Mountains West of Rusk (Catskills)

[mink319]

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried hiking in the mountains west of Rusk. There are three summits west of Rusk, Evergreen Mtn which is 3360', an unnamed peak of 3140', and Packsaddle Mtn which is 3100'. I have looked at the area on aerial photographs and it appears to be hemlock down low, decidious at the mid elevations, and spruce-birch up high. Maybe I will try out this area next week, or in spring and maybe fish some of the streams up there on the way up. If you have any info please let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I have not done these mountains yet, but I remember that Harry Rampe did the Evergreen/Rusk duo last summer. Here is a link to his Evergreen, Rusk trail conditions report. Some day I hope to do a loop over Evergreen, Rusk, Hunter, (maybe SW Hunter if I get an early start), Westkill, and St. Anne's Peak (W Westkill). As I sure you have seen on the map there is a corridor of state land that goes up Evergreen. It is just opposite the western trailhead of the Devil's Path so a loop seems ideal.

 

[Peakbagr]

Evergreen and Rusk will be led as a Catskill 3500 club outing on June 13th.
I climbed Evergreen and Rusk one summer day when the kids were younger. There is a beautiful spot on the summit, but wooded.

 

[ecc]

My husband and I hiked Evergreen a few Aprils ago. It is any easy bushwack and the summit area is somewhat flat/rounded. There are some beautiful high meadows with old stone walls that are worth the hike to see. There is probably some good skiing to be had, both in the meadows and through the open woods, if we ever get any snow, that is.
ecc

 

[Rob S]

Evergreen is a very enjoyable bushwack from Rusk. When we did this hike in November, there was about 2 or 3 inches of snow on the summit of Rusk. I saw bootprints heading west from the summit, so we decided to follow them for a few hundred yards to see if they were heading towards Evergreen. They were. So we decided to keep going. After exploring the summit area of Evergreen, we retraced our steps back to Rusk in order to avoid the road walk back to the parking lot at the end of Spruceton Road. I'll agree with ecc about the terrain, there are wide open areas and a nice mix of hardwoods and hemlocks. If you are doing Rusk, which is an easy and short bushwack, it is worth it to spend the extra time exploring Evergreen and the others. Plus, if you are like me and driving 2-3 hours to get there, you want to get in as many hours of hiking as possible.