the_swede
New member
Let me preface by saying what a hike! The only other Catskills hike that I believe may be more difficult is the BLM-Graham-Doubletop-Big Indian-Eagle-Balsam traverse I did last fall with Ralph and my buddy Jeff.
A friend of mine from another hiking site posted a challenge that I could not refuse: the Devil's Path in one day. Fourteen people signed up for it and ten of us finished. Not bad.
Friday night, we camped out at the Devil's Tombstone, relaxed, then Seth from New Paltz and I set up the car spot, leaving his car at Prediger Road.
Fast forward eight hours and we're at the trailhead in Spruceton. It's now just before 6 AM and I'm feeling a bit fatigued despite my hearty breakfast of oatmeal and two cups of coffee. But despite that, I was off like a bat out of hell. I signed the group in at the register and then set off. Seth was 2nd in line and said "see you at the end! If you get hurt, we'll be behind you."
I steadily slogged up Saint Anne's Peak and West Kill, taking only one short break to catch my breath. The heavy rains had transformed the trail and I felt like I might as well have been bushwhacking up a creek. The Catskills are known for its lack of water sources but today I would have absolutely no problem. At first, I tried rock hopping to keep my feet dry but after a few minutes I succumbed, and for the rest of the day, my feet felt like pickles in a jar. Luckily I had brought a change of socks.
Made it to Buck Ridge lookout by 7:30, quickly snacked on a nutri-grain bar and then did a controlled descent down towards Diamond Notch. The falls were a raging torrent. At this point I was feeling real good. I felt like I was a man on a mission. I charged up Hunter, following the stream that was the trail. But then I went through a period of slight doubt. Could I really finish the Devil's Path in a day? Was I wearing myself out too fast? Regardless, I pushed on.
I met a group of campers at the Devil's Acre lean-to and spent a few minutes to chat with them while I let my system recover from the ascent. I let them know I had a group behind me and asked them to let my group know I was ahead. It would turn out that my group would pass the lean-to an hour later. My descent down Hunter was real fast. The switchbacks prevented the trail from flooding so I jogged and rock hopped all the way down to Stony Clove Notch. A group of girls ascending Hunter said I was like a mountain goat. At 9:45 I got to the register, I signed in to let my group know I was still marching on.
At the notch, I filled my water bladder up with water from the spigot and gnawed on another nutri-grain bar before the slow ascent up Plateau. I reached a sort of low point here. I was sucking wind like crazy on the 1200 foot ascent. I felt like I was marching through the woods on an ozone alert day. I slowed down my pace and took a handful a breaks before topping out on the ledge. Whew. i wrung out my wet socks and let them dry in the sun for a few minutes before continuing onto the easiest part of the trek: Plateau's summit ridge.
This part of the hike was most pleasant. Almost no up or down for over a mile. It was relaxing despite moving at a decent pace. During the long ridge walk I began reflecting upon all the journeys I had been on over the past few years, through blizzards & thunderstorms, in bone-chilling cold & oppressive heat. I thought about all the writers, poets and artists who romanticized about the outdoors: Thoreau, Burroughs, Thomas Cole, etc. who had inspired so many to seek the solitude of the hills only to be transformed into a sweaty, cussing man-bear-pig. The only thing I was romanticizing about at this point was a row of deep fried hot dogs laid out in front of me on a worn out, 1950s era formica countertop at Rutt's Hut.
When I got to Plateau's eastern ledge, I stopped to dry my socks again and then scarfed down a slice of pizza. Gazing over towards Sugarloaf, I knew I had yet again another 1200 foot ascent but I was feeling confident. On the way down Plateau I found a decent sized stream where I once again filled up my bladder. Added some iodine and some gatorade powder and I was set for the rest of the trip. At the col, I wrote my initials in the dirt, hoping that the group would see it and know I made it this far.
Up Sugarloaf and onto the summit flat I went. It was a relief to have the worst of the worst out of the way. All I had left were two more peaks and 1300 feet of elevation gain. Stopped at the ledge and scarfed down my last slice of pizza while simultaneously changing my socks. My toes looked like pale white prunes. At the next col, I again left my initials as a clue to my group, this time using sticks.
The ascent up Twin was a breeze: only 800 feet this time. I kept on chuggin' until I hit the south peak. The view from the ledge just confirmed my opinion that Twin is my favorite Catskill mountain. The spectacular panorama showcases views of the Hudson River, the Ashokan Reservoir, the southern high peaks, some of the distant central peaks and the adjacent peaks on the Devil's Path. It was now only 1:45 PM and I was way ahead of schedule. I figured if I pushed myself, I could finish just after 3 and hit Kaaterskill High Peak for #35. However, I decided that 1) I should wait for my group to see if they would catch up, 2) I was enjoying this ledge way too much to rush past it and 3) I didn't want to just ascend KHP, spend 15 minutes basking in glory and then quickly descend before dark. So, I spent one full hour on Twin, gazing and napping while waiting for someone from my group to show up. A group of (boyscouts?) showed up at the summit of Twin. They were headed for the lean-to in Mink Hollow.
I descended Twin and headed for the final summit of the day: Indian Head. Only 500 more feet to go! This ascent went by quickly and before I knew it, I had made it all the way over to that great east-facing ledge. I took a break there for another hour. Some older folks from New Paltz and Woodstock showed up, impressed with the view from the ledge. I asked them to keep an eye out for my group and to let them know I was nearing the end. The long descent down to Prediger Road went faster than I remembered it taking me last year: just over one hour. The trail was flooded pretty bad but at this point I just didn't really care. That bit of trail that heads up around the shoulder of the mountain got the best of me, even though I was expecting it. Ugh. I just wanted it to be over.
Just after 5 PM I made it to the new parking area on Prediger Road. I ran into a group of hikers I saw on Twin and asked them if they had seen anyone from my group: nada. I waited for an hour or so when the group of locals from New Paltz and Woodstock came down the mountain. "Hey, is that the blond kid from before?" I heard them say. I asked them if they had seen my group but they too hadn't. One of the fellows was nice enough to lend me his cell phone which had service. No one from my group answered. The folks were nice enough to give me their snacks and a bottle of water before wishing me good luck.
I waited and waited and waited and at about 7:00 two guys from my group came walking up Prediger Road! Boy, was I glad to see them. Turned out that they bailed after Plateau and road walked the rest of the way. So the three of us waited until 8 PM when we finally made the decision to walk down the road where we had cell reception and try to call a cab. The dispatcher said that the cab would be there in a half an hour. In a last ditch effort, I decided to once again call Seth, the guy whose car was parked at Prediger. "Hello?" "Hey, where are you?" "I'm at my car." "Really? We're just down the road! Come pick us up!" I tried calling the cab company back to let them know that we didn't need a ride anymore but 411 kept on giving us different numbers. At one point, it dialed some cab company in Ozone Park, Queens. While driving back to Spruceton, I received a call from the cab company. Oops! I apologized to the cab driver and told him how I tried to call them back but 411 gave me 10 different numbers. He seemed cool about it but regardless, I felt really bad.
We drove back to the Devil's Tombstone to get a headcount. There were 8 people out and 6 more still on the trail. It was 9:30 PM when Seth and I drove to Spruceton to pick up my car. We then drove all the way back to Prediger Road where we found two more people, plus one dog, waiting for us. Whew! Now there were only four people left. Seth agreed to wait at the parking area until midnight while I drove the two others back to the campsite. If the four remaining people hadn't arrived after midnight, the plan was to switch off duties. Finally I had some time to relax, grab a beer, shake off the nerves and get a bit of shuteye until midnight. 12:30 rolled around and I was half asleep in my hammock when a car pulled up. It was Seth and the remaining hikers! Woohoo! Everyone was safe! We started up the fire and had an after-midnight bbq complete with beer, sausages and eggplant before passing out at around 2:30 AM.
All in all, this was quite the adventure. I completed the Devil's Path in just over 11 hours, 9 hours had I not stopped for two hours on Twin and Indian Head. Not that it really matters...
Success!
A friend of mine from another hiking site posted a challenge that I could not refuse: the Devil's Path in one day. Fourteen people signed up for it and ten of us finished. Not bad.
Friday night, we camped out at the Devil's Tombstone, relaxed, then Seth from New Paltz and I set up the car spot, leaving his car at Prediger Road.
Fast forward eight hours and we're at the trailhead in Spruceton. It's now just before 6 AM and I'm feeling a bit fatigued despite my hearty breakfast of oatmeal and two cups of coffee. But despite that, I was off like a bat out of hell. I signed the group in at the register and then set off. Seth was 2nd in line and said "see you at the end! If you get hurt, we'll be behind you."
I steadily slogged up Saint Anne's Peak and West Kill, taking only one short break to catch my breath. The heavy rains had transformed the trail and I felt like I might as well have been bushwhacking up a creek. The Catskills are known for its lack of water sources but today I would have absolutely no problem. At first, I tried rock hopping to keep my feet dry but after a few minutes I succumbed, and for the rest of the day, my feet felt like pickles in a jar. Luckily I had brought a change of socks.
Made it to Buck Ridge lookout by 7:30, quickly snacked on a nutri-grain bar and then did a controlled descent down towards Diamond Notch. The falls were a raging torrent. At this point I was feeling real good. I felt like I was a man on a mission. I charged up Hunter, following the stream that was the trail. But then I went through a period of slight doubt. Could I really finish the Devil's Path in a day? Was I wearing myself out too fast? Regardless, I pushed on.
I met a group of campers at the Devil's Acre lean-to and spent a few minutes to chat with them while I let my system recover from the ascent. I let them know I had a group behind me and asked them to let my group know I was ahead. It would turn out that my group would pass the lean-to an hour later.
My descent down Hunter was real fast. The switchbacks prevented the trail from flooding so I jogged and rock hopped all the way down to Stony Clove Notch. A group of girls ascending Hunter said I was like a mountain goat. At 9:45 I got to the register, I signed in to let my group know I was still marching on.At the notch, I filled my water bladder up with water from the spigot and gnawed on another nutri-grain bar before the slow ascent up Plateau. I reached a sort of low point here. I was sucking wind like crazy on the 1200 foot ascent. I felt like I was marching through the woods on an ozone alert day. I slowed down my pace and took a handful a breaks before topping out on the ledge. Whew. i wrung out my wet socks and let them dry in the sun for a few minutes before continuing onto the easiest part of the trek: Plateau's summit ridge.
This part of the hike was most pleasant. Almost no up or down for over a mile. It was relaxing despite moving at a decent pace. During the long ridge walk I began reflecting upon all the journeys I had been on over the past few years, through blizzards & thunderstorms, in bone-chilling cold & oppressive heat. I thought about all the writers, poets and artists who romanticized about the outdoors: Thoreau, Burroughs, Thomas Cole, etc. who had inspired so many to seek the solitude of the hills only to be transformed into a sweaty, cussing man-bear-pig. The only thing I was romanticizing about at this point was a row of deep fried hot dogs laid out in front of me on a worn out, 1950s era formica countertop at Rutt's Hut.
When I got to Plateau's eastern ledge, I stopped to dry my socks again and then scarfed down a slice of pizza. Gazing over towards Sugarloaf, I knew I had yet again another 1200 foot ascent but I was feeling confident. On the way down Plateau I found a decent sized stream where I once again filled up my bladder. Added some iodine and some gatorade powder and I was set for the rest of the trip. At the col, I wrote my initials in the dirt, hoping that the group would see it and know I made it this far.
Up Sugarloaf and onto the summit flat I went. It was a relief to have the worst of the worst out of the way. All I had left were two more peaks and 1300 feet of elevation gain. Stopped at the ledge and scarfed down my last slice of pizza while simultaneously changing my socks. My toes looked like pale white prunes.
At the next col, I again left my initials as a clue to my group, this time using sticks.The ascent up Twin was a breeze: only 800 feet this time. I kept on chuggin' until I hit the south peak. The view from the ledge just confirmed my opinion that Twin is my favorite Catskill mountain. The spectacular panorama showcases views of the Hudson River, the Ashokan Reservoir, the southern high peaks, some of the distant central peaks and the adjacent peaks on the Devil's Path. It was now only 1:45 PM and I was way ahead of schedule. I figured if I pushed myself, I could finish just after 3 and hit Kaaterskill High Peak for #35. However, I decided that 1) I should wait for my group to see if they would catch up, 2) I was enjoying this ledge way too much to rush past it and 3) I didn't want to just ascend KHP, spend 15 minutes basking in glory and then quickly descend before dark. So, I spent one full hour on Twin, gazing and napping while waiting for someone from my group to show up. A group of (boyscouts?) showed up at the summit of Twin. They were headed for the lean-to in Mink Hollow.
I descended Twin and headed for the final summit of the day: Indian Head. Only 500 more feet to go! This ascent went by quickly and before I knew it, I had made it all the way over to that great east-facing ledge. I took a break there for another hour. Some older folks from New Paltz and Woodstock showed up, impressed with the view from the ledge. I asked them to keep an eye out for my group and to let them know I was nearing the end. The long descent down to Prediger Road went faster than I remembered it taking me last year: just over one hour. The trail was flooded pretty bad but at this point I just didn't really care. That bit of trail that heads up around the shoulder of the mountain got the best of me, even though I was expecting it. Ugh. I just wanted it to be over.
Just after 5 PM I made it to the new parking area on Prediger Road. I ran into a group of hikers I saw on Twin and asked them if they had seen anyone from my group: nada. I waited for an hour or so when the group of locals from New Paltz and Woodstock came down the mountain. "Hey, is that the blond kid from before?" I heard them say. I asked them if they had seen my group but they too hadn't. One of the fellows was nice enough to lend me his cell phone which had service. No one from my group answered. The folks were nice enough to give me their snacks and a bottle of water before wishing me good luck.
I waited and waited and waited and at about 7:00 two guys from my group came walking up Prediger Road! Boy, was I glad to see them. Turned out that they bailed after Plateau and road walked the rest of the way. So the three of us waited until 8 PM when we finally made the decision to walk down the road where we had cell reception and try to call a cab. The dispatcher said that the cab would be there in a half an hour. In a last ditch effort, I decided to once again call Seth, the guy whose car was parked at Prediger. "Hello?" "Hey, where are you?" "I'm at my car." "Really? We're just down the road! Come pick us up!" I tried calling the cab company back to let them know that we didn't need a ride anymore but 411 kept on giving us different numbers. At one point, it dialed some cab company in Ozone Park, Queens.
While driving back to Spruceton, I received a call from the cab company. Oops! I apologized to the cab driver and told him how I tried to call them back but 411 gave me 10 different numbers. He seemed cool about it but regardless, I felt really bad. We drove back to the Devil's Tombstone to get a headcount. There were 8 people out and 6 more still on the trail. It was 9:30 PM when Seth and I drove to Spruceton to pick up my car. We then drove all the way back to Prediger Road where we found two more people, plus one dog, waiting for us. Whew! Now there were only four people left. Seth agreed to wait at the parking area until midnight while I drove the two others back to the campsite. If the four remaining people hadn't arrived after midnight, the plan was to switch off duties. Finally I had some time to relax, grab a beer, shake off the nerves and get a bit of shuteye until midnight. 12:30 rolled around and I was half asleep in my hammock when a car pulled up. It was Seth and the remaining hikers! Woohoo! Everyone was safe! We started up the fire and had an after-midnight bbq complete with beer, sausages and eggplant before passing out at around 2:30 AM.
All in all, this was quite the adventure. I completed the Devil's Path in just over 11 hours, 9 hours had I not stopped for two hours on Twin and Indian Head. Not that it really matters...
Success!
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