Sherby
Member
Saturday morning, a bit before 8 o'clock we make a turn on Magalloway rd. in Pittsburg. We head towards the end of a logging road about a mile north of both Stub hills. Two, thanksfully turkey and not deer, hunters are also parked there. We easily follow herdpaths to the north Stub hill. From the road between the two peaks, there is a trail leading to the pond. From the pond, we again follow herdpaths to the summit. Since it's still early in the day, we decide to reach Diamond ridge. We get down on the nearest road and we stay on it up the the peak's east flank (we could have bushwacked more directly, but with many hunters around, it was safer and more respectful not to do so). Getting on top of the rigde was the toughest part of the day, it was a bit thick, but also somewhat steep. Once on the ridge, we found herdpaths and open woods all the way to the summit. Then we continued north to get to the road that goes up the ridge and we followed it down back to the main road that got us back to the car.
We then drove south to the Barnes Field campground where we stayed for the night.
We got up early and started from N. Chatam on route 113 at 8 o'clock. We already did the Baldaces a while ago, but our bushwacking partner did not. So we started the loop counter-clockwise. On the north peak, we crossed two hikers that were doing the loop in the other direction. We took a look towards West Baldface, but it was not in the plans for today. On the south peak, it was easy to see how we should get to the col towards Sable. Hopefully, the rock slabs were not icy so we were able not to walk on the vegetation. From the col to the ridge, we followed some herdpaths. On the top, we had a really sad encounter with a dying moose (female). We didn't see any wounds, but she wasn't able to stand on her legs. It was clear that she was lying there for more than a day. Many times while we were observing her, she just put down her head on the ground in resignation.
After a few minutes, we had to move on and a clear herdpath brought us to Sable's canister. Going to Chandler was even easier, at some point it was so open that we weren't sure to be in NH anymore, but back in the Catskills ! Going down towards Slippery brook trail was a bit less fun, as we got some PUDS along the way. We were also surprised to find many signs of not so distent logging operations. Crossing the brook was easier than we expected and we found the trail before dark. That trail is faint in many places, the woods are open and there is no blazing, so you have to be careful not to lost it. Of course it was worse when it got dark. We let down our packs at the junction for Eastman where we got a really interesting night view. Back at the intersection, we had nearly 4 miles to go to get back to the car and we were all a bit tired. We reached the TH on route 113 around 7:30, for a 20 miles day.
We then drove south to the Barnes Field campground where we stayed for the night.
We got up early and started from N. Chatam on route 113 at 8 o'clock. We already did the Baldaces a while ago, but our bushwacking partner did not. So we started the loop counter-clockwise. On the north peak, we crossed two hikers that were doing the loop in the other direction. We took a look towards West Baldface, but it was not in the plans for today. On the south peak, it was easy to see how we should get to the col towards Sable. Hopefully, the rock slabs were not icy so we were able not to walk on the vegetation. From the col to the ridge, we followed some herdpaths. On the top, we had a really sad encounter with a dying moose (female). We didn't see any wounds, but she wasn't able to stand on her legs. It was clear that she was lying there for more than a day. Many times while we were observing her, she just put down her head on the ground in resignation.
After a few minutes, we had to move on and a clear herdpath brought us to Sable's canister. Going to Chandler was even easier, at some point it was so open that we weren't sure to be in NH anymore, but back in the Catskills ! Going down towards Slippery brook trail was a bit less fun, as we got some PUDS along the way. We were also surprised to find many signs of not so distent logging operations. Crossing the brook was easier than we expected and we found the trail before dark. That trail is faint in many places, the woods are open and there is no blazing, so you have to be careful not to lost it. Of course it was worse when it got dark. We let down our packs at the junction for Eastman where we got a really interesting night view. Back at the intersection, we had nearly 4 miles to go to get back to the car and we were all a bit tired. We reached the TH on route 113 around 7:30, for a 20 miles day.
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