Silver Hollow & Plateau - 09/23/07

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Rob S

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Another last-minute decision to hike. Decision to go made at 8pm on Saturday evening, left NJ at 10:30pm, and arrived at a certain covert parking area at 1:30am. Slept quite comfortably in the back of the X-Terra until about 6:30am. Drove to the parking area at Notch Lake (Devil’s Tombstone), ate a quick breakfast consisting of pop-tarts, granola bars, pumpkin bread, and OJ, packed up my stuff and began the day’s hike.

My rationale to walk the 1.3 miles down Rt 214 to Notch Inn Rd at the beginning of the hike was four-fold: 1) felt safer leaving a vehicle at Notch Lake, 2) avoid a boring road walk at end of hike, 3) prefer a nice warm-up at the beginning, 4) fewer cars at 8am than mid-afternoon (people drive way too fast on that road). The plan worked well as the road walk proved to be a good vantage for wildlife: a large turkey, several squirrels, a skunk, and some fish (brook trout?) in one of the pools of Edgewood Stream alongside the road.

It only took about 15 minutes to reach Notch Inn Rd. The old buildings and the remnants of the railroad culvert give silent testimony to a once prosperous era in the Catskills. The winding dirt road ascends gradually at first, and then becomes somewhat steeper and rather rough. But still a nice walk. Before long, I saw the sign at the trail junction for the new section of the Long Path. Took a short break at the large boulder, but since temps were only about 50F, and since the wind picked up, I didn’t linger more than a few minutes as I was getting chilled.

The ascent up Silver Hollow was interesting and I was pleasantly surprised. I had mentally prepared for a somewhat boring walk and no views. I was wrong. A few open ledges over some fairly high cliffs afforded great views of Little Rocky (?) and the ridge spine of Olderbark. A cairn adorns the trail near one of these ledges. The actual summit of Silver Hollow is about 1/4 mile further. A grouse sprang up off the trail as I neared the highest point ..…… a boulder on the side of the trail. Startled me real good, but I guess the grouse was thinking the same thing. Took a self-portrait and a shot of the boulder, had a snack, and began heading back the way I came.

Arrived at the junction and realized that temps had warmed up quite a bit. The chill in the air was gone. As I began the ascent up the new section of the Long Path, I kept thinking how lucky I was to be able to hike ….. something I sometimes take for granted. After several weeks dealing with my father-in-law’s cancer, my mom’s chronic back pain, and a bunch of other crap that I’d rather not even get into, I had felt mentally fatigued and uncharacteristically pessimistic. This hike was one I had looked forward to ever since reading TR’s by Tony and Mark and a few others. And it proved to be just the medicine I needed.

The new section of trail is one of the most pleasant climbs in the Catskills. It is truly a gem of a trail that never gets boring, and the scenery constantly changes. The grades are all easy and moderate, with just a few short steeper sections mixed in. The forest cannot seem to make up it’s mind and changes frequently between deciduous and coniferous and combinations of the two. I really enjoyed the many areas of “enchanted forest” and the mystical feel to them. There are a total of 4 “vistas” (as written on the trail markers) that provide magnificent, and some very unique views. It was cool to be able to see Silver Hollow Mtn from the first vista and know that I was just over there. Each viewpoint was better than the previous, and I would highly recommend doing this loop in the same direction for that reason.

I was almost disappointed when I arrived at the Devil’s Path on Plateau’s long ridge. But that didn’t last long as I had forgotten just how much I like this mountain. Turning right at the junction, I headed east toward the true summit of Plateau. This side of the ridge did not suffer as badly from the April ice storm as the western side. The trail seemed pretty much like I remembered it over 20 years ago. Very “tunnel-like”, dark, and mysterious. Near the end of the eastern ridge, the trail suddenly turns left (north) and starts a gradual descent. My GPS told me the actual summit was about 80 feet off the trail. Off the trail I went. Not too bad at first, but then it got thick. I found a boulder that definitely appeared to be the highest point, and struggled to get to it. Upon standing on said boulder, and looking at the GPS, I was satisfied and decided to head due south to intercept the trail rather than go back thru the thick stuff. BIG mistake. The next hundred feet took me about twenty minutes. At times, I couldn’t even forcefully push my way through. Back up a few feet and try to push again until I heard a loud “THWACK” as the dead branches finally give way. Finally, I stumbled out onto the Devil’s Path and was quite relieved ……. I love a good bushwhack but this was not something you’d want to do all day!

Began heading back west, brushing twigs out of my shirt, cap, and pants, and suddenly I hear a voice behind me. First person I’d seen all day. Couldn’t help but laugh when I thought about if I had been just a minute later on the whack, would have scared the bejesus out of this guy as I came crashing out of the woods!! :eek: :D

I had been thinking that the damage from the ice-storm wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but those thoughts quickly faded as I hiked along the middle and then the western end of the ridge. Yes, the damage is severe. Still a beautiful mountain, and still a great walk, but different. The long “tunnel” that I remembered is fragmented at best. It will be interesting to see what Mother Nature does next. Will the tunnel return someday, or will the warming weather patterns create a completely different forest over the next century or two?

The western viewpoints are spectacular. Spent a lot of time taking photos, and identifying far-off peaks. Saw a bald eagle from the northern vista as it soared slightly below that elevation through the valley heading towards Hunter. Always a magnificent sight, and only the second time seeing one in the Catskills.

The descent off Plateau was as steep as I had remembered it to be. But it went by quickly as I hiked with another couple whom I had met at Orchard Point. Their plan was to backtrack across the ridge; their car was at Roaring Kill. I offered them a ride back to their vehicle if they wanted to “see all of Plateau”. So the three of us descended back to the parking lot at Notch Lake …… great conversation and nice to meet new hiking friends. They too live in NJ so perhaps we’ll hook up for some future hikes.

My only disappointment of the day has to do with my photos. (I have a new camera but forgot to bring the memory card. D’oh! Fortunately I also brought my other digital camera.) I took a total of 67 photos, but have to scrap about 20 of those. It was a blue-bird day, but at least half of my pictures completely washed out the blue sky. And the views were terrific but the distant peaks in my photos look hazy. There was no haze at all. I guess I really need to take some photography lessons. I’m fairly good at composing a shot; I just can’t seem to capture a blue sky very often.

Sorry this is so long. The hike and report have been therapeutic for me, but I apologize if I’ve bored you to death.

HERE are some pics.
 
Really nice report; I enjoyed all the details.
This is a trip I'm planning to do soon.

I also prefer to park overnight at Notch Lake when I'm accessing the Long Path. I know the road walk isn't bad but I'd rather not do it. Twice I've used my bike to cruise down to Notch Inn Road, then I stash it in the woods and pick it up later.

Your account of the damage on top of Plateau reminded me exactly of the damage from Hunter fire tower east. For nearly a half mile there is evidence of terrible damage that must have been daunting to the clean-up crew. So much damage in such thick cover that it must have been hard to find a place to put branches once they'd cut them up.
 
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