DSettahr
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- Apr 23, 2005
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I had a few days off this week, and was looking for a chance to stay in a lean-to I'd not stayed in yet (to work towards my goal of spending at least one night in every lean-to in NY) and climb a Catskill Peak I'd not climbed yet. I settled on the Fox Hollow Lean-to, and Panther Mountain, which I'd climbed before in the winter but still needed to climb again to fulfill the 3500 club requirements.
The drive down to and through the Catskills was like a hydrologists wet dream (pun intended). There was water everywhere, all of the streams and rivers were running incredibly high. I stopped at a fishing pull off and watched the Sccoharie for a few minutes, the amount of power in the turning water was awe-inducing (and it was apparent from marks along the shore line that the water level had dropped already). I also saw a fair number of collapsed structures (mostly barns and sheds)... looks like the snow depths this season caused a fair amount of damage.
I arrived at the trailhead at dusk and hiked into the lean-to in a drizzle. The hike up to the lean-to was fairly steep, but shorter than I was expecting 0.4 miles to take me... I saw the sign for the lean-to and spring appear out of the darkness well before I was expecting to see it.
I set up camp in the lean-to, cooked dinner, and went to bed. I noticed that I could see lights from houses across the hollow through the trees. Kind of disappointing, but I was spending a night outside nonetheless, and you can't beat that even if there are some signs of civilization apparent. The weather during the night alternated between a drizzle and pouring rain.
Wednesday, I awoke early to a brief spotting of the sun and blue sky through the clouds, but the gap quickly closed and the sky returned to a mottle gray. I packed my day pack, and started up the mountain. The trail follows an old road most of the way up to the false summit, and the grades are fairly steady with some steep parts here an there. I started encountering patchy snow fields around 2000 feet, and stopped to put on my snowshoes at about 2600 feet. The snow was nice and firm, and supported my weight easily with the snowshoes.
It took me a while to reach the false summit, and when I did, I was rewarded with absolutely no views at all. There were some bare spots on the rock ledges, however, with some green ferns and lichens visible. Between the false summit and the true summit, the going was fairly easy up until the last few tenths of a mile. The snow depth at altitude was still significant, and the trail was a bit hard to follow in some spots but nothing too difficult. It looked like most groups since the big snowfall had turned around at the false summit, since I saw plenty of old tracks in the snow up to that point but few beyond it. I also saw fresh tracks from a wild turkey between the false summit and the true summit.
The last few tenths of a mile became a little bit more difficult... the snow was deep enough that I was standing in the tree tops, and had become a bit softer so I was sinking down into it a little bit. There was also ice on the trees and some recent blowdown that impeded my travel. It was nothing that was too difficult to get through with perseverance, however, and before long I reached the summit. I wasn't sure I would recognize the summit when I got to it, but the sign (as well as the appearance of multiple post hole tracks in the snow from climbers coming up the south side- why do people do this?!?) told me exactly when I had reached the top. It took me a little over 4 hours from the lean-to to get to the summit. The top was completely socked in with clouds, and while it wasn't quite drizzling, there was enough moisture for everything to feel damp.
The way back down was fairly uneventful, I reached the lean-to in 3 and a half hours, including a half-hour lunch break on the false summit. The snow had softened up a little bit during the day, and I totally biffed it a couple of times on the way down but each time the snow broke my fall. I returned to the lean-to well before dark and spent the afternoon hanging out in my sleeping bag and reading.
Thursday morning dawned bright, warm, and sunny... oh well. This is twice now that I've climbed Panther and had no views, and I've heard that the views from the top are among the best in the Catskills. It was more than enough for me to be spending 3 days in the woods, however, views or not. I spent the morning reading in the sunlight, and ate lunch before I packed up and headed back to the trailhead.
Snow depths in the Catskills are still quite deep at higher elevations, I estimated that the summit still had at least 5 feet of snow. Snowshoes were very much still necessary above 2500 feet or so. I carried crampons and an ice ax with me (I always carry them when I can expect winter conditions in the mountains) but never had the need to use them.
[EDIT]One other thing... I noticed a group had signed in the trail register that they were headed to the "bear caves"... it may have been a joke, but does anyone know if these caves actually exist and where they are?
I had a few days off this week, and was looking for a chance to stay in a lean-to I'd not stayed in yet (to work towards my goal of spending at least one night in every lean-to in NY) and climb a Catskill Peak I'd not climbed yet. I settled on the Fox Hollow Lean-to, and Panther Mountain, which I'd climbed before in the winter but still needed to climb again to fulfill the 3500 club requirements.
The drive down to and through the Catskills was like a hydrologists wet dream (pun intended). There was water everywhere, all of the streams and rivers were running incredibly high. I stopped at a fishing pull off and watched the Sccoharie for a few minutes, the amount of power in the turning water was awe-inducing (and it was apparent from marks along the shore line that the water level had dropped already). I also saw a fair number of collapsed structures (mostly barns and sheds)... looks like the snow depths this season caused a fair amount of damage.
I arrived at the trailhead at dusk and hiked into the lean-to in a drizzle. The hike up to the lean-to was fairly steep, but shorter than I was expecting 0.4 miles to take me... I saw the sign for the lean-to and spring appear out of the darkness well before I was expecting to see it.
I set up camp in the lean-to, cooked dinner, and went to bed. I noticed that I could see lights from houses across the hollow through the trees. Kind of disappointing, but I was spending a night outside nonetheless, and you can't beat that even if there are some signs of civilization apparent. The weather during the night alternated between a drizzle and pouring rain.
Wednesday, I awoke early to a brief spotting of the sun and blue sky through the clouds, but the gap quickly closed and the sky returned to a mottle gray. I packed my day pack, and started up the mountain. The trail follows an old road most of the way up to the false summit, and the grades are fairly steady with some steep parts here an there. I started encountering patchy snow fields around 2000 feet, and stopped to put on my snowshoes at about 2600 feet. The snow was nice and firm, and supported my weight easily with the snowshoes.
It took me a while to reach the false summit, and when I did, I was rewarded with absolutely no views at all. There were some bare spots on the rock ledges, however, with some green ferns and lichens visible. Between the false summit and the true summit, the going was fairly easy up until the last few tenths of a mile. The snow depth at altitude was still significant, and the trail was a bit hard to follow in some spots but nothing too difficult. It looked like most groups since the big snowfall had turned around at the false summit, since I saw plenty of old tracks in the snow up to that point but few beyond it. I also saw fresh tracks from a wild turkey between the false summit and the true summit.
The last few tenths of a mile became a little bit more difficult... the snow was deep enough that I was standing in the tree tops, and had become a bit softer so I was sinking down into it a little bit. There was also ice on the trees and some recent blowdown that impeded my travel. It was nothing that was too difficult to get through with perseverance, however, and before long I reached the summit. I wasn't sure I would recognize the summit when I got to it, but the sign (as well as the appearance of multiple post hole tracks in the snow from climbers coming up the south side- why do people do this?!?) told me exactly when I had reached the top. It took me a little over 4 hours from the lean-to to get to the summit. The top was completely socked in with clouds, and while it wasn't quite drizzling, there was enough moisture for everything to feel damp.
The way back down was fairly uneventful, I reached the lean-to in 3 and a half hours, including a half-hour lunch break on the false summit. The snow had softened up a little bit during the day, and I totally biffed it a couple of times on the way down but each time the snow broke my fall. I returned to the lean-to well before dark and spent the afternoon hanging out in my sleeping bag and reading.
Thursday morning dawned bright, warm, and sunny... oh well. This is twice now that I've climbed Panther and had no views, and I've heard that the views from the top are among the best in the Catskills. It was more than enough for me to be spending 3 days in the woods, however, views or not. I spent the morning reading in the sunlight, and ate lunch before I packed up and headed back to the trailhead.
Snow depths in the Catskills are still quite deep at higher elevations, I estimated that the summit still had at least 5 feet of snow. Snowshoes were very much still necessary above 2500 feet or so. I carried crampons and an ice ax with me (I always carry them when I can expect winter conditions in the mountains) but never had the need to use them.
[EDIT]One other thing... I noticed a group had signed in the trail register that they were headed to the "bear caves"... it may have been a joke, but does anyone know if these caves actually exist and where they are?
