three night loop suggestions - adirondacks/catskills

Leaving early tomorrow morning. Going now to get maps of the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Does anyone know of a good 3-night (4-day) loop in either of these areas? I am unfamiliar with both.

Go for the Great Range Traverse, that could be easily broken down into a 3 day trip. It would be worth it just for the time above treeline.

Caveat: The Great Range is arguably the most spectacular terrain in the Adirondacks and Catskills, but it is a REALLY tough trail with full packs.

3 Day Backpacks

Pick up a copy of Bruce Wadsworth's excellent book on backpacking trips in the Adirondacks: An Adirondack Sampler. Great ideas for trips at all levels of difficulty in all areas of the Park.

The Devil's Path in the Catskills is frequently done as a backpacking trip with a car spot. Likewise the Escarpment trail. The Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide loop from Woodland Valley could also be stretched into 3 days with side trips. If you are looking to set up a central basecamp for day hiking, there is no better spot in the Catskills than the E. branch of the Neversink from Denning. You can climb Table Mountain, Peekamoose, or bushwack Lone Mountain, Balsam Cap, Friday. Have fun.

Catskills options

AOC lays out some good ideas. To add a twist, if you are solo, many of the "through hike" options can be done by stashing a bike at the end point and driving back to your start point. Just review the maps and set it up so that you are biking in the direction of declining elevation. I've done this a number of times and it works out very well.

Wow!

I like to get my maps at least 24hrs. before a hike in unfamiliar territory.
but that's just me.
Get the Guide to Adirondack Trails, High Peaks Region.
If you can't score it tonight, you can get all the info you want at the
Mountaineer it Keene Vally tomorrow on the way in.
Oh Yeah, Don't forget your bear cannister in the eastern high peaks if you decide to go there. I'm not sure if the rangers will give you some greif or not.

I have'nt done much in the Catskill's either, but I do have the AMC Catskill mountain guide.It seems pretty imformative.

If all else fails, just ask your fellow vftt'ers. Someone out there know's what the deal is, they've helped me many a time.

Steve

mek:

Wow, indeed. Your question is very broad! Between the Adirondacks and the Catskills, that's pretty much the entirety of New York State's Forest Preserve-lot to choose from! All the suggestions so far have been good, particularly AOC's mention of three Catskill classics. Are we to assume that you're looking for High Peaks? If we are, that narrows things down, if not, you're options are just enormous. If you're looking for stuff other than High Peaks, the western Catskills offer a lot in the way of backpacking, and the ADKs include the legendary Northville-Placid Trail, which has it's own guide.

The Adirondack Mountain Club (www.adk.org) publishes excellent trail guide/map combos for the High Peaks as well as the N-P Trail and the five other regions of the Adirondack Park. They also have a volume for the Catskills. The AMC Catskill Mountain Guide Steve-O mentions is also good. For Catskills maps, go with those published by the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference (www.nynjtc.org), since they are better than the one included w/ the AMC guide, and the ADK Catskill guide doesn't include a map.

You pretty much can't go wrong. The Catskills and the Adirondacks contain NY's finest-our highest mountains and wildest forests. Go forth and prosper!

Matt

The map I got is of the High Peaks area. Is that different than the Great Range? I guess I have some research to do in the next few hours....

mek said:

The map I got is of the High Peaks area. Is that different than the Great Range? I guess I have some research to do in the next few hours....

Click to expand...

Short, answer: no, not different. The later is part of the former.

Long Answer:
The High Peaks area, and the rest of the Adirondacks and Catskills, are broken down into smaller ranges. Each range is a series of peaks held up by the same ridgeline. The nice thing about doing multiple peaks on a ridge is that usually there is only one real long climb up, then smaller ups and downs and then one long descent off the ridge at the end. The Great Range is indeed part of the larger Adirondack High Peaks region. Another example is the Macintyre Range, which is dominated by Algonquin Peak, or in the Catskills, the Burroughs Range, which is dominated by Slide Mountain.

Two more good sources of info:

www.adirondackjourney.com

www.catskillhikes.com

Matt

Why not start with Number 1 and 2, backwards?

A nice intro to the Daks would be a hike from Heart Lake over Algonquin, down the Lake Colden Trail to Flowed Lands, over Marcy the next day, maybe camping at Marcy Dam the second night, doing Phelps the third day as a slackpack, then out.

The trails will be busy but, depending on your level of experience, it may be nice to spend your first hike out not totally isolated.

For the Catksills, Burnt Knob>Acra Point>Blackheads>Thom Cole makes a great walk, but there's about six miles of country road work to complete the circuit. Table and Peakamoose and Curtis Osmbee to Slide from Denning as a base camp make really nice hikes.

Have a great time and be sure to post your trip report!

Sabrina

Thanks una dogger,

looking at the map, that looks like an excellent hike. Is there parking at Heart LAke?

Thnx!

Heart Lake is one of the hiking centers of the Adirondack High Peaks region. It is owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club. And, yes, it has parking!! You can pay a nominal daily parking fee at Heart Lake (Adirondack Loj). Or better yet, join the Adirondack Mountain Club and pay even less for parking. (I think it is $2 per day for members).

Alternatively, you can try to park at the end of South Meadows Road, which is free but often crowded. You can access the trail to Marcy Dam from there, but if you are planning to do the hike suggested by una dogger Adk Loj would be preferable. If you look at your new map you'll see the trail to Algonquin splits off before Marcy Dam. Welcome to the Adirondacks. Have a great time.

great! one more question:

I am a fairly experienced hiker. My girlfriend (with whom I'll be travelling) is perhaps a little weaker. Looking at this topo, Heart LAke, then over Algonquin peak to camp at flowed lands looks a little daunting for the first day.

How is it in reality? I mean, I've done a lot of long distance out west but maybe this terrain is different?

Just a suggestion, but if you have never been to the Adirondack High Peaks, I highly suggest hiking through Avalanche Pass to Lake Colden or Flowedlands and the slack pack up Algonquin. The pass is very rugged (a lot of boulders and short ladders to climb over) but it is something that can’t be missed and I think it would be easier than carrying a full pack over Algonquin. The trail up Algonquin resembles a streambed.

The hike up Algonquin from Heart Lake is 4 miles with an elevation gain of close to 3000 feet. It is a moderately steep climb. The trail down to Lake Colden is steeper, dropping 2350 feet in just over 2 miles. Throw in a climb up and over Mt. Marcy from Flowed Lands and you have a pretty ambitious backpacking trip. Since you've never hiked in the Adks. before, you should be aware that the trails are generally rougher than ones out west. (Lots of rocks on the trail and no switchbacks.)

An easier introduction to backpacking in the Adirondacks would be a trip to beautiful and secluded Wallface Ponds, with a side trip on the way in or out to spectacular Indian Pass. If you really wanted to do a high peak and are comfortable on herd paths, you could climb Mt. Marshall from that area. Just be sure to look at the Adk Mountain Club guidebook first. The high peaks this time of year are really crowded, especially Algonquin, the Lake Colden corridor and Marcy. But you might just experience solitude at Wallface Ponds, or just about anywhere other than the high peaks region. Whatever you choose to do, have fun.

Like much of the ADK High Peaks, there are steep, slabby sections at times, but nothing too ridiculous. The plus side of the steep stuff is that you pick up elevation quickly! A lot of folks do Algonquin, plus Wright and Iroquois as a dayhike, but that's w/ daypacks of course. A lot will probably depend on the weight of your packs. Going over just Algonquin and back down to camp is probably a reasonable first day, w/ a nice long rest to enjoy the amazing summit.

The descent in the notch between Algonquin and Iroquois is very steep, so you might want to take your time there. If you chose to throw in a side trip to either Wright (official trail) or Iroquois (easy-to-follow "herd" trail) you could drop your heavy packs, if you're comfortable w/ that. I think you're probably going to be fine and really enjoy whatever you do.

Matt

PS Hey, by the way, welcome to VFTT!

If you're going with your girlfriend, think about her capabilities as well as yours.
Don't over do it.
Hiking measly 4k'rs might not sound like much compared to the 14k're out west
But, the Adk's are actually quite challenging.
There's lot of rocks, roots, and MUD.
It looks easy on a map but,take my word for it, it's a lot more difficult than it looks.
I prefer base-camping and doing day hikes from there. I could reccomend some spots to hike with a little more notice.
Although I like backpacking over summits, the water situation is just to un-reliable, unless I knew otherwise.
All I can say is ,keep the girlfriend happy, if she's having a bad time you will too.
Good Luck, Be Safe, and have good judement.
Most of all, have fun!

Steve

Thanks everyone for your tips! It'll definitelty make this trip more fun. I'll give a trip report when i return.

Thanks

Mek, have a great time!!!!