Peekamoose and Table - 6/29/07

Dick, Joanne, Bookah and I did Peek and Table today. Great day. Very late start (11:30am) got us out of the woods late, but we compensated for it with the superb pizza at Picnic Pizza in Kingston on the way home.
The trails were dead dry, soft underfoot and not a sign of blowdown.
We had a late lunch at Reconnoiter Rock and took in every little viewspot along the trails to both mountains.
Joanne was in 7th heaven with her new, DSLR camera. Like a baseball manager putting a rehabbing pitcher on a pitch count, Dick put her on a picture count for the day.
We'll also be announcing a contest here to name Joanne's new camera.
We ran into Rocky Summit on the top of Peek - he scooted up Table and Peekamoose from the Neversink Valley, and showed us the neat viewspot off the summit of Table.
It was a glorious day, enjoyed by all. We did almost 8 miles and Bookah scampered 16.
Bookah's 'pitch count' is now at 54/100. Lots of fun today. Jo is a good sport.

Peakbagr said:

Joanne was in 7th heaven with her new, DSLR camera. Like a baseball manager putting a rehabbing pitcher on a pitch count, Dick put her on a picture count for the day.

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Heh-heh! I'm glad to hear she's having such fun with it!

Sounds like a nice trail. I'm doing these two later this month with an 11 year old. Are there some nice lookouts on the way to keep him going? Will Joanne post pics from her new camera? Love to see the highlights.

Doc,

I think Peek is one of the nicest of the Catskill 3500. The first mile is on the remains of an old tote road. It then gets more like a trail and there's some ups on it the higher you get.
Most of the charm of this hike is the aesthics of the trail, mountain ash groves, and how the trail gains the mountain. There is a nice balanced rock fairly high up, and Reconnoiter Rock is nice. My experience from hiking with children through, is they like steep rock, and fun things to do along the way, and there's not much of that to grab them here. The views are really nice from Reccy Rock, and from 2 or three little view spots higher up, but the trailhead starts low and not much for a youngster for quite a ways.

This was among the easier Catskill hikes for us. You couldn't ask for a more gradual, well groomed trail, really. GPS appears to be at variance with book mileage. No views at either summit, but lots of varied woods and a couple of nice lookouts on both. Early on we were warned by a descending hiker about a huge bear near the summit of peekamoose who seemed reluctant to give up the trail, but we saw nothing. Well, Joanne did have a six-foot tall bear suddenly jump out of the woods at her, but it had a green 46R shirt on, so she paid no attention to it. Some signs of recent camping on summit. Table is appropriately named, and is really a hemlock tunnel across the summit, but we visited one of its two nice lookouts. Questions: is Reconnoiter Rock the one that appears to be balanced on a rock outcropping (no views), and appears "ready to roll" or is it the nice lookout farther up? I thought the former. Anyone know the history of the name 'Peekamoose?' We actually had Van Wyck and Woodhull in mind for a day when we could get an early start and catch P. and T. too. Another time.

Doc McPeak said:

I'm doing these two later this month with an 11 year old. Are there some nice lookouts on the way to keep him going?

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On the southern trail approach from CR 42 there are good raspberry patches not far after the trail register (some ways up the trail). This is an area that suffered heavy blowdowns from Floyd in 1999. The blowdowns have long been cleared and are not even that noticeable anymore. There is an excellent open 270 degree southern view just above the 3500' sign. There are some blueberries just above this view. About 0.1 miles from the summit are two faint paths on the right that also lead to some good views. These are mentioned in the current, 3rd edition of the ADK Catskill Trails guide book. There is also a good view point 0.1 mile west of the Table summit. The unmarked path begins next to a white birch tree and heads down hill to the 180 degree western view. Slide Mountain can be seen on the northern edge of the view.

Two worthwhile after hike stops are:

• Peekamoose Blue Hole, a very popular swimming hole. A short, well worn, unmarked path to the Blue Hole begins about 30 yards east of the Peekamoose trailhead on CR 42 - on the creek/south side of the road.
• Buttermilk Falls. This is about 1.6 miles east of the trailhead on CR 42, and shown on map #43. A small parking lot is just east of the waterfalls.

rhihn said:

Anyone know the history of the name 'Peekamoose?'

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I have never seen a definitive explanation of the name Peekamoose. On some old maps it is spelled Peek O' Moose. Moose are known to occasionally pass through the Catskills. One can easily imagine a moose hanging out at Peekamoose Lake or at one of the many blue pools on the Rondout Creek. The lake was the home of the "Peekamoose Fishing Club", a joint venture started by a couple of artists, and detailed in Alf Evers' book The Catskills, Chapter 78. The area is known as the Peekamoose Gorge or Gulf. There was also a very rustic Peekamoose Lodge near Bull Run. Theodore Roosevelt reportedly stayed there, and it is briefly described by T. Morris Longstreth in his 1918 book The Catskills. He also mentions the "Blue Hole", see link above.

Peekamoose was my first *real* hike ever, so its a mountain that holds a special place in my heart. Yup. Way back in 1989! (OK, that was way back for me!). I love Peekamoose and Table and have hiked them several times either as dayhikes or as a traverse with a campout at the *now removed* Denning Lean Too.
I always wanted to bushwack to Lone from the Peek/Table col, but never got the opportunity. I have done Lone from the old Fisherman's Trail, though.

Glad you had such a great day! Can't wait to see Joanne's pics

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesh...de=fromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Another glorious summer hiking day to Peekamoose/Table yesterday and the "maiden voyage" of my new digital SLR on the trail. I'm still working out the logistics of carrying, protecting, easily accessing, and using the camera. My partners LOVE to give me a hard time but LOVE the pictoral record of our outings ...... so ....... give it a break, guys!

Those were some great pics! I'm so glad you're really enjoying the digital, especially with all those nice narrow-depth-of-field shots. Keep enjoying the camera, and just ignore the naysayers.

BTW - "Bookah" sounds waaaaay too much like "Bokeh"!

Thanks MJ! Yes, the depth-of-field capabilities of my new "toy" are amazing, as well as the quality of macro shots. The good-natured ribbing on the trail is great fun! I have two wonderful hiking partners!

Thanks for the slideshow.
Lovely shots, especially the flowers.
Gives a nice overview of the trip.

Nice report and pics.

The last time we climbed Peekamoose and Table in August of 2002, we hiked end-to-end to Denning where we left a second car. It was a very hot and humid day, and so hazy the only views we had were of VanWyck. I'll have to climb these 2 again only a cooler day.

Dick, yes, Reconnoiter Rock is the big boulder balanced on the edge of the rock outcropping ...... not the lookout with great views that Mark mentions.

Joanne, what on God's good earth is that scary monster that you photographed? Whatever you put in that Gatorade ....... don't do that again! Seriously, tho, your pictures have always been top-notch ....... and they just keep getting better. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Doc and i12climbup!
Those flower shots put me several minutes behind Alan and Dick on the trail, but how could I resist!
I'm not sure what was in Alan's Gatorade. He's never done that before
No wonder we didn't see a bear that day!

Nice pictures and I think Alan has a new avatar...

Jay

Jay-

Funny that you mention a new avatar. When I posed for that picture, I said to Jo that if it makes it into the trip reports, I'd need to think about a photo I have.....One that I earned by winning a bet by getting us back to the car before dark.

Even photoshopped, it would make a wonderful avatar. The clock is ticking on the one you took Jo.

Oops !

Real nice pictures Joanne. Congratulations on the new camera. That is a excellent portrait of Bookah in the car. That would also make a good avatar.

The high elevation meadows in several of your photos are near Red Hill, along Rudolph Road on the slopes of an unnamed peak on the Cat 200 list. Those meadows provide great views of the southern Catskills. Besides those meadows and a few fields near Denning the views on Peekamoose and Table are nearly free of any signs of human civilization. However, on very clear days you can also see the observation tower at High Point in Jersey.

Thanks, Mark. Can't take credit for the "Bookah" pics. Alan got a hold of the camera while I was otherwise occupied at the trailhead. Great avatar material, I agree.
Looks like we'll have to investigate that field when we climb the unnamed CAT 200 peak you described (are you seeing this, Alan)!