Weekend backpacking adventure

I went on my first backpacking adventure in a year and a half this past weekend - three days in the Catskills.

There aren't many places in the Catskills where one can get off of a bus and hike without a really long roadwalk/arranged ride to a trailhead, but the northern end of Dry Brook Ridge is one of them. The plan - which we successfully executed - was:

• Day 1: Take the bus up to Arkville, hike up German Hollow, then camp by Pakatakan Lean-To
• Day 2: Leave our gear and hike the 14-mile Huckleberry Loop counter-clockwise, returning to the shelter
• Day 3: Hike out Dry Brook to Margaretville.

So this was something of a "cheat" backpack, since there was no need to carry all our gear for the long day. Originally, I had planned to hike alone, but a friend who is keeping in shape for an upcoming CDT section hike was looking for trips, so I invited him along. This worked out great, as I don't think I would have made it through the second day by myself. But when I say "we" didn't need to carry our gear, I mean "me," since he chose to carry it for training purposes.

The hike up German Hollow is short, even with the roadwalk, but steep, gaining 1,500 feet over 2.5 miles. On the second day, we lost all that elevation going down the loop (it seemed preferable to ending the day by going up that hill!), then regained it. The next five miles were modest ups and downs through very overgrown trail, followed by a smaller descent/ascent. That day finished up along the Dry Brook Ridge, with our only views of the day. The final day was relatively easy - all downhill - with one nice viewpoint.

We did have to make a few adjustments. One, we had planned to tent near the shelter, but this proved impossible due to wild overgrowth. We stayed in the little-used shelter, which actually worked out well, as it rained the second night. It was nice not to have to put away wet tents in the morning! Two, the Margaretville bus stop has moved since the 2018 NYNJ Trail Conference maps were published. It's actually much more convenient to the trailhead (right where Fair St. crosses 28), but we didn't know it ahead of time and had to figure it out on the fly. If I were doing it again, I would probably take the early afternoon bus, rather than the second afternoon bus. One could even do the morning bus, if one didn't want to be leisurely on the way out. 

Hiking Montauk

This past weekend a few of us from our hiking club tested out a hike planned for later the summer. We started at the Montauk train station, then headed along the sound through Hither Hills State Park. The second half of the hike followed the southern shore of LI through Napeague State Park to Amagansett.

While it was a hot day in the city, it was much cooler out there, which was very pleasant. The first half of the hike was relatively easy, with mild ups and downs, mostly in the woods with occasional pops out to the beach. Once we reached the sandy beach to the south, the hike became much more difficult, despite being fast. Walking on sand is hard and it's also slower. We ended up cutting in to the streets early to make it to our train on time. 

The hike clocked in at 15.5 miles; the elevation gain is unknown.

Balsam Lake Mountain via Mill Brook

I joined the Catskill 3500 Club for a hike for the first time in over a year (thanks vaccines!) for hike up Balsam Lake Mountain via Mill Brook Ridge. My previous two jaunts up that peak had been round-trips from the north. Mill Brook is a longer hike, making it perfect for a shuttle and thus for a group hike.

We started at Alder Lake, following the north shore of the lake, then began the gradual climb to the top of Mill Brook Ridge. This is one of the Catskill 100 highest and was as a stand-in for Doubletop during the past year. (It only misses the 3500 criteria by 20 feet.) We followed the trail as it descended, followed a ridge, and climbed again to end at a junction with the Balsam Lake Mountain Trail. From there, it is only .25 and mostly flat to the tower. 

While the tower cab wasn't open, we could walk to the top of the stairs and get a fine view. 

Hiking out was only 1.5 miles, starting out quite steep and moderating to flat at the end.

A couple of us returned to the start and did a full loop around the lake. This is almost entirely flat - there is one very modest hill. 

Total mileage for the day was 10.8 miles.

Rockefeller State Park

As I am finally all vaxxed up, I went on what was only my third hike with my club, and the first out of the city, in 14 months. A hike from Tarrytown to Rockefeller State Park Preserve sounded perfect as a way to ease back in - long mileage, but gentle hills only.

From the train station, we walked along the water, past the Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, finally turning inland towards Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. From there, we entered Rockefeller State Park and took a circuitous route through it, returning eventually to the western side. We followed the Old Croton Aqueduct back to Tarrytown.

Much of the park is open fields, and nearly all the trails are wide carriage roads, so it has a very different feel than the areas I typically hike in. I suspect that at the peak of summer, the open areas may be uncomfortably hot and sunny, but it was perfect for a nice spring day. The carriage roads had the benefit of more easily allowing club members to chat as they walked.

Industry City Fire Tower

This isn't a hike, but I'm writing about the Industry City Fire Tower here as part of my quest to visit fire towers. 

It's one of two fire towers in NYC. The other, at Marcus Garvey Park, was actually used in that location as part of a network of urban towers. This one was rebuilt in Brooklyn as a landmark in a gentrifying warehouse-to-mall development. In its past life, it was atop Moosehead Mountain, upstate.

Alas, you can't climb the tower - the first flight of stairs has been removed.