Tom Rankin
Well-known member
... the lean-to, part NN.
We met a group of 3500 club members at Peekamoose TH, after the monsoons had passed. A tad chilly, at 40 or so when we started. Beautiful blue skies all day, light breezes, dry, almost would not know such a storm had passed by a day before. A few hints of it though, heavy streams, huge waterfalls, a few washouts in the road, but the trail was in amazingly good shape.
The hike started out steeply up the old road. It leveled off and then we started the steep and flat progression to reconnoiter rock. We were still unable to budge the massive stone, so we continued on.
Eventually, we made it to the first of several lookouts. The first one, about 3/4 mile before the summit was almost crystal clear. We could see many miles to the south, including High Point in NJ.
Continuing on, we summitted Peekamoose, with its giant boulder at the top. We also checked out the 'new' view cut. Apparently it is a re-opening of an old view, so it is acceptable that it be re-opened, but I still do not think it was done with DEC approval. That being said, it is SPECTACULAR! The reservoir is laid out before you, and you can see all the way around to Slide to the left, and Mt. Beacon/breakneck/stormking to the right, MANY miles away.
After a break, we quickly went down and back up to Table. After checking out the view point here, which looks much more natural, being atop a boulder, where no trees had to be cut down, we headed to the lean-to. The goal today was to fix the hinges on the outhouse door. It was not so simple, as the door is poorly hung, but we managed to get one new hinge in place, and shore up the others. Some guys who came up from the Denning side said one of the bridges over the Neversink has had the steps washed out by the recent flooding! (If you read this, do you have my wife's first aid kit?)
After finishing up at the lean-to, we headed back the way we came. Since it was such a nice day, we revisited 2 of the view points, and took our time.
Overall, a very pleasant day!
We met a group of 3500 club members at Peekamoose TH, after the monsoons had passed. A tad chilly, at 40 or so when we started. Beautiful blue skies all day, light breezes, dry, almost would not know such a storm had passed by a day before. A few hints of it though, heavy streams, huge waterfalls, a few washouts in the road, but the trail was in amazingly good shape.
The hike started out steeply up the old road. It leveled off and then we started the steep and flat progression to reconnoiter rock. We were still unable to budge the massive stone, so we continued on.
Eventually, we made it to the first of several lookouts. The first one, about 3/4 mile before the summit was almost crystal clear. We could see many miles to the south, including High Point in NJ.
Continuing on, we summitted Peekamoose, with its giant boulder at the top. We also checked out the 'new' view cut. Apparently it is a re-opening of an old view, so it is acceptable that it be re-opened, but I still do not think it was done with DEC approval. That being said, it is SPECTACULAR! The reservoir is laid out before you, and you can see all the way around to Slide to the left, and Mt. Beacon/breakneck/stormking to the right, MANY miles away.
After a break, we quickly went down and back up to Table. After checking out the view point here, which looks much more natural, being atop a boulder, where no trees had to be cut down, we headed to the lean-to. The goal today was to fix the hinges on the outhouse door. It was not so simple, as the door is poorly hung, but we managed to get one new hinge in place, and shore up the others. Some guys who came up from the Denning side said one of the bridges over the Neversink has had the steps washed out by the recent flooding!
(If you read this, do you have my wife's first aid kit?)After finishing up at the lean-to, we headed back the way we came. Since it was such a nice day, we revisited 2 of the view points, and took our time.
Overall, a very pleasant day!
