes. Soon we were off, heading towards Table mountain (3847?), with Gweed taking the lead - we were lucky to see any sign of him from that point until the top almost, except for the occasional message scrawled in the snow.

We peaked Table, where Hem split off to bushwhack to lone mountain. We would have all joined him, but for various reasons, one of which being the fact that I had gotten sick earlier that morning, the rest of us decided to stay trailbound. We continued on to summit Peekamoose(3843?) and scarf down some grub. It was so windy and cold up there, by that time, that we didn?t stay up there long?just long enough to snap a few pics of Gweed with the icicles hanging from his mustache. heh heh heh ? what a sight!

We re-traced steps back over Table mountain, stopping at a nice vista, with terrific views of VanWyck Mt and a few others(hopefully will have pics back and posted soon). We arrived back at camp safe and sound, after 7.4 winter miles(according to the map ? gps-boy, Tom, can be more precise). The winds had flipped my tent over, displaying it like it was some sad little box-kite. I was drooling over the 4-season tent that Tom and Buddur shared - almost enough to crawl inside on those chilly nights. I said, almost, people
>;oP

Saturday Eve-

Gweed came back to camp with us and stayed for dinner, but opted not to camp out, due to the predicted temps below zero that night. When he left around 6, it was already in the single digits and the wind was merciless. We still hadn?t heard from Hem!
He arrived soon after Gweed left, thankfully, with the same trademark mustach icicles, LOL. Good to know he was back safe and sound. He headed back to the car soon, while Tom/Buddur and I prepared for the cruel night we would soon face.
I know that we were both wondering if it would be smart to hike out and spend the night at Gweed?s(he had offerred to put us up, as he lived locally). I think we were both leaning that way and if either of us had spoken those thoughts aloud, we would have been outta there!

It was too cold to hang out, so we crawled into our bags for the night. No sooner had we settled in ,then Mr and Mrs Adventurist showed up! Hooray...spirit lifters anyway. :o)

They had hiked in the dark in the near-zero temps! As they got their tent set up and organized, Tom built a fire and I danced around(to stay warm) and made conversation.

We all hung out around the fire for a bit and then retreated to the warmth(relative) of the tents.

To be continued...

Part two: Broken bindings, shake yer booty, tracking bobcats, and MSilver gets ranger Pat's number! whoo-hooo! Stay tuned...”

“Great TR, Man you folks are die-hards. Can not imagine, having never snowshoed! Sounds Kool!;{)
Looking forward to the "rest of the story" Paul Harvey Yo bear!”

“Kewl report... kewl trip. Wait'n fer the next intall mint.”

“To keep ya'll in suspense, I'll just post up till Sat Evening wrt AmyG's post.

ABSTRACT

On Friday, February 16, 2001, AmyG, Tom and Buddur the dog met at camp, north of Denning, NY off the Phoenicia-East Branch Trailhead for a 3-night www.thebackpacking.com Trail Talk trip in the Catskill mountains of New York state.
The camp was on the west side and just upstream of the first major stream (turn L at the narrow log bridge) on the Peekamoose/Table Trail The campsite was nestled under a grove of old-growth pines, and had a large deep rocky fire pit and a weathered, half-melted snow sofa/fort nearby? btw - There is NO Denning Lean-to!
Saturday (2/17/01) morning, Hem and Gweed arrived and we all hiked to the top of Table mountain. Hem bushwhacked alone to Lone mountain and back down to camp, while the rest of us hiked to Peekamoose peak and back to camp. Weather was mostly cloudy, windy to blustery, intermittent snow and cold. Feeney and Danielle arrived that night after everyone went to bed.
Sunday (2/18/01) morning, the Feeneys left for home. M-silver and his dog Sparkey arrived for a dayhike to Slide mountain. Weather was calm to breezy, partly cloudy and cold. Stayed at camp for a third night.
Monday (2/19/01) morning, broke down camp and left for home.




Friday February 16, 2001

Got up ~7:30am, had everything ready to throw into the van, and was on the road by ~8:30am. Drove ~440 miles through ugly drizzle to get to the Denning trailhead ~5pm. After surveying the frozen trail and deep snow off the trail I decided to hike with my snowshoes for their crampon-like traction, which was a good thing because the freezing drizzle made the trail very slick?and stepping off the trail would posthole your leg a few feet deep in the snow.
After hiking ~1.5 miles to the area where the Denning lean-to was supposed to be located, I kept an eye out for it and kept going. When ascending somewhat from the stream floodplain along the trail I knew I went too far and was subsequeltly going up the trail to Table Mtn, and MUST have passed the trail to the lean-to. After turning back and hiking back to the stream confluence area, I dropped my pack and snowshoe?d around for a loooooong while.
I NEVER found the lean-to and was convinced there wasn?t one. Of course, it was ~33F and ~97% humidity and I was so hot my glasses were steamed up to the point where I couldn?t see with them on?or off. Ugh! I did find a marked campsite just north and on the west side of the first large stream crossing, so I decided to set up camp there. As it was raining/drizzling the whole time, at just above freezing temps, in pitch-black darkness and I was wet and feeling miserable after making a considerable effort to find the lean-to?I quickly ate and jumped into my sleeping bag for the night.
I really didn?t think AmyG would show that night because of the ugly weather, but after being in my bag for about a half-hour, I heard someone whistling and screaming. At first I thought I was hearing things because coyotes were constantly howling in the distance and a stream roared nearby. But I still thought I heard someone, so I began to prep myself for exiting into the wet cold, and while doing so, AmyG arrived in camp. She set up camp in a hurry, then went back to the cutoff trail to our camp and left an arrow made out of firewood pointing in out direction to mark where we were for the others coming in the morning. We exchanged banter for a short while and then headed to our tents for the night. Temp in my tent got down to 16F the first night.

Saturday February 17, 2001

When I wake, I usually cook in my vestibule and eat breakfast while still half-cocooned in my warm sleeping bag. Before I knew it, Hem and Gweed were in camp. Not soon after I got out of the tent, we began out day-hike to ascend Table Mtn (3847?).
There was only one decent vista on the way up, so we stopped there just long enough for me to FREEZE. AmyG said she wasn?t feeling 100% the beginning of the ascent, but she pushed on and up with no apparent problem. Her snowshoe bindings kept coming loose and she couldn?t wear them, but that didn?t stop her. Gweed (ahead) wrote notes to us in the snow with his poles, and with some yellow dye? sprayed on the snow. Hem effortlessly pushed on in front like a mountaingoat. After we got to the top and started heading to Peekamoose Mtn (3843?), Hem says he?s taking off and bushwhacking the trail-less saddle to Lone Mtn. I?d?of loved to have joined him on his venture, but it would?ve been torture for my dog to try to follow through the deep snow. Before Hem parted, I asked him if he?d stop by camp to let us know he made it safely down, and he said he would. At some point, Gweed had ripped the snot icicle off his moustache before I could get a picture of it. When we made it to Peekamoose the weather was starting to turn very windy and blowing snow, and the weather stayed that way as we hiked back to Table, and down to camp.
It was so windy while we were gone, AmyG?s tent had blown onto its side, and mine was squished and almost the same. In camp, Gweed stayed for about another hour to help swizzle down some of AmyG?s grape wine slushy to keep warm. Me, I started to freeze after standing around...I envy those who are big enough and have a core temperature that doesn?t cool rapidly. Well, by the time Gweed left camp, Hem still had not returned. However, as Gweed hiked the trail from camp Hem arrived with a BIG smile on his face, and another solo bushwhacking accomplishment under his belt. Hem?you tha? man! Took us 6:10 hrs and 5.8 miles to complete the hike.
AmyG and I made dinner and contemplated heading out because it was FREEZING!!! And?Gweed had offered his warm home as solace from the weather?it was a tough choice, but we opted to stay. I starting a measly fire and we conversed around it for a short while before AmyG turned in. By that time, I gained my second wind and couldn?t crash yet (I think the toe warmers and the down booties had something to do with it). However, after standing around and stareing at the fire, and going down to the stream where I had a clear view of the cloud-less night sky, I relentlessly broke down the fire and turned in. Glad I had a convertible 3-4 season tent to enclose myself off from the chilling wind!!!
Well?about 20 minutes later I heard more voices in the distance. Sure enough, more company?Feeney and Danielle showed up, after dark and in the freezing cold. I got up and tried restarting the fire, but the few hot coals weren?t enough to get it roaring again. So after chatting a short while we all crashed for the night. Temp in my tent got down to 14F that second night.


Stay tuned...same Bat Time...same Bat Station...where our dynamic duo fights the Frigid Freezeez to fend from frightening frosted fingers!”

“Hmmmm...so much for the tabbed paragraphs!”

“What type of tent do you have? Buddur”