January Thaw

Did a hike in the Catskills this afternoon with Howie. We climbed Halcott mountain from Route 42. This is a trail-less peak, but other hikers had made the journey to the top. So, I just followed their snowshoe track. The fog had cleared, the sun was out and it was quite warm (40s). The snow wasn't deep, but was turning to mush. I didn't wear snowshoes as the snow was too wet and sticky. The route up was direct and was steep and tiring .... like being on a stairmaster for over an hour. We reached the ridge, and then it was another five minutes to the top. Signed in at the canister, had some snacks and then headed back down a slightly different route (a little to the south of the route up). I found some traction aids lying in the snow. I picked them up and then shortly met the hiker who had dropped them who was heading back up to find them. I continued on down the steep slope and eventually reached the highway. It was much easier descending in the slushy snow.

Summit Elevation: Halcott 3520 ft
Round-trip Distance: 4.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1720 ft

Halcott