Saturday, January 26, 2008

West Stoppel Story

Howie and I did a hike in the northern Catskills today. We climbed West Stoppel .... which doesn't really have an official name, but it's on a ridge west of Stoppel Point. Started from Colgate lake at the first parking area. There were no swimmers today. There isn't a trail to the top of the ridge, so once we got around the lake, it was a bushwack. The woods were fairly open though, with no real steep parts. There was snow, but it wasn't deep enough really for snowshoes (about 4-6 inches deep). I couldn't really determine which point at the top was the highest. So, I made an executive decision ... declared this one clearing in the middle of some pine trees to be the top. No one objected. After a quick snack, headed back down. Then the sun finally decided to come out.

Summit Elevation: West Stoppel 3105 ft
Round-trip Distance: 4.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1070 ft

West Stoppel

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Winging It

Howie and I did a couple short hikes today in Schoharie County. The first one was a little difficult to find as it's in the middle of nowhere. I parked on Leonard mountain road near the state forest sign. We started walking up the fire tower road. Some hunters had driven about a third of the way up. It was somewhat slippery in spots with 2-3 inches of snow over a thin coating of ice. In the summer I imagine you could drive all the way up. We made it to the top with the rusty fire tower. The bottom stairs had been removed to prevent people from climbing it. I think it's supposed to be restored in the near future. There were still some views from a clearing (west toward Gilboa reservoir) and through the trees.

Summit Elevation: Leonard Hill 2620 ft
Round-trip Distance: 3.5 mi
Elevation Change: 410 ft

Leonard Hill

On the way out, I made a wrong turn somewhere and ending up in Middleburgh. So I decided to climb Vroman's Nose which is near the village (and I have done a couple times before). It was a quick up and back hike.

Summit Elevation: Vromans Nose 1240 ft
Round-trip Distance: 1.5 mi
Elevation Change: 490 ft

Vromans Nose

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Round about

I did a hike today in the Catskills with Howie. Our destination was Roundtop mountain. There is no trail to the top, so it was a combination of trails, old roads and bushwacking. Parked on Gillespie Road in a small parking area near Cortina Lane. Continued walking along the road for another mile. At the barrier, went straight ahead toward the creek. I followed along the creek on up towards the state snowmobile trail (which loops around the two peaks). Headed off-trail in an easterly direction toward Roundtop. Conditions were Spring-like with very little snow left in the woods after the warm weather this past week. Had some decent views on the way up. Not much to see at the summit except a fire ring. Went back down in a southerly direction, eventually hitting the snowmobile trail. I must have been daydreaming as I was ambling along. I ended up on another road/snowmobile trail which was taking me in the wrong direction (south toward Platte Clove road) and off state lands. Backtracked and then found my way back to the car.

Summit Elevation: Roundtop 3440 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1200 ft
Roundtop
I also did a short hike to Kaaterskill Falls (just over a mile).
Kaaterskill Falls

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Perigo Hill

I did a short hike/walk today with Howie in Rensselaer county. We visted the Geiser Preserve (owned by Rensselaer-Taconic Land Conservancy). Parked at the snowplow turn-around on Lindeman Road and then continued on the old unpaved road. Walking was easy as the snow was packed down by snowmobile traffic. Got to a Y-intersection and turned left onto the old Eastern turnpike. Nobody had gone this way, so I was stomping through fresh snow for the rest of way. Got to preserve boundary and started the short bushwack to the top of Perigo Hill. It was open woods all the way with lots of evidence of deer activity. Contrary to my guidebook, I did not find any impressive view - just filtered views through the trees.

Round-trip Distance: 4.0 mi
Elevation Change: 300 ft

Perigo Hill
After the hike, I visited Barberville falls.
Barberville Falls