Doodles
Active member
Rained hard all night, but the forecast for Sunday was clear and warm. I set out for the Blackheads in a dense fog for most of the drive.
Arriving at the Big Hollow Rd PA, I was the first one there. As I was getting ready to leave another car with two couples arrived. A quick hello and I was on my way. I could hear the water rushing down the stream, but the road appeared well drained. The stream was running strong and all drains were doing their job and the trail was drier than expected.
At the trail jct of the Batavia Kill trail I found a big tree which provided me with a good swollen stream crossing. Once across, the trail once again was well drained. The morning sun shining thru the mist gave the forest a heavenly look. Appropriate for a Sunday morning.
I made good time to the summit of Blackhead. I scooted over to the view point on the West side for a few pictures. As I was heading down I ran into the first 2 hikers of many to come. The West side of Blackhead was draining more water that I had seen up to this point.
I made my way down and started up Black Dome. Up to the view point and ran into three more hikers. The views couldn't be better. Looking across to the South to the Devils Path was awesome.
Two up, one to go, off to Thomas Cole. Going up I caught up to the gentlemen I met in the PA. We spoke a bit and I continued on. Making it to the summit I took a quick break and came up with an idea. Lord knows I like a loop. A quick look at the map, I pulled out the compass, took a bearing and decided to bushwhack from the TC / BD col. After all, the nettles and pickers are gone. It's time to get back into the woods. A bit steep but very doable. What I didn't count on was encountered at about 3400' - 2800'. This evidently was the zone most hard hit by the previous ice storm. There were tree tops everywhere. In the area around 3100' - 3000' I noticed that probably 90% of the tops were down on the ground. Made for some tough going. As I descended the damage lessened. This extreme amount of timber on the ground made me wonder about the high levels of fire potential? I guess you could say I was hiking thru the tree tops. Being a nice warm day I was in shorts and the cuts and scrapes on my legs take me right back to the memories of the HH.
I made my way back to the trail and out to the PA. A real gem of a day to be on and off trail.
A few pictures
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/568295422YXwAQT
Arriving at the Big Hollow Rd PA, I was the first one there. As I was getting ready to leave another car with two couples arrived. A quick hello and I was on my way. I could hear the water rushing down the stream, but the road appeared well drained. The stream was running strong and all drains were doing their job and the trail was drier than expected.
At the trail jct of the Batavia Kill trail I found a big tree which provided me with a good swollen stream crossing. Once across, the trail once again was well drained. The morning sun shining thru the mist gave the forest a heavenly look. Appropriate for a Sunday morning.
I made good time to the summit of Blackhead. I scooted over to the view point on the West side for a few pictures. As I was heading down I ran into the first 2 hikers of many to come. The West side of Blackhead was draining more water that I had seen up to this point.
I made my way down and started up Black Dome. Up to the view point and ran into three more hikers. The views couldn't be better. Looking across to the South to the Devils Path was awesome.
Two up, one to go, off to Thomas Cole. Going up I caught up to the gentlemen I met in the PA. We spoke a bit and I continued on. Making it to the summit I took a quick break and came up with an idea. Lord knows I like a loop. A quick look at the map, I pulled out the compass, took a bearing and decided to bushwhack from the TC / BD col. After all, the nettles and pickers are gone. It's time to get back into the woods. A bit steep but very doable. What I didn't count on was encountered at about 3400' - 2800'. This evidently was the zone most hard hit by the previous ice storm. There were tree tops everywhere. In the area around 3100' - 3000' I noticed that probably 90% of the tops were down on the ground. Made for some tough going. As I descended the damage lessened. This extreme amount of timber on the ground made me wonder about the high levels of fire potential? I guess you could say I was hiking thru the tree tops. Being a nice warm day I was in shorts and the cuts and scrapes on my legs take me right back to the memories of the HH.
I made my way back to the trail and out to the PA. A real gem of a day to be on and off trail.
A few pictures
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/568295422YXwAQT
