Campsite
After breakfast and after Ed and Carol split, teejay and I went back to Pot O Gold and I helped Teejay take down his tent, I also walked around just to make sure if everybody had everything and I didn't see your watch, although of course, I could have missed it.
Webshot photos
Little did Spongebob know, that I planned this entire hike last year after being annoyed that Spongebob decides to show up late for my Dare to Dayhike the Devil's Path event. He smuggly strolls off Plateau towards Notch Lake thinking he could smooch some food off foodstop, while Laura and Jim B rest. So after some planning, I conjured up the "Let's Push Spongebob off a cliff" event. Perhaps it could be an annual affair. I didn't think that would fly in amongst all of you hikers so I called it "Escape the Escarpment". What better place to try it than on a ridge, a couple thousand feet above the Hudson Valley.
In that end, we left the trailhead at 5:30amish, in chase of Brian and Seema and a few others who snuck off early. An eerie fog was enveloping the town of Windham and the sun was poking up over the campground from whence we came. A nice stroll up towards Windham through the pretty forest after the Elm Ridge trail. Ideas of just tripping Spongebob or lighting spongebob himself on fire, dance through my mind, but I wait. Patience grasshopper.
Anyway, finally getting views on Windham, we point out Albany (which looks like it's on fire by the smoke) and move on. by around 9:30, we've past Brian and Seema chugging their way towards Windham and reach TeeJay and Papa Bear on the trail. After watching TeeJay play with a leaking bladder thing, we partake in some photo taking and eventually move on. At this point, we're slowly splitting again in smaller groups. Catching up at the viewpoints. Too many people here to throw Sponge off the cliff here, wait for later...
Get to Blackhead, catch Adrian trying to put rocks in my pack, unfortunately, the summit of blackhead isn't that exposed so shelf plans on disemboweling spongebob with my hiking pole and tossing it over a cliff. However, at this point, Spongebob meets Terri's Jerry Bear and well, some real strange karma goes on..
A few more miles and a nice descent towards Dutcher's Notch is reached... See Warren and Margaret trying to push water and trail mix on everybody...Met Dawn there alrady eating food. I do my part and carry a ziplock of trailmix and chocolate raisins all the way to the end. Although I did eat those chocolate raisins for mini-breakfast on sunday, the trail mix has been put in my closet for later pickings.... Good job on the fruit though. At this point, there was a slight gap between Ralph and I and Matt, Sponge, and everybody else. Aaron shows up! More pictures are taken. Dawn, Ralph and I leave for Stoppel Point headed towards the airplane crash...
After Stoppel point, all I think about is ice cream and Darren's cache so when Ralph and I run into darren just south of north Point, we fuzzily get directions and push off in search of ice cream. Mistakenly though ice cream was AT artist rock and spent the whole time at artists rock, not looking at views but bushwacking in the pines looking for a damm cooler. Scare a bunch of sneaker hikers while wandering in the woods... Think this is a good spot to push Spongebob off a cliff but he is too far behind us.
Anyway, eventually turn over every leaf and decide that Darren wouldn't drag a cooler up here by himself so we push on... Eventually finding the cache by the parking lot with a note on it and melting Klondike bars inside. Eat one and eat a sundae and save the italian ice for the stragglers thinking they would last the longest. Yum, ice cream.
homestretch! Although this is the painful part because the trail south of north point is a pain as it's on loose slate and loses a bit of elevation as it goes towards layman's monument. Rocks remind me of the Devil's Path but we are rewarded with some nice views of KHP and Roundtop and Kaaterskill Clove. The trail passes the upper part of Kaaterskill Falls and people are heard on the falls themselves. Then we hit the monument and the sludge up. Eventually, getting to the end just before it starts to rain... rain hard. I hope Sponge is getting real wet now.
I plant some land mines on Inspiration Point but Sponge somehow manages to miss them.. oh well, next year. Perhaps I can push him off the slide on Gothics... hmmm..
Jay
I don't use it on the trail, I just had it w/ me when I left Friday. Anyhow, it's not likely, but if anyone found it, please PM me. It's a Dakota pocketwatch. I already phoned both our campground and N-S Lake and left messages. Oh well, live and learn... 
