Hiking the RD end-to-end

Every year, the local chapter of the AMC organizes two hikes. One is an end-to-end hike of the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail, which I did back in 2016. I had intended to do its companion, an end-to-end hike of the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail, that same year as a training hike for the SBM, but I missed it due to a cold.

I'm not sure why some people regard the RD as an easier version of the SBM. The SBM is 24 miles and 5,000 feet of elevation, while the RD is 23 miles and 6,000 feet of elevation. I'd say the 1,000 extra feet more than make up for that mile. Either way, I have few memories of the SBM - no doubt my brain is deliberately protecting me from them - so it's hard for me to compare.

The beginning of the hike was rough; the humidity meant sweat went nowhere, and I was overheating despite temps in the 60s. Plus, much like on the SBM, I was trying to keep up with people setting a faster pace than I could sustain. Once the sun burned off the fog and I slowed down, I fared much better.

Still, I wouldn't have bothered to finish if K hadn't been pushing with me at the end. (It doesn't help that there are no bail-out points in the middle. You can quit early or so late it's too late.) But I made it!

Superhike!

I forgot to write about the Ramblers superhike, so here are a few pictures:

A hike along the Palisades

In preparation for next weekend's grueling epic hike, I wanted to do about 20 (mostly flat) miles on Sunday as my last shot at training. Then I spent Saturday doing trails crew before going to a party, and with sore quads + staying up late + maayyyyybe a few old-fashioneds, I didn't feel quite so ambitious in the morning.

I start off in Fort Lee, heading north on the Long Path, but not pushing myself. There are flowers! Deer! A waterfall! A very surprised snek! Also, my body is doing its annual spring freakout where it's like, "IT IS SO HOT, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME," even though it is only 68 degrees.

Hiking to the women's federation monument is enough, I decide - just over ten miles. It's very close to the bus stop, and I once I get there I check my wallet, where I think I have $11 even though I forgot to stop at the ATM.

But no. I have $6. The fare is $7-something. This is why you shouldn't hike alone, kids: Always bring a friend you can mooch off of. I pull out the maps. To get the fare back down below $6, I would need to walk ... uh, eight miles.

So I get going. No stopping to smell the sneks this time. But I do plan to stop at the Palisades Park HQ, two miles down the road. At least I can use a real toilet before being forced to fulfill Past Eve's hiking ambitions.

But what do I see inside HQ, but the MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT of the entire day, an ATM.

Now, blessed with sweet, sweet cash, I only had to walk maybe a quarter mile to the next bus stop. I didn't even care that there was a long wait for the bus. Because I was sitting down, in a bus shelter, on my butt.

We will see how I fare Saturday when we hike the 24 miles of the Ramapo-Dunderberg trail.

Winter hike of West Kill

After bagging two peaks, the next day we did West Kill, the westernmost peak on the Devil's Path. When I did it in summer, I came up from Diamond Notch to the south; this time, we came up from Diamond Notch to the north. I've done that section of the Diamond Notch trail several times in winter; it's relatively flat and follows a nice stream. The falls, where the trail intersects the Devil's Path, are actually much nicer in summer, though.

The snow was much deeper on West Kill than it had been on the Black Dome trail. While spikes were still needed, they were biting packed snow, not ice. To make up for the lack of ice, the trail is much steeper - nearly all of the hike's elevation gain is concentrated in the mile after you get on the Devil's Path.

While the peak itself is viewless (although remarkably it is signed!), there are overlooks on both side of the trail near the peak. The view from one is below.

After tagging the top, we ate lunch in the sunshine at one of the overlooks and got to pet two Good Doggos. We headed back down and ran into a large group, a few of whom I knew from the 3500 Club. They mentioned the West Kill Brewery, very near the end of Spruceton Road. It's set a ways back from the road so I likely wouldn't have noticed it. No, we didn't stop in for a beer, but it's an excellent setup for a view 'n brew.

I now have 15 of the 35 winter peaks completed, 7 of them this year. At that rate, it'll be three more years to finish.

A winter hike of Black Dome and Thomas Cole

A friend who is working on completing her Catskills 3500 knew I am working on my winter peaks, and so she invited me on one last trip before the official winter season was over. After comparing our lists, we decided to hike two of the three peaks in the Black Dome Range from Big Hollow Road on Saturday.



The snow that was left on these peaks wasn't deep, but the trail itself had been packed down to a layer of ice, making spikes a must-have. We traveled at a moderate pace, though, and enjoyed the leafless winter views of Blackhead and Windham. The top of Black Dome is viewless, and not especially peaky; at some point you conclude you must have passed the real top because you're now going downhill!

The col between Black Dome and Thomas Cole is relatively modest, and TC has another flattish peak.

Unless you have a car shuttle at Elmer Barnum Road, the only way out is back over Black Dome, so we did it again and the headed downhill.



While it's less verdant, I would say this is one of the Catskills hikes that is improved by winter, what with the views that open up on the initial ascent.