adktyler
Active member
(5/22/2009) I had been thinking about attempting a trip like this for quite some time. But, being rather lazy when it comes to planning outside of the Adirondacks, I kept pushing it to the back of my mind. Then, Gary VanRiper (co-author of the Adirondack Kids Series) posted a thread on ADKHP Forum with some questions about whether all five Catskill fire towers in one day were possible. I was thrilled. So, one month and two days later, after hours of planning and working out just about every detail, Gary and I met at my work and headed out on our epic adventure. From the advice of another more experienced than us, we set up the route to begin with Red Hill, then to progress though Balsam Lake Mountain, Hunter, Tremper, and then finish with Overlook. This was a magnificent plan, and worked out quite well. I was the official navigator to each trailhead and Gary was the driver extraordinaire.
Our first challenge was finding the Red Hill trailhead, and not having hiking experience in the Cats did not lend itself well to this task. We were told that the Red Hill trailhead was the hardest to find, so we prepared ourselves for some interesting navigational experiences. Gary had bought the new Catskill map, which was an EXCELLENT choice! (The map is awesome, by the way, and without it we would have been quite lost). The directions I had from Google Maps were pretty good, except that they wanted us to take a right off of US-209 onto Jenny Brook Rd. I don’t know if that road exists or not, but we couldn’t find it. We stopped to ask for directions at a corner store, and the kind lady there called four of her friends, who also had never heard of that road. You Catskill experts, are we missing something?
After using the new map to finally find our way to the trailhead, we pulled into the parking area around 10:00PM. I set up my hammock and Gary bedded down in the back of his van. The night’s temperature was excellent for sleeping, and at 3:45AM we awoke to a clear sky and temperate air. Gary was “obsessed” about ticks, so he layered up with protective garments, while I kept checking my exposed legs, paranoid by his comments about Lyme disease and its ramifications. At 4:15AM we set out on the trail, and so our adventure began.
Red Hill (2.8mi RT, 890ft EG)
This small peak was a joy to climb as daybreak spread its peaceful wings over the Catskill landscape. The reflectors on the trail markers had us both enthralled for the first part of the hike, and we remarked at what a good idea those were. We made excellent time along the trail, and within half an hour we were on the summit, as the birds sang and the sun began to emit its orange glow though the trees. We climbed the tower, and were greeted with a magnificent view of the rich colors of the sunrise right below the moon, as well as the serene mist floating though the valleys in-between mountains. Gary took out is camera and after enough light was prevalent, captured the view. I was very pleased to have an expert photographer with which to hike, and his shots came out beautifully. After taking in the vista for awhile, and enjoying the fresh breeze, we headed back down the mountain and back to the car, arriving at about 5:30AM.
Balsam Lake Mountain (6mi RT, 980ft EG)
After an hour or so drive, we arrived at the Balsam Lake Mountain Mill Brook Rd trailhead. The sun had risen completely at this point, and the temperatures were beginning to augment. A few black flies buzzed around, but none landed on us. We set out on the variable road in great spirits, and again made excellent time along the path. The hike up was uneventful as we chatted about college, friends, and hiking (I love how you go out hiking with people, and while hiking, talk about more hiking). Within 50 minutes we had arrived at the beautiful evergreen corridor, and 10 minutes later were standing on the summit. I was surprised at the relative ease of the hike, and hoped that the other peaks were as easy to climb. At the top of the fire tower more lovely landscape greeted us. Because of the humidity the distance of sight was only about 30-50 miles, but that was plenty to elucidate the 360° of mountains. After more picture taking and some Scooby-Doo gummies (nothing says fire towers like Scooby Doo fruit snacks), we commenced our hike back to the van. This went smoothly, and an hour later we were driving to Hunter.
Hunter (4.4mi RT, 2210ft EG)
We arrived at the Becker Hollow trailhead at the peak of the morning temperatures. After lathering up with sunscreen and bug spray, chugging some liquids, and grabbing some more to eat, we began hiking. Both of us were preparing ourselves mentally for a grueling hike, because 2210 ft is a lot to gain in 2.2 miles. The beginning of the hike was uncomfortably flat, and every step we took that wasn’t going up was one steeper step to take later on. I learned very quickly that nettles in the Catskills are not something to mess around with, and religiously avoided them for the remainder of the day (I know, laugh it up at the Catskill noob!). Before long we were hiking up, relentlessly up! At 84 degrees, high humidity, and scorching sun rays, it was a very challenging hike up. Gary became de-hydrated, in spite of drinking quite a bit of Gatorade (I can understand, I drank 8 liters/256 ounces over the whole day and still was never fully hydrated!). The loose rock and lack of breeze made it even more taxing, but after two hours of struggling, we made it to the summit. Lovely views again abounded, and we took a long break to re-hydrate and relax. It took us an hour and a half to get back to the car, but what a relief it was to return to that citadel of food and drink!
At this point Gary felt he had reached his limit. Between this being only his second trip of the season, the heat, humidity, de-hydration, and length we still had to hike, he decided he was done hiking for the day. Yet, he thought only of me, and practically insisted that I continue on if I felt up to it. What a kind and thoughtless thing for him to do!! After making sure that he was really okay with resting in the car while I hiked the final two towers, I again took up my task of navigating and off we drove to Tremper.
Our first challenge was finding the Red Hill trailhead, and not having hiking experience in the Cats did not lend itself well to this task. We were told that the Red Hill trailhead was the hardest to find, so we prepared ourselves for some interesting navigational experiences. Gary had bought the new Catskill map, which was an EXCELLENT choice! (The map is awesome, by the way, and without it we would have been quite lost). The directions I had from Google Maps were pretty good, except that they wanted us to take a right off of US-209 onto Jenny Brook Rd. I don’t know if that road exists or not, but we couldn’t find it. We stopped to ask for directions at a corner store, and the kind lady there called four of her friends, who also had never heard of that road. You Catskill experts, are we missing something?
After using the new map to finally find our way to the trailhead, we pulled into the parking area around 10:00PM. I set up my hammock and Gary bedded down in the back of his van. The night’s temperature was excellent for sleeping, and at 3:45AM we awoke to a clear sky and temperate air. Gary was “obsessed” about ticks, so he layered up with protective garments, while I kept checking my exposed legs, paranoid by his comments about Lyme disease and its ramifications. At 4:15AM we set out on the trail, and so our adventure began.
Red Hill (2.8mi RT, 890ft EG)
This small peak was a joy to climb as daybreak spread its peaceful wings over the Catskill landscape. The reflectors on the trail markers had us both enthralled for the first part of the hike, and we remarked at what a good idea those were. We made excellent time along the trail, and within half an hour we were on the summit, as the birds sang and the sun began to emit its orange glow though the trees. We climbed the tower, and were greeted with a magnificent view of the rich colors of the sunrise right below the moon, as well as the serene mist floating though the valleys in-between mountains. Gary took out is camera and after enough light was prevalent, captured the view. I was very pleased to have an expert photographer with which to hike, and his shots came out beautifully. After taking in the vista for awhile, and enjoying the fresh breeze, we headed back down the mountain and back to the car, arriving at about 5:30AM.
Balsam Lake Mountain (6mi RT, 980ft EG)
After an hour or so drive, we arrived at the Balsam Lake Mountain Mill Brook Rd trailhead. The sun had risen completely at this point, and the temperatures were beginning to augment. A few black flies buzzed around, but none landed on us. We set out on the variable road in great spirits, and again made excellent time along the path. The hike up was uneventful as we chatted about college, friends, and hiking (I love how you go out hiking with people, and while hiking, talk about more hiking). Within 50 minutes we had arrived at the beautiful evergreen corridor, and 10 minutes later were standing on the summit. I was surprised at the relative ease of the hike, and hoped that the other peaks were as easy to climb. At the top of the fire tower more lovely landscape greeted us. Because of the humidity the distance of sight was only about 30-50 miles, but that was plenty to elucidate the 360° of mountains. After more picture taking and some Scooby-Doo gummies (nothing says fire towers like Scooby Doo fruit snacks), we commenced our hike back to the van. This went smoothly, and an hour later we were driving to Hunter.
Hunter (4.4mi RT, 2210ft EG)
We arrived at the Becker Hollow trailhead at the peak of the morning temperatures. After lathering up with sunscreen and bug spray, chugging some liquids, and grabbing some more to eat, we began hiking. Both of us were preparing ourselves mentally for a grueling hike, because 2210 ft is a lot to gain in 2.2 miles. The beginning of the hike was uncomfortably flat, and every step we took that wasn’t going up was one steeper step to take later on. I learned very quickly that nettles in the Catskills are not something to mess around with, and religiously avoided them for the remainder of the day (I know, laugh it up at the Catskill noob!). Before long we were hiking up, relentlessly up! At 84 degrees, high humidity, and scorching sun rays, it was a very challenging hike up. Gary became de-hydrated, in spite of drinking quite a bit of Gatorade (I can understand, I drank 8 liters/256 ounces over the whole day and still was never fully hydrated!). The loose rock and lack of breeze made it even more taxing, but after two hours of struggling, we made it to the summit. Lovely views again abounded, and we took a long break to re-hydrate and relax. It took us an hour and a half to get back to the car, but what a relief it was to return to that citadel of food and drink!
At this point Gary felt he had reached his limit. Between this being only his second trip of the season, the heat, humidity, de-hydration, and length we still had to hike, he decided he was done hiking for the day. Yet, he thought only of me, and practically insisted that I continue on if I felt up to it. What a kind and thoughtless thing for him to do!! After making sure that he was really okay with resting in the car while I hiked the final two towers, I again took up my task of navigating and off we drove to Tremper.
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