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    Animal Encounters on the Trail

    I saw a squirrel today carrying a baby squirrel on her back across the ground then up a tree to a nest in a cavity where another baby came out. We weren't hiking, but riding bikes on a rail trail and had stopped a minute to take a break.
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    Leaving only footsteps - think again: 100 meter 'death zone' on either side of trails

    The animals use the hiking trails too. I've followed fox and coyote tracks up many mountains in the Catskills. I like to look for bird nests and you can find a lot of nests along the trails. I've seen little flocks of birds come very close to check us out in the winter. Obviously our ridiculous...
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    Sharing the woods with black bears

    We finally saw a black bear after decades of hiking in the Catskills fairly close to the start of the trail up Slide Mountain. I guess the bear was curious about us and we were curious about the bear and it was exciting and a little scary, but the bear ran off into the woods after a bit. We...
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    bellayre from woodchuck hollow road 1-26-14

    There was about 3-6 inches of powdery new snow. We wore microspikes. It started drifting just at the lean to and we stopped there for tea/lunch and got pretty cold pretty quick and decided to head down. There was a trail from the Pine Hill Lake area that wasn't on our map and another red marked...
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    vernooy kill falls

    The trail was either running water or patchy ice. We wore microspikes on and off. There were a lot of large hemlocks down, but cleared from the trail. There was one sketchy stream crossing at the beginning that we crossed on a downed tree. Access to the bridge below the falls was difficult due...
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    Catskills Warning

    We met this man 2 winters ago. He was concerned about the plow and his driveway being blocked and pointed out that we should be parking in the unplowed parking area above the road and we should call the DEC to complain that it isn't plowed. He started out a little aggressive and intimidating...
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    Opinions on Hiking Acadia

    We took the shuttle bus from Blackwoods Campground and climbed Dorr Mt and then Cadillac and hiked across Cadillac and down the other side and back to the campground. It's a little weird on Cadillac with the tour buses, etc, but no one really moves too far from the parking area. We were there...
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    Poconos / Delaware Water Gap info needed

    I've never been to High Point State Park, but I have been following the hydrofracking news and it's my understanding that there is clear cutting for a gas pipeline currently underway in the park and across the Appalachian Trail in that area. It wasn't clear from a quick look at the parks website...
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    Finishing the CHP and Fire Towers on Balsam Lake Mountain 6/8 - 6/11/12 (Catskills)

    I've been eyeballing that route on the VO map for awhile now and it was nice to read your report and see your beautiful photos.....nice to see ferns and not prickers on those little used trails. You're going to love the Beaver Meadow Lean to near Alder Lake when you add that one to your list. :)...
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    Hydrofracking for natural gas in Catskills

    link to article in nytimes via watershed post http://www.watershedpost.com/2012/cuomos-new-plan-hydrofracking-taking-page-nrdc The link has a link to a good graphic in the NY Times article about where the shale is in NY and which towns have bans already in place. It looks like the...
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    Hydrofracking for natural gas in Catskills

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/hydrofracking-under-cuomo-plan-would-be-restricted-to-a-few-counties.html?_r=2&smid=tw-nytmetro&seid=auto
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    Bobcat video from NH Fish & Game fb page

    That was very cool, thank you. I saw one once crossing the road and I think I stopped breathing for a few minutes. They make a horrendous noise when they scream though, very scary.
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    Black Bear in the Whites

    We saw our first black bear about a month ago near the beginning of the trail to Slide Mt. We heard some rustling in the woods and Peter said "it's a bear" which usually means it's a squirrel and he's trying to freak me out, but this time it really was a bear. We were the first hikers on the...
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    Ashokan High Point 5-7-12

    I can't wait to go back and hike this again in June once the laurel are flowering and then I guess again in July when the blueberries are ripe.......what a pretty place and we didn't even have great views since it was a hazy day. The trail up is on an old road along the Kanape Brook most of the...
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    E.Wildcat 4-7-12

    Thanks for the information. We thought it looked like the cutting had been going on for years and also noticed that it wasn't really a great trail to walk on. We'll be heading up there again soon, so we'll keep our eyes open.
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    E.Wildcat 4-7-12

    We've been hiking the "other" mountains in the Catskills for awhile now, but I was so excited to get my signed copy of The Other 67 at the dinner. Alan Via wrote a wonderful book. We decided on E.Wildcat because we had a late night Friday and wouldn't be getting an early start. We got the last...
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    Catskill Conditions

    catskill conditions It's been icy all winter and even 2 weeks ago with some snow it was ice under snow. We haven't used snowshoes all winter, but could have used them 2 weeks ago on the north side of Doubletop at the higher elevation. We've been using microspikes and I love them, but with...
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    Another stone structure in woods

    I thinks it's a spring also. I've seen these before..... easier to get the water out and easier to find.
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    The Catskill 67: A Hiker’s Guide to the Catskill 100 Highest Peaks under 3500’

    Obviously, I need to read more John Burroughs. Thank you for that information. That fern meadow is a seriously beautiful place. We were there in the spring and it was full of butterflies, swallowtails, I think, the black and yellow ones.
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    The Catskill 67: A Hiker’s Guide to the Catskill 100 Highest Peaks under 3500’

    I am SO excited about this book. We've been hiking some of these mountains........Plattekill with the old quarries and following an old road on Sleeping Lion, following Condon Hollow Road with it's amazingly beautiful stone walls and finding parts of an old car at the top of the ridge and...
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