Catskill Mountains Long Path Traverse: Trip 2 (Sections 20-22)

 Backpacking the Catskill Mountains: Long Path Sections 20-22

Type: Point-to-point

Start: Mount Tremper Trailhead, Phoenicia, NY (https://goo.gl/maps/y2EsPFtSHubWhhDR7)

End: Harding Road Trailhead, Palenville, NY (https://goo.gl/maps/gvtJvC9SYDsmzKsA8)

Mileage: 34.3 (37.3 including detour to Huckleberry Point)

Report dates: 8/4-8/6

Water Availability: generally good, water flowing in many places

Upper Daley Ridge/Plateau Spring: flowing well

Plateau-side Mink Hollow spring: flowing well

Introduction:

After having such a great time ripping Sundown Wild Forest, the Burroughs Range, and Mount Pleasant a couple of weekends prior while doing Long Path Sections 16-19 in the Catskills, I was nearly watering at the mouth in anticipation of continuing on this oft-forgotten but beautiful trail. I set my sights on sections 20-22, between Phoenicia and Route 23A in Palenville. This is an impressive and diverse stretch of trail, at times quiet and remote, at others as busy as can be, but always beautiful. Day 1 covers Mount Tremper, Warner Creek, Silver Hollow, and the serene and oft-forgotten Daley Ridge. Day 2 takes you across 4 peaks over 3500 feet as you traverse the eastern half of the Devil's Path, before descending down to Platte Clove and up to Huckleberry Point. Finally, for day 3 you traverse a section of the eastern edge of the Catskills (Catskill Escarpment), traveling through deep pine forests, fields of stinging nettles, and crossing multiple significant waterfalls, before spitting you out by Route 23A and the infamous Kaaterskill Creek. This final day also provides the option to make a short detour to bag another 3500er, Kaaterskill High Peak, via a relatively short and simple bushwhack. If you're into secluded spruce forests, rock-ledge camping, deep river valleys, rugged terrain, or massive waterfalls, this trail is for you.

For a better description of the trails than I can muster, see the NYNJTC:

Section 20 - https://www.nynjtc.org/book/20-phoenicia-silver-hollow-notch

Section 21 - https://www.nynjtc.org/book/21-silver-hollow-notch-platte-clove-road

Section 22- https://www.nynjtc.org/book/22-platte-clove-road-palenville

Note: to complete this point-to-point trip, I enlisted the help of my cousin Erin and her husband, Marc, who live in Ellenville. They met me at the Harding Road Trailhead in Palenville and drove me to the Tremper Mountain Trailhead in Phoenicia and even joined me for the hike up to Mount Tremper Fire Tower. Thanks to them for their time, company, and for making this trip $50-100 cheaper. If you don't have a Marc/Erin, there are taxis in the area that you can hire, although they'll cost you a pretty penny and I haven't personally used them so I cannot attest to their virtue.

Day 1:

I drove up to the Catskills early on Friday morning, arriving at Harding Road Trailhead by 9:20am. By 9:30, Marc and Erin arrived and we headed over to Phoenicia. The weather was overcast and the forecast threatened some rain later in the afternoon. Starting at a low 750 feet feet, the climb up to Mount Tremper (2718ft) is straightforward: about 2.75 miles up an old fire road through a hardwood forest, featuring moderate gradients and some switchbacks. Along the way you pass 2 shelters and 2 springs, all of dubious character. Why they thought it necessary to have 2 shelters within a mile of each other is beyond me. By the time we got to the fire tower, the mountain was shrouded in fog. We climbed to the top of the fire tower, ate a snack, and talked for a bit, before descending and saying our goodbyes. I had a ways to go and wanted to beat the rain if possible.

After descending about 2 miles down Tremper Mountain I came to a saddle around 2400ft that intersected the yellow-marked Willow Trail. I heard something sizable run off down the hill to the east as it began to drizzle, so I threw my make-shift rain-cover (aka a garbage bag) over my pack and continued on. The sky remained overcast but held up for the next 45 minutes or so as I climbed about 1.15 miles up and around Carl Mountain (2884ft). Shortly after I began my descent into Warner Creek, the rain started in earnest, along with regular thunder and lightning. The conditions made my descent down these steep switchbacks somewhat treacherous, but at least it kept me focused. About a mile later, I made it to the Warner Creek crossing around 1600 feet, wet but relieved. There was a pause in the rain so I took the opportunity to take some pics/vids, eat a snack, and filter some water. Warner Creek is a very solid creek, flowing out from beneath Plateau Mountain and carving out a pretty significant valley, which my intended campsite on Daley Ridge would be overlooking. The creek area itself is very pleasant, with some likely camping sites nearby that one day I'd like to stay at.

View (lol) from Tremper Mountain Fire Tower (left) and crossing Warner Creek (right)

My creek-time merriment was interrupted by a massive thunderclap, not too far off, which startled me back into action. A few minutes later the rain was back in full. I soon passed a small mossy stream and then turned north to begin my ascent of Edgewood Mountain (2999ft). The rain continued to fall, the lightning continued to strike, and my glasses continued to fog. After a long mile to the summit the rain had finally stopped and the sun even came out. I stopped for a snack and some water before beginning my fairly steep descent into Silver Hollow Notch (2350ft), where LP section 20 ends and section 21 begins. On the way down I passed some red efts and a massive toad. When I reached the notch the weather seemed to be at it's most ambiguous. The forecast suggested another wave of rain in the next hour or so and I really didn't want to get caught in that. If all went well, I'd be able to bang out the ~2.5 miles to the ledge on Daley Ridge at 3381ft and set up camp before that hit. With the cloud cover wavering, however, I felt like the clock was ticking, so I set off at a brisker pace.

The climb up Daley Ridge was nice. There were several rock ledges to scramble up, although nothing too serious, and once the elevation leveled off I found myself in a very thick and silent stand of spruce trees. The weather seemed to be holding up, which I was fortunate about. Apparently there are a few lookouts on the way up the ridge, but I somehow missed them. Eventually I made it to the ledge, which has an excellent view overlooking the Warner Creek drainage valley. The wind was picking up, however, and I could hear thunder in the distance, so I set up camp as fast as I could. As I said before, the area is highly wooded, so finding a spot to pitch my tent was difficult. Ultimately, I decided to set up right next to the ledge (sorry NYSDEC!), which barely had room for my small (about 3x6 foot) single-person tent. I went up trail about a quarter mile to check out the spring, which was flowing well. Then I came back to camp, made a fire and busted out the Jetboil. Soon, I was eating my simple dinner of dehydrated potatoes and Trader Joe's BBQ-jackfruit, which pairs surprisingly well. After dinner, the wind continued to pick up and around 8pm the thunder was pretty close-by. Some drops of water came down, but somehow the storm seemed to miss me, seeming to pass over Edgewood Mountain to my south while traveling east. This meant I was able to catch some spectacular lightning in the distance while feeling relatively safe on my ledge. Around 9pm, a fog rolled in and I decided to get into my tent. A few minutes later, I heard a sound like hard plastic hitting a rock, and I suddenly became afraid that something had knocked down my bear-bag. In the Advanced Silence of the foggy ridge, I was terrified to go check it out, but I ultimately mustered the courage to take a look. Luckily, it wasn't an evil demon ravaging my bear bag, and I was able to attain the necessary peace of mind to sleep the night away.

First glimpse of sun while coming down Edgewood (left) and massive Eastern Toad (right)

End of LP section 20 and start of section 21 (left) and nice rock wall in spruce forest while ascending Daley Ridge (right)

View from Upper Daley Ridge (left) and view of my cramped campsite therein (right)

Snapshots of the pretty spectacular lightning from my campsite.

Day 2:

I woke up around 6am to a clear and crisp morning. The rest of the weekend was forecast to be bright and sunny and so far it was off to a good start. After getting out of my tent, I retrieved my still intact bear bag, boiled water, and waited for the sun to rise over Plateau while I sipped my coffee. Warner Creek valley (and the coincident glacial cirque) is very distinctive looking. Once the sun was out, some sharp-shinned hawks started swooping around me and, to my amazement, I managed to catch one whirring by on camera. I ate my oatmeal, finished my coffee, and started packing down camp. I had an intense day ahead of me, some I was back on the trail by 8:30 but soon stopped to fill up on water at the spring below Plateau. Once I topped off my 3.5L, I made the quick scramble up to the the intersection of the Devil's Path at Plateau. 

The Devil's Path needs little introduction and is arguably the most rugged and strenuous section of trail in New York. Unarguably, it's the most rugged in the Catskills. The DP basically involves summiting a series of 6 mountains in quick succession, with each peak being above 3500ft and most of the saddles, or notches, between them being situated at 2500 feet, or lower. So that means that you're either doing an ascent or descent of over 1000 feet every mile or so, sometimes worse. With a full 30lb+ pack in tow, I'd be riding this bad boy for most of the day--crossing 4 peaks over about 7 miles with probably 7000ft+ of elevation change. But besides a type of masochistic delight, the each peak offers some kind solid or even magnificent view and traversing the often dead-silent spruce peaks is often a surreal experience. Alright, so I'm on the Devil's Path. On Plateau, moving east. A nice, flat, and calm walk across the aptly named peak over about a mile. Then a nice little rock ledge and a quick and technical descent into Mink Hollow. About a quarter mile from Mink Hollow I hit another spring which was flowing wonderfully and looking green and picturesque. I had to stop to refill some water, if only for the aesthetic appreciation. I also didn't plan on having any more water until I hit 23A in about 9 miles, so I figured I'd top off. Shortly thereafter I hit Mink Hollow proper and then was bounding up to Sugarloaf (3806ft). There are some really great scrambles and interesting rock features on the way up to Sugarloaf, but the peak itself is pretty lackluster. On the way down Sugarloaf, towards Pecoy Notch (2700ft), is a viewpoint, slightly off trail on the right, which looks east and shows a scree field on the south side of Twin. You don't see that kind of thing too often in the Catskills. Ok...now to climb Twin (3652ft), which will lead down to Jimmy Dolan Notch (3100ft). You may begin to see a pattern. I should add that the view on the way down from Twin is one of the best in the Catskills, with a very nice perspective south towards the Burroughs Range. I stopped here for a while, ate a highly functional lunch of Trader Joe's caffeinated chocolate + a Belvita, and chatted with some similarly aged young people who were day hiking. The view was beginning to get a bit hazy, probably related to the Canadian wildfires that have been ravaging the lands up north. I also ran into some hardcore trail runners who were doing the whole 24 mile path in a day. Brutal stuff. One of the guys was Doug Duncan, the founder of the NE Ultra 8: a trail running challenge to do 8 of the most intense hiking trails in the northeastern US in pretty intense timeframes. Cool to meet him and catch a whiff of how much worse it can get for those (like myself) doomed to physically masochistic relationships with nature. After Twin you drop into Jimmy Dolan Notch and then up for the final peak of the DP: Indian Head at 3573ft. The best view on Indian Head is on the back (eastern) side and looks out towards Plattekill Mountain to the east. Sherman's Viewpoint is slightly after it, after a truly precipitous climb of some 50+ feet, and offers a nice view straight to Platte Clove and Huckleberry Point, where I'd be camping that night. I met a couple from Rockland County at the first viewpoint and ended up hiking down Indian Head with them. About 2 miles later I made it down to Platte Clove around 1650ft and filled up my water once more. 

Cool puzzle-like fracture (left) and horrifying explosive poop fungi (right).

View south from the eastern view on Twin Mountain (left) and the Kaaterskill High Peak and the section of Wild Forest I'd be climbing tomorrow (right)

Huckleberry Point as seen from Sherman's Lookout (below Indian Head summit)

From here, the LP follows Platte Clove Road east for about a quarter mile before going back north into Kaaterskill Wild Forest. After a mile the LP is intersected by the Yellow trail, which goes southeast about 1.5 miles to Huckleberry Point, where I'd be sleeping for the night. I passed several hikers who warned me of a hornets nest ahead that was "very dangerous" and when I got there, it didn't seem all that dangerous to me. The nest was probably about 30 feet up in the tree and there was no sign of hornets close to the forest floor. Not sure what the danger was other than the yellow warning tape someone had haphazardly wrapped around a nearby tree with WARNING HORNETS written on it. The mosquitos began to get really bad around here but I was hoping that things would be better at Huckleberry due to the relative exposure. I was wrong. I got to Huckleberry and decided to set up camp on a ledge. Not the most comfortable but I wanted that feeling of sleeping on the edge. I quickly set up my tent and then gathered fire wood. The wood around was incredibly dry and burnable. Luckily I was making my fire on the rock ledge. The mosquitos continued to assault me even after I got a fire going. Moderately disturbing. I met a guy named Marvin from Mount Vernon who was up there to take photos during the sunset. We chatted for a while while watching the sunset and he even took some photos of me, which turned out pretty well. Shout out to Marvin and check him out on Instagram @m2g.photo and @marvin.martelly

Views from Huckleberry Point: 

The caution wasp sign I passed on the way to Huckleberry Point (left) and incredible sunset over the Eastern Devil's Path from Huckleberry Point (right)

Sunrise from Huckleberry Point (left) and Overlook Mountain and the Catskill Escarpment going south (right)

Day 3:

I woke up for the sunrise, which was pretty nice but not as impactful as the previous sunset. I couldn't find a clear shot east but I suspect there is one in the area. Regardless, it was nice to watch the light grow over Overlook Mountain and fortunately the mosquitos weren't too bad. I ate breakfast, packed up camp, and set off.  I went back 1.5 miles northwest and rejoined the Long Path, currently also doubling as a snowmobile trail. I charged north for another 2.3 miles through some pretty pleasant terrain including red spruce stands, some very pretty nettle fields, and some higher elevation pine plains before getting to a trail junction that led south for a few hundred feet to the Kaaterskill High Peak herd trail. was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect from a Catskill bushwhack. I put my pack down and took out a Belvita, a little water, and my map. The trail ended up being straightforward, about 1 mile up about 600 feet of elevation. A few ledges to climb up but I never lost a herd trail. The peak itself has a nice open area with some bedrock and a canister, but I didn't sign it as I didn't know you could at this point. I headed over to the south side of the high peak towards Hurricane Ledge. Hurricane Ledge is a pretty incredible south-facing viewpoint that shows you all of the Devil's Path. There was a family of Bruderhof's (religious [cult-like?] group) at the viewpoint, who I chatted with for a bit, before heading back up to the high peak and back down to my bag.

Shots of the pleasant terrain going north after rejoining the Long Path from Huckleberry Point

Start of the northern-approach herd trail to Kaaterskill High Peak (left) and nice open area on the high peak (right)

Terrific views of the Eastern Devil's Path from Hurricane Ledge (left) and incredible greenage on the herd path (right)

When I got down to my bag I was pretty tired, but still had at least 5 miles to go. I had underestimated how far down I had to drop to get down to the creek: it's around 1150 feet and I was at 3652 on Kaaterskill High Peak. That's a pretty serious drop. I was pretty mentally foggy and wasn't too interested in stopping to take in the view, but I was in a very nice stand of forest. Something about it felt very rich and vivacious. I passed Buttermilk and Wildcat Falls, which are both incredibly beautiful. Then I continued falling down the trail, somewhat regretfully passing on Poet's Ledge, and eventually made it out to Malden Ave. Unfortunately, from here I had a 0.7 mile road walk to get over the bridge and my car on the other side of Kaaterskill Creek. I made it back to my car, tired but relieved, and then headed down to the Phoenicia Diner to go crazy on some vegan pancakes, as per usual. Overall, these are really great sections of the Long Path and I had a great weekend out there. Support the NYNJTC.

Dizzying view from Buttermilk Falls (left) and views of Kaaterskill Escarpment from Buttermilk Falls (right)

Necessary post-hike fuel.

Catskill Mountains Long Path Traverse: Trip 1 (Sections 16-19)

Backpacking the Catskill Mountains: Long Path Sections 16-19

Type: Point-to-point

Start: Vernooy Falls/Upper Cherrytown Trailhead, Kerhonkson, NY (https://goo.gl/maps/vJFSPN94ZyWnDQ7R8)

End: Mount Romer Trailhead, Phoenicia, NY (https://goo.gl/maps/sQHuNMZ3omYZG38L8)

Mileage: 36 miles (40 including the detour to filter water)

CalTopo track:

Introduction:

While camping at Bouton Memorial Lean-To with Ivy the other weekend, a poor soul came through to the shelter in midsts of a torrential thunderstorm and told us she was section hiking the Long Path, from Cherrytown Road to Phoenicia. The Long Path goes through the Catskills? Somehow, this had never dawned on me. I've already done the Devil's Path and Escarpment Trail and thought that I had run out of thru-hikes in the Catskills. But it turns out I was very wrong and the Long Path offers another 93 miles of thru-hiking. Shoutout to Isabel for this inspiration, as that was pretty much it. I had a new goal: crush the Long Path in the Catskills. Usefully, the NYNJTC has an interactive map with information about the Long Path sections (https://www.nynjtc.org/book/overview-map-and-overview). I elected to start with the stretch that the Bouton girl did, which turned out to be sections 16 thru 19, starting at the Upper Cherrytown Road Trailhead and ending at the Mount Romer Trailhead in Phoenicia. Along the way, the LP passes a waterfall, the nicest swimming hole in the Hudson Valley, and 5 peaks with 3500+ foot elevation (including the highest peak in the Catskills), in addition to countless views of the southern Catskills and mid-lower Hudson Valley. Some parts of the trail are very unused, particularly the stretch across Sundown Wild Forest and the stretch between Wittenberg Mountain and Mount Pleasant, but much of the trail runs along more popular, well maintained trails as well. The weather was sunny and dry, around 70-75 degrees in the Catskills, and was practically heaven on Earth after the absolutely brutal steam-prison which had been the Hudson Valley for most of July.

Day 1 - Upper Cherrytown/Vernooy Falls Trailhead to Bouton Memorial Lean-to: 15 miles. 

The Vernooy Falls/Upper Cherrytown Trailhead is several miles north of Kerhonkson proper, on the edge of Sundown Wild Forest. As I did this trip alone and left my clone and extra car at home, I had to figure out transportation for myself. I woke up early, grabbed coffee and a bagel, and made the drive up to the Mount Romer Trailhead, where I left my car and waited for a scheduled Lyft. After 45 minutes of waiting, I decided my Lyft somehow fell through and decided to go drive to find service to see if anyone had tried to contact me. I got my car and about 30 seconds before I would have been off to the races, a car pulled onto the road and ended up being my Lyft. Incredible timing. I arrived at the Upper Cherrytown Trailhead, which is large due to the proximity of Vernooy Falls, and was on the trail by 11:45am. 

Starting from the trailhead, traverse an easy 9.5 miles following Blue Markers across Sundown Wild Forest to Peekamoose Road. Starting around 1200ft elevation, the trail gradually climbs until peaking off around 2400ft while passing under the southwest side of Bangle Hill, about 7 miles in. After this, the trail abruptly drops down to the Rondout Creek and Peekamoose Road at around 1200ft. The only notable feature along the way is Vernooy Falls, which is an easy and pleasant 1.7 miles from trailhead. The falls are sizeable and make a nice place to hang out. I stopped for a Belvita before moving on. About a mile after the falls, I inadvertently startled a bear about 50 feet ahead of me on the trail. By the time I realized that the sound was, he was already well off the trail to my left and barely visible. As such, I couldn't get a clear picture. This is my first time seeing a bear while hiking, so this was pretty exciting. The trail is clear and well maintained up through Pople Hill. 

                Nice fern terrain around Pople Hill (left), cool fungi (center), red eft (right)

A bit after Pople, you move onto a relatively bland and unappealing gravel service/fire roads/snowmobile trails for about 1.7 miles. The only notable spot here is an abandoned ranger station with some very temping signage warning people to NOT trespass. I decided to get a little reckless and ate a snack on the picnic table outside. Carrying along the gravel road, I began spacing out and followed it until it spat me out at a road. Checking my map, I realized that I had overshot the LP about a mile back and was now on Dymond Road. AllTrails showed another trail slightly up to the road that seemed like it would connect me back to the LP. I had to go through someone's yard and the trail was abhorrently overgrown, but it did indeed reconnect me to the LP. This next section, despite actually being the LP, was also badly overgrown which is unfortunate but understandable because I can't imagine many people making the hike up from Peekamoose Road when Peekamoose/Table are just as close. In retrospect, I probably should have retraced my steps instead of taking this loop. Somewhere after this I passed a nice fresh bear poop.

Depressing service road (left), disused ranger station (center), overgrown trail section (right) 

After passing this sections peak elevation of ~2400ft under Samson Mountain and then going over Bangle Hill, you'll drop pretty precipitously to Rondout Creek/Peekamoose Road at 1200ft, where you make a right to follow the road for half a mile. At the bottom of the trail, right before Peekamoose Road, there is a pretty spectacular chunk of sandstone, maybe 30+ feet high on the back end. I suspect it's actually bedrock, and not an erratic or otherwise erosionally deposited, but I'd have to take a closer look to confirm. I hit Peekamoose Road a little after 4pm and continued right along the road about 0.5 miles to the Blue Hole, where I took a dip into cold, refreshing water. Highly recommend. After the semi-historic rain we've had in the area, Rondout Creek was absolutely ripping. I filled up another liter of water to hold me over until I got to the lean-to and was back on the trail by 5pm.

Impressive sandstone chunk by Peekamoose Road (left) and Peekamoose Blue Hole (right)

 To continue on the LP, find the parking lot across from Peekamoose Blue Hole (during the summer season there is usually a tent with Park staff making sure that car parking rules are obeyed--you need a reservation to park there, which open 2 weeks in advance from booking dates). Get on the Blue Markers and start trudging north/northeast up to the peak at Peekamoose (3819ft), about 4 miles in. I've done to the climb up to Peekamoose/Table 3 times now, and I don't know exactly know why, but it always feel horrible. The terrain is beautiful, though. The sandstone/conglomerate blocks of the Catskills are iconic (at least in the Hudson Valley) keep things interesting. About 2.5 miles in, around 2900ft, you'll hit Reconnoiter Rock, a sizable glacial erratic. After climbing several sets of ledges I finally reached the proper Peekamoose peak at 3819ft, where I found another erratic and was rewarded with my first (albeit unimpressive) view of the trip. An easy 0.85 miles later I was at the summit of Table Mountain. Shortly after the summit you'll find the Upper Table Viewpoint, which looks west over the impressive river valley of the East Branch Neversink River, which drains most of the high peaks in the area. I took a few pictures and carried on another quarter mile to the lean-to, arriving around 7pm. 

Reconnoiter Rock (left), erratic on Peekamoose (center), west-facing view from Table Mountain (left)

The Bouton Memorial Lean-to is ideally situated just below the 3500 feet line, a 5 minute hike up-trail to one of the best sunset watching spots in the Catskills (imo) and a 2 minute hike down to a clean and reliable water source. And it's newly made (2021) and very well equipped. A banger of a spot. I had just had a long, 18 mile day (including my 2 mile detour involving Dymond Road), and just wanted to chill, but I had a lot to do. It was a little after 7pm and I still had to set up camp and filter some water before testing my luck with the sunset. I also wanted to find some time to eat. Always trying to do too much. Anyway, I made an attempt at doing all of these things and made it up to the viewpoint around 8:10. Although it was almost perfectly clear over Table, there was a large cloud mass off to the west, which had just swooped in to block off an otherwise promising sunset. I cut my losses and went back to the shelter, where I discovered someone else setting up camp. I got a fire going, hydrated my potatoes (they like it), and learned that this guy's name was Nathan, was from Albany, and he had a PhD in toxicology. We talked a bit about our work and academia and he told me he was doing a bushwhacking loop to bag Lone, Rocky, Balsam Cap, and Friday, which are all nearby 3500er peaks that require bushwhacking. I was pretty interested by all this and by mid-day the next day I realized that I wanted to check off the Catskill 3500ers myself. It's a cool way to explore a majority of the Park and to get some experience bushwhacking, which I hadn't done since I was a teenager who "didn't believe in trails." Something about childlike joy, I think. 

                        Bouton Memorial Lean-to (left), western view from Table Mountain (right)

Day 2 - Bouton Memorial Lean-to to Wittenberg Mountain: 10 miles unadorned, 14 including water detour. 

I woke up to an amazing morning. After an incredible string of brutally hot and humid weather throughout most of July, we finally had a break. This morning I woke up to sunny skies, a pleasant chill in the air, and a moderate breeze. It reminded me distinctly of early autumn and more or less made my heart flutter. Energized by the conditions, I ate breakfast, topped off on water, and packed down camp. From Bouton, you continue following Blue Markers to descend about 2.75 miles down the north side of Table Mountain into the East Branch Neversink River drainage. It's a pleasant and slightly technical descent and I passed a few early day hikers on the way down. The bottom of the river valley, around 2300 feet, is pretty damn nice and there are several appealing-looking campsites in the area. I hung out for a while, exploring around and soaking in the sounds of the Neversink around me. 

Campsite in the Neversink Valley (left) and view up the Neversink from the bridge crossing (left)

The trail crosses the river over an elevated wooden bridge and soon intersects the Finger Lakes Trail (Yellow marker), at which point it gradually climbs 1.75 miles up a nicely wet section of trail to Curtis-Ormsbee Monument at a little over 3000 feet. From here, hop back on the Blue Markers to follow the Curtis-Ormsbee trail up this less used and more gradual ascent up the southwest side of Slide Mountain, bouncing between areas of semi-open deciduous forest and dead-silent spruce forest. After 1.65 miles the trail intersects the Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide trail (Red Markers) and turning right and staying 0.7 miles on that takes you to the top of Slide Mountain, which is the highest peak in the Catskills at 4184 feet. There's a very nice north-facing vista with deep views of the Slide Wilderness and Devil's Path shortly before the peak proper. The peak of Slide itself is somewhat unimpressive, although there is a plaque dedicated to John Burroughs and an interesting patch of grass up there. The flies were pretty rough for me, so I quickly moved on.

North-facing view before Slide peak (left) and view from Slide Peak (right)

From here, the trail traverses the remainder of the Burroughs Range. Each descent and ascent from here involves some technical sections, particularly the climb up Cornell and down Wittenberg, but it's all fun stuff. I stopped on the Slide descent to fill up on water from the fairly reliable spring located at around 3750 elevation, as I wasn't expecting to find any more water sources on the remainder of the trail. There are several primitive campsites on the saddle between Slide and Cornell, which I previously stayed at when doing the Burroughs Range Loop a couple years back. They're are nice enough but deeply forested. The climb up to Cornell at 3857 feet is pretty technical but along the way you'll pass some cool geology and find another nice glacial erratic at a decent view back at Slide.  

Huge quartz clast (left), obvious change in flow-energy level (center), and Cornell erratic (right)

The true peak of Cornell is unimpressive, but after climbing down and up to Wittenberg Mountain at 3787 feet, you'll catch one of the nicest viewpoints in the entire park, imo. Wittenberg's viewpoint offers expansive views to the south of Ashokan Reservoir + the mid-lower Hudson Valley and northeast to the Devil's Path. It's easy to see the Shawanagunks, Kingston, and the Hudson Highlands in the distance and it's even possible to hallucinate lights from the NYC skyline on a clear night. There were a handful of people around when I made it to the peak around 5pm, including Joe, a like-minded guy from Pawling who I was chatting with and hope to do some backpacking with in the future. Unfortunately, there is no water source anywhere in this area and your best bet is traveling about 2 miles down from Wittenberg to get water on the trail down to Woodland Valley Campground (it's marked source on NYNJTC map). Around 5:30pm, I decided to leave the contents of my pack in some brush and go fill up on water, returning around 7pm. Even during a month of heavy rain, the source was not immediately flowing but going about 50 feet down stream I was able to find enough of a trickle to filter. You are not allowed to camp above 3500 feet in the Catskills (except in winter), so consider camping at one of the primitive sites on the north face of Wittenberg. I originally considered going on to Terrace Mountain Shelter but decided against it after reading of how gross/dilapidated it was. I won't specify exactly where I did camp, but I will say that I saw many good views that night, although how much that relates to my camping spot I will not disclose.

Sunrise view of Devil's Path (left) and sunset view of Ashokan Reservoir (right)

Day 3 - Wittenberg Mountain to Romer Mountain Trailhead (Phoenicia): 10 miles. 

I woke around 5:45am up to another beautiful morning in an undisclosed location and traveled and unspecified distance to catch the sunrise from Wittenberg. Absolutely incredible. It's been tough for me to catch sunrises historically, but this one was no problem and very much worth it. A few other people rolled thru to catch it themselves (a bit late, though), including a guy named John who had camped in the saddle between Slide and Cornell. He was from Jersey and we ended up chatting for quite some time. He had done a fair amount of Catskill bushwhacking and continued to fan my flame for doing the 3500er peaks. This weekend, he was doing the Burroughs Loop and we decided to travel down together from Wittenberg. From the north side of Wittenberg, it's only 1.1 miles to where the LP branches off from the Woodland Valley trail, where John and I said our goodbyes.

I had about 9 miles to go from Phoenicia and from my glances at the map I was expecting it to be an easy descent down a ridgeline. It was overall downhill, but not quite so easy as I had anticipated, and the ridgeline was not very obvious. Plus, I only had the 4L of water I had started with to get me all the way through the day and my phone was at about 10% battery. The section of the LP after branching off from the Woodland Valley trail was definitely not used much, but not as overgrown as some sections in Sundown Wild Forest. The trail maps for this section show some vistas, but I didn't see any until I got to Cross Mountain, about 2.5 miles in. This was a nice, open, rocky section with views back to Wittenberg. I foraged for a few blueberries and carried on. At this point, I began realizing the terrain was more than just a gradual descent and it also involved some minor, but annoying ascents up to the lesser peaks along the ridge. Mt. Pleasant was my next obstacle and it did actually end up being pretty pleasant. This section reminded me of some of the nicer sections of the AT in Harriman State Park. Older forest with very deep greens, gray stone, and dark damp soil. A little under the 2500 foot line there is a very cool viewpoint looking back up at Wittenberg. 

Rocky spot on Cross (left), blueberries from Cross (center), and view back to Wittenberg (right)

By this time, I really had to conserve water and I feeling pretty exhausted but determined to get back to the car. My phone died right after taking pictures from the viewpoint, which was unfortunate, because probably less than 5 minutes later I inadvertently startled/woke up a Barred Owl, which flew up to a dead tree off to my right, only about 15 feet off the ground. Would have made for a sick pic. We stared at each other for a while. Then we blinked a couple times. They flew up to a higher branch, almost out of sight, and after a few more minutes I carried on my way. Continuing onwards and downwards, I finally reached my final ascent of Romer Mountain. This section continued to be nice, as Mount Pleasant had been. The descent from here was deceptively long, some 3.2 miles on the map, but in my head I was expecting 1.5. It's also deceptively steep at times, or maybe I was just getting tired on mile 36. Mount Romer is "only" at 2200 feet but the trailhead in Phoenicia, being in the heavily carved valley of Esopus Creek, is around 800 feet. There is a water source about half a mile before the trailhead which I had to stop at to fill up on water and also dunk my head. It felt amazing and I was refreshed and ready to polish this stretch off. I got back to the car by about noon, triumphant but exhausted, and booked it straight for the Phoenicia Diner for a sandwich and some vegan pancakes. Doing the remainder of the Long Path in the Catskills will probably require 2 more 3-day backpacking trips. Until then...