Meeker Hollow Mt (Cat 100)- Up one side, down the other 10-18-10

Fun hike yesterday with Mattthew, Dick and Mike K. Went up Upper Road to where it turns towards Plattekills - snowmobilers have posted a pair of signs. One pointing towards Plattekill with the word 'food' and the other heading down toward Bovina.
From here we jumped into knee high prickers, staying on the public property side of the boundary. 2 min after leaving UMH road, we were in shoulder high pricker canes most the way over MH's lower bump to the summit of MH. We scouted islands of beech trees as they'd give us short respites. From Meeker, it was down the southern ridge and we then cut towards the end of the DEP woods road above Roses Brook Rd and walked the scenic stone fence back to the car on RB road.
Hiking with Dr Mike K was the usual botanical treat and lesson. We found, and he i.d.'d a small geranium in bloom among the brown leaves. We also rec'd a lesson in how to age red pines: count the branch clusters ever 2' or so along the trunk = 1 year of growth for each.

Seems like Meeker is going thru some changes. The last couple of times I've been there have been dead of winter and early spring. Now, black raspberry canes have taken the summit ridge hostage. Not as bad as SE Warren, Cowan or some of the other notorious 'picker farms', but my legs and arms pretty trashed this morning. There is also what looks like a bulldozed road coming up on the Meeker Hollow Rd side of the southern ridge, along the boundary of DEP land and ending 150' below the summit. We're hoping its not going to be a cell tower, homes or some other development. Much more than an ATV path.
Bookah scurried between many of the prickers and her orange vest kept her from being scratched more.

Update on Meeker Hollow hike. I was just speaking with the owner of the Stone Tavern Farm at the end of Upper Meeker Hollow rd.
Since the bowhunting season just opened, he said he drives his ATV up the road to be sure bowhunters continue beyond his property. As soon as the firearms season opens, he said road hunters drive up and down the road shooting downhill thru the woods from their cars and he's afraid for the people, cows and horses they can't see when they shoot.
He welcomes hikers but mildly suggested that during hunting season, we place notes on our dashboards saying we're hiking so he doesn't have to be riding up and down the road being sure nothing dangerous is going on.
Also, the woods road we saw was for some selective logging they've done, not development.

Very nice guy and for hikers coming from out of the area, they also run a bed and breakfast at the farm.

You are indeed lucky to know Dr. K. Ask him if he needs an apprentice...

Audrey,

Someone asked why a particular maple tree still had leaves. It was near an old farmstead high up in the woods and Mike remarked that a quick way to distinquish foreign maples is that they hold their leaves longer as 'native trees have the sense to know when its cold''.

Heard why blackberry canes don't like to be near sugar maples and can't thrive under beeches. Discussion about caterpillar deforestation. And for some of us pricker-phobes, found out that the blackberry pricker canes have a 2 year lifespan but can grow tall in one season.
Also interesting to learn about whether grass we found was remnants of an old meadow....(no, it was sedge and why) and speculation as to where the pasture line used to be.
That there is a belief that some of the piles of old stones out in the woods are not all from cleared woodlands - it's believed that some are ceremonial sites from native americans.
He's tracking sites of old growth forest and also an authority on old bogs, some he's cored and had carbon dated to 13,000+ years ago.

One of our party mentioned that he loved walking near Mike during the hike and listening to what he was saying aloud as he hiked. I learn more in one afternoon hiking with professor Kudish than I accumulate on my own in a year.

Could you explain this route again? I was just up in that area climbing Plattekill yesterday and I don't see where a southern ridge on Meeker Hollow Mtn leads to Rose's Brook or Rose Brook Rd.

I hiked Meeker Hollow about 10 days ago, and the prickers weren't that fun. I parked at the first State Land sign on Upper Meeker Hollow Road and followed a straight-shot compass bearing on public land right up to the summit ridge, tagged the top, and followed it back down. I accidentally came to a newly bulldozed road on the way down, which made me realize that I had crossed onto private land. I simply contoured west a little and back to UMH Road again. The whole trip took all of 30 minutes.

Its the SW ridge of MH. Then cut NE to pick up a wood road that intersects but pretty well hidden from RB Road.
Your route from UMH Road is the least prickery, deciduous forest and the least amout of prickers. We went the way we did as Dr K wanted to see the entire mtn.

If you have to go northeast off the summit to follow that ridge back to Rose's Brook Road, then wouldn't it be the northeast ridge??

Maybe you Catskills folks hold yer maps upside down or something.

I posted without a map in front of me. The route mentioned follows the SE ridge of MH for 500' to 600', continuing downhill and NE until hitting the woods road that runs into Roses Brook Rd.
The NE ridge off the summit crosses into heavily posted private property.
The newly bulldozed logging road is on private property and hugs the edge of public land.

Ah, thank you for re-clarifying. I was fairly certain that the NE ridge was posted as private property, but I didn't want to come out and accuse you of that here. I think I found a different bulldozed road than you did - maybe it is an extension of the Cronk Road development.

I see exactly where you went now. It is interesting that the road is labeled interchangeably as Roxbury Mtn Road and Rose's Brook Road over there, as Rose's Brook is the drainage on the opposite side of the pass from where you got back to your car.

Either way, I'm glad I didn't spend any longer wading through prickers up there than absolutely necessary. Apparently there are a couple tree stands for deer hunters up on the state land near the summit, although I didn't see them.

I'll be back to finish the CHH this winter when the prickers are covered with snow and there are fewer locals with guns in the woods.

The woods road that is the extension of UMH road beyond Stone Tavern Farm splits as it turns toward Plattekill. Its a DEC right of way towards the ski area but private property until past both summits of Meeker Hollow Mt.

There is a spur of the road that heads north, downhill at the height of land. That one is an older woods road.
The only new woods road is the one the owners of the Farm bulldozed to within a couple of hundred feet of the summit along the SE ridge.

At least one of the two tree stands you saw are on public property and one is in sight of the new logging road.