funkyfreddy
Well-known member
Just got back from 3 glorious days of Catskill peak bagging. Each day brought a different set of conditions as well as a different mountain.
3/9/04 - Went to SW Hunter during the snow storm, approaching from Diamond Notch. The trail had accumulated just enough snow for a decent snowshoe hike by early morning and it kept on snowing as my friend Josef and I made our way north to the lean to. Just south of the lean to we made our way east, bushwhacking steeply along the side of the mountain. It took us awhile to find the canister and by then both of us were pretty wet from having snow dumped on us as we squirmed through the spruce and fir. We also had a rough time coming down from the summit. There was a layer of ice beneath the snow which made it hard to get purchase with my snowshoes. I had made the mistake of leaving my crampons in the car and paid for it as I spent a lot of time on my butt sliding down the hill.
3/10/04 - Went to Balsam mountain and did a loop hike, using the Rider Hollow trail head. This hike I left my snowshoes behind and just used crampons the whole time. Beautiful day, very warm with a nice bit of snow on the summit, a lot still left on the tree branches as there was very little wind. It was a winter wonderland on the summit when the sun came out and glistened. We were thinking of heading over to Haynes and Eagle as well but instead choose to linger on Balsam, taking in the views. On coming back from Balsam we couldn’t help but notice how quickly the snow from the day before was melting. Many places that had snow cover in the morning were now bare. I was glad that I chose to use my crampons as there were some icy sections.
3/11/04 - Went up to Panther mountain by way of Giants Ledge by myself yesterday as Josef had to work. I wore crampons again and was glad I did as the first part of the trail had more ice than snow and would have been quite treacherous in places without them. The visibility was very good and the views were spectacular, the weather sunny and very warm for this time of year. The snow got deeper between Giants Ledge and Panther and on Panther above 3500’ but I did fine just using my crampons, breaking trail with them after Giants Ledge.
All in all a great 3 days of hiking. I would advise anyone peak bagging in the Catskills this time of year to bring their crampons due to the snow melting and turning into ice over night. Snowshoes probably won’t be needed unless there’s another storm.
3/9/04 - Went to SW Hunter during the snow storm, approaching from Diamond Notch. The trail had accumulated just enough snow for a decent snowshoe hike by early morning and it kept on snowing as my friend Josef and I made our way north to the lean to. Just south of the lean to we made our way east, bushwhacking steeply along the side of the mountain. It took us awhile to find the canister and by then both of us were pretty wet from having snow dumped on us as we squirmed through the spruce and fir. We also had a rough time coming down from the summit. There was a layer of ice beneath the snow which made it hard to get purchase with my snowshoes. I had made the mistake of leaving my crampons in the car and paid for it as I spent a lot of time on my butt sliding down the hill.
3/10/04 - Went to Balsam mountain and did a loop hike, using the Rider Hollow trail head. This hike I left my snowshoes behind and just used crampons the whole time. Beautiful day, very warm with a nice bit of snow on the summit, a lot still left on the tree branches as there was very little wind. It was a winter wonderland on the summit when the sun came out and glistened. We were thinking of heading over to Haynes and Eagle as well but instead choose to linger on Balsam, taking in the views. On coming back from Balsam we couldn’t help but notice how quickly the snow from the day before was melting. Many places that had snow cover in the morning were now bare. I was glad that I chose to use my crampons as there were some icy sections.
3/11/04 - Went up to Panther mountain by way of Giants Ledge by myself yesterday as Josef had to work. I wore crampons again and was glad I did as the first part of the trail had more ice than snow and would have been quite treacherous in places without them. The visibility was very good and the views were spectacular, the weather sunny and very warm for this time of year. The snow got deeper between Giants Ledge and Panther and on Panther above 3500’ but I did fine just using my crampons, breaking trail with them after Giants Ledge.
All in all a great 3 days of hiking. I would advise anyone peak bagging in the Catskills this time of year to bring their crampons due to the snow melting and turning into ice over night. Snowshoes probably won’t be needed unless there’s another storm.
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