Mastering the Catskills: quadrupeak bushwhacking bonanza

Our hike thru the Catskill Mountains began with a hitchhike from Big Indian, New York. Within only a few minutes of waiting with a thumb up and sign that read PHOENICIA, an RV (recreational vehicle) pulled over and beeped for us to get on in. The trailer was operated by a couple from Florida, who in their younger years had hitchhiked from Dunkirk to Tehran.

The completed GPS track shows the essential role of the hitchhike down State Highway 28, masterfully planned by my backpacking companion Hayden:

In total we hiked 36 miles (58 kilometers) with a total altitude gain of 11,448 feet (3,489 meters). We bagged quite a few peaks including Cross, Wittenberg, Cornell, Slide, Hemlock, Spruce, Fir, Big Indian, Eagle, Haynes, and Balsam Mountain.

We got to the Catskills the night before starting our hike, just in time for a major rain & thunderstorm to test out our hammock tarps. The next day while hiking, with the ground still wet, we say this beautiful amphibian:

Interestingly, Hayden had taken an ecology course at Penn, where on a field trip they'd encountered this species. Back at home, he uncovered his notes on the matter and messaged:

The name of the small orange reptile which comes out after storms which you photographed is the Eastern Newt. It did not have as exciting a name as I remembered. In my ecology class I learned it as the Red Terrestrial Eft, which apparently is the childhood version. In fact, the bright orange indicates that the creature is in the juvenile stage. In adulthood its color is more green. I also have in my notes that it comes out after rain because it can absorb water through its skin, and that it has poison in its skin to keep predators from eating it. They remain in their terrestrial juvenile stage for 2 or 3 years and travel far across the land to ensure gene dispersal. They then find a pond after their long pilgrimage and transform into aquatic beings.

Continuing onward and upwards, we got the best view of the outing. The panoramic view atop Wittenberg Mountain:

Here's a good time to come clean. We didn't think the Catskills was the most scenic hiking experience. Most mountains had tree-covered summits and lookouts were few and far between. Overall, the terrain was mostly gentle. However, the trails were well-marked and clean. And there were a few technical elements:

On the second night of camping, we found an awesome campsite between Cornell and Slide Mountain (GPS coordinates of 42°00'13.0"N 74°22'04.7"W). The campsite was at 3,265 feet of elevation, just below the 3,500 cutoff for licit camping.

This portion of our hike overlapped with the Long Path Trail that starts at 175th Street Subway Station in New York City. We decided it'd be the best occasion for our party night, so we built a fire:

While the fire doesn't look like much, let me assure you that not just any Steemian could have kindled those embers given the alpine habitat and damp dankness. It was pretty cold this night, and Hayden slept for not more than an hour. However, I was able to get him on his feet in time for us to catch the sunrise from Slide Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Catskills at 4,180 feet.

Bushwack Bonanza

When designing our thru-hike, there was a section without any marked trail on the map. Hayden researched whether this section from the Slide Mountain parking area to Big Indian mountain was navigable. He found one post online that commented on the route:

This route goes over three mountains instead of one. It is more remote then the other routes. The beginning of the route requires that you climb up a steeper incline to get to the top of the ridge line. This is probably the least used route.

To learn more about whether there would be unmarked trails or whether this would be a pure bushwhack, he called The Ranger, but the call dropped. Next he asked Reddit, where the only commenter replied:

How's everyone's map & compass skills. There's going to be a lot more bushwacking than herd paths. Plan ahead for water requirements.

Incidentally, while hiking down Slide Mountain, we saw The Ranger and his assistant. When Hayden started asking about our proposed route from parking area → Hemlock → Spruce → Fir → Big Indian Mountain, The Ranger said "are you the guy with a 585 area code?" The Ranger wasn't aware of a trail and suggested an alternative route with a several mile road-walk that did not interest us.

We didn't see any trails from the parking area up Hemlock mountain, so we set out on a great bushwhack. The bushwhack was slow and long, with little change in scenery. We took it one step at a time, one peak at a time. After many hours of bushwhack, we came to a grand scene, a fern field (one of the few times we even saw the sky).

In short, there were no trails or herd paths until we got to Fir Mountain. After 5 hours of no paths, we came upon this beautiful sight:

It led to the summit of Fir Mountain, where there was a notepad in a container. We left a note, and I added a promotional note for Steem. I've blurred out the treasure, so if you want to claim it, get bushwhacky:

We set out for Big Indian Mountain, and the trail soon disappeared. As a navigation strategy, we followed ridgelines. When the ridge was tight, there was often was a herd path, since bushwhackers get funneled into a smaller area. Finally, we summitted Big Indian and rejoined a maintained trail after 9 hours of whack.

The next & final day we got one more view, having survived the trip:

On the short road walk back to our car, we passed an abandoned pink mansion, presumably an old resort.

According to a local, the Catskills used to be a thriving tourist destination as New York City masses flocked there via train for restorative vacations and pure air. However, times have changed. Ghost hotels on chamber-of-commerce summer days.

Bonus: pesterments & nuisances

As a bonus feature, there were only two bothersome natural influences on the trip. The first was an incredible number of necrophagous blow flies (Calliphoridae family), which were everpresent but especially present in certain situations:

Second was the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), which is a plant whose trichomes (spikes on the stem) irritate the skin for a brief period upon contact:

Postscript: We each carried 6 liters of water capacity, which we generally would fill to capacity upon encountering a water source. This was a good decision as there were long stretches along ridgelines and summits without any water.

Steemian Boss Series

This is the fourteenth post in the popular Steemian Boss Series. Previous posts include:

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