Newbie

[FatMike]

Hi all, great site. My wife and I are eager to begin the wonderful adventure of hiking. I am looking for some solid advice as to how to enter into this. We live near Binghamton, NY (1 hr west of Roscoe) and our goal is to hike the Catskill Mountains. As beginners, can you recommend some day trips to get us started. Please, if possible give info as to the location of the trail heads, nearest town etc. Also as foolish as it sounds, advice as to gear for day trips, boots, packs etc, and etiquette would be great. Long story short, you have to start somewhere so please don't laugh at our expense! Thanks in advance for any and all advice. I do have the map set from NY/NJ (full name escapes me and they are in the office) Again, thanks!

 

[jbreen]

NY/NJ Trail Conference maps have the parking areas listed. There is a companion book called the New York Walk Book that gives more details about what you can see on each trail that may help you. There are two books by Edward G. Henry called Catskill Trails: A Rangers Guide that have a lot of good trail descriptions. As long as you invested in the maps, I recommend getting a book to supplement them. I've never gone to the area by where you live, Pepatcon Reservoir.

Search this site for stuff on equipment, what to pack, boots, etc. This can get very subjective.

For trails, check into the Big Indian wilderness (map 42?) like Giant Ledge, Panther, Slide, etc. None of those are particuarly difficult and you may be able to find trail conditions posted here on the more popular hikes.

If you want to have a basecamp and do dayikes, stay at North-South (map 40) Lake campground and tackle the trails in that area - lots of history there too.

Etiquette: any hiker with a VFTT patch must be awarded with a cold one by the newbie.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Mike,

Welcome to hiking! Good choice for a hobby and I'm glad to see your wife is going to join you. You picked the right web site to get information. You'll find plenty of help here, I certainly have in my 6 months as a member.

Sorry, I can't help you with any trails in your area, I'm not familiar with that territory. As for gear and clothing I'd recommend Eastern Mountain Sports and no I don't work for them. Though there gear is pricey, it'll last you for years as well as keep you safe and comfortable on trails. I find the staff at the EMS stores I've been to is just as passionate about hiking as I am, therefore they are helpful and I'm sure can answer your questions.

You sound like you are brand new to this; we all were at one time. I'll just throw a few suggestions at you for what to have when starting. Hiking boots, very important, get a pair of GOR-TEX boots and I'd also say look for a pair with good ankle support. Backpack, since you'll be doing daytrips start out with a backpack that is sizeable for just a daytrip, something to store your water bottles, food, accessories etc. Compass and GPS, I love my GPS but I can't always get a fix on enough satellites, plus like all high tech items it can crap out. A good land navigation compass can be purchased for as little as $10.00 and is suitable for a day hike. Topo maps... VERY IMPORTANT, have a topo map of the area you are hiking in and try to get any kind of a map of the specific trail you'll be on. Lastly, use the internet to get trail info. There is a ton of data out there on hiking trails, take advantage of it, print it out, bring it with you.

Hope this helps, enjoy your new hobby. Try to hit the WMNF for some hiking if you can. You'll find quality trails for all levels of hikers. That is the beauty of it!

 

[FatMike]

Great info, and will do with the cold one! I guess I am just a bit nervous about getting into it, but as long as I get some solid suggestions on day hikes to start with, I should be OK!!

 

[snowshoe]

Glad you are getting into hiking. You made a very wise choice. As for gear it depends on seasons. Here are some items I always bring with me:
first aid kit very basic one,
compass and maps
Knife
TP (very important)
Matches
emergency blanket
wind jacket
snacks
head lamp w/extra batteries
2 water bottles
Purifying tablets for emergency's
bug net (during bug season)
During summer I just use a lumbar pack. Keeps you cooler. For clothing I wear all synthetic cloths (Soory for the bad spelling, I can not spell . Anyway never wear cotton. During the winter months I will use a pack and some extra gear I add during the winter is:
Extra change of cloths
Crampons and snowshoes (Usually decide at trailhead if needed)
Extra pair of gloves and socks
Outer shell jacket
Snowshoe repair kit
I get hot very easy so in winter I just wear synthetic long johns with pants and gaters. On top I wear a long sleeve shirt with a med weight fleece. For snowy and windy days I throw the shell on. Boots I wear a good pair of Danner light hikers. Hope this gives you an idea.

For Catskill hike you can try Slide Mt from rt 47. It is a very nice hike and not too hard, especially for someone new. I think it is a good intro to the Cats. ANother great one is Giants Ledge. Just up the road from Slide Mt trailhead. Rt 47 is off of Rt 28. If you the maps you it is easy to find. There are a lot of other great hikes and I am sure others will post info as well.

 

[AOC-1]

Mike, welcome. For information about hiking the Catskills, I think the first thing you need is a good guidebook. Unfortunately, the best one I've ever seen is now out of print. Fortunately, it is available in the used books section of amazon.com. Get: Hiking the Catskills: A Guide for Exploring the Natural Beauty of America's Romantic and Magical Mountains on the Trail and Off the Beaten Path (Paperback) by Lee McAllister, Myron Steven Ochman (1989).

This book, like none other I've used, really captures the joys of hiking the Catskills mountains. It was written by 2 guys who really loved exploring this range. Although more than 15 years-old, this beautiful guidebook is not out-of-date in any way. Plus you can pick it up for next to nothing. Happy hiking. - Al

 

[TDawg]

I'll add my two cents and say not only have the map and compass but learn how to use them as well in conjunction with eachother. It could get you out of a tough situation if you get lost (loss of visivility above treeline), god forbid. Anyways I think the others advice is solid, happy hiking!

And don't be nervous, it's certainly not rocket science, you just got to be prepared and safe.

 

[TMax]

Hey FatMike,

Welcome to the Catskills! You'll love it. There are lots of great trails in the area. Here's a website to get you started http://www.catskillguide.com/ I think the guidebook put out by the Adirondack Mountain Club to the Catskill Region is a great trail guide. The best other resource I can recommend is Susan at the Catskill Hiking Shack which is located just off route 209 in Wurtsboro. She can help you out with all your gear needs and with info on all the trails in the Catskills. Her store website is here http://www.catskillhikes.com/. Have fun!!!

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Another good website for Catskill hikes is Local Hikes. That link is the page for Syracuse, and about half of the hikes are in the Catskills. On each individual hike you will find icons on the left that have a topo map, elevation profile, road map, and pictures.

Since you are coming from the west a nice, easy first hike is Balsam Lake fire tower. The road approach from the south is shown on the NY/NJ maps. From Roscoe take NY 206 north (map #44), take a right on Beaver Kill Road. You will follow this road all the way to its end - past Lewbeach and Turnwood. The last few miles of the road (map #42 and #43) are unpaved and narrow. But have faith, with any car you can make it through to the trailhead. The climb to the summit tower is 1.75 miles with very nice views from the tower.

 

[MattC]

DEC Campgrounds

Mike,

The above advice and info is all terrific. Since you're coming a little ways, you might want to come for more than a day at a time. If you like to car camp, here's another resource:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/catskills.html

These campgrounds are convenient to some great hiking trails. Woodland Valley, Devil's Tombstone and North/South Lake in particular. I once stayed at Little Pond which is also nice.

Matt

 

[Jay H]

Hey Mike, most of the firetowers are excellent dayhikes and not to strenuos and would make a nice intro to hiking in the catskills. Hunter mtn would most likely be the toughest one being one of the highest peaks in the catskills, but any of the other ones are good.

DEC also has some info on their site:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dlf/publands/cats/catsplaces.html

As well as neet free maps of each particular area. A nice complement to the NY/NJ TC maps.

Online trail guide:

http://www.catskillguide.com/hiking.htm

Since you're in Binghamton and not far from PA, have you thought of PA hiking, Promised Land SP, the Delaware Water Gap, the Poconos?

Jay

 

[imarchant]

first hikes

I second Mark Schaefer's and Snowshoes recommendations for Balsam Lake and Slide Mountain. I would also add Overlook Mountain and the trails around North & South Lake, especially the Escarpment trail from the trail head at Schutt Rd to North Point.

If it makes you feel more comfortable join a club hike.
Rip Van Winkle
ADK
3500 Club (you need to subscribe for $10/yr to receive the Catskill Canister newsletter that includes a hike schedule.)

See this attachement for recommended day hiking gear.
ten essentials.doc

 

[mtneqgurl]

Local Stuff

Welcome!
Looks like everyone has given you great advise, Mike. We live about a 1/2 hour North of you along the I-81 corridor. There's lots of day hiking with very short drives, given our current fuel state. IM me for ideas.

 

[KevCon223]

FatMike,
The Spruceton Trail up Hunter is a good start. It follows an old Jeep trail and is wide and very easy to follow up to the Fire Tower. We also ran into a good size Porcupine along the way!!

 

[Hikerdad]

Fatmike:

Welcome to hiking! We're in the ame area (I'm just west of Binghamton)...a great hike to start in the Catskills is to do Slide Mountain from the road that the Winnisook (sp?) club is on. You can do a nice little loop...up a nice scenic way (the Curtiss Ormsby trail) and then down a shorter, more direct way. I have detail at home and will post them for you. I also have the title of a great Catskill guide that I recommend highly (name escapes me now but I'll get it...it might be the same one that AOC-1 recomended...they have it, or used to at least, at the Vestal public library if you can't find it). Slide is a pretty good climb but not too bad and will give you a great feel for hiking the high peaks. I also started in the Cats and then added the Adks. Black Dome and Blackhead are also nice climbs in the Catskills.

For hiking in the Catskills I'd recommend a boot with a very stiff sole. I started with reglar workboots and found that the smaller, jagged rocks you step on in the Cats made the bottoms of my feet sore so I bought really rugged, stiff soled boots and the problem went away. Also get a couple of decent sized day packs. The hydration packs they have now are also great. I'd get a good water filter/purifier so you can pump water and not carry everything.

Have fun...it's addicting........maybe we'll get some Binghamton area hikers together for a hike some day.

Pat Connors