This weekend was an epic fall weather weekend. The first few cool nights with a layer of frost on the ground in the morning but lots of sunshine to warm the day. It was Jim Howe cross country races weekend so there was lots to do to get ready. Fortunately most of it involves being outdoors and taking advantage of the sunny weather. Race director Pye and his son were out Saturday afternoon planting course marker flags as we wanted to get them in the ground Saturday afternoon before the ground froze over night. That meant that early Sunday morning there was just the task of putting up some trail blocking "caution" tape and a few trail signs to point runners in the right direction. Thankfully that meant an easy start to the day and then there was nothing for it but to wait for the runners to arrive. Unfortunately it was a busy Sunday with 2 other cross country races as well as a road race so the local running community was spread a little thin. Perhaps next year the race organizers will communicate a little better and spread their races around so runners can come to all the races rather than having to choose just one. That said we still got over 100 runners come out to take part so a good crowd enjoyed the race. 
Monday dawned another beautiful day. I had the day off and Bryan decided he was much too “sick” to go to work. Dave and Mike were apparently too “well” to miss work so it was just the two of us who headed up the line to the Eardley escarpment road to check out the last of the fall colours. The brilliant reds are now mostly faded to rusts and the forest floor is a carpet of leaves but it’ll remain pretty colourful out there for a while longer yet. Hiking up to the escarpment we found a good promontory to relax on, take in the sun and perhaps have a cool beverage. Just a hint of a breeze so it was a pretty pleasant spot to enjoy the day. Bryan immediately sent off blackberry pictures to all those that refused to escape their cubicle – a move that I’m sure was appreciated. Some discussion was had that we had chosen too short a trail and perhaps we should head over to another spot to get a longer hike in…. but it proved to be just talk and in the end that was just fine. Just a casual walk in the woods as the leaves drifted lethargically to the ground. Bring on the snow I say…. but not before Nov 4th… Just sayin’.
It’s been a tough leaf peeping season. Lots of rain made optimal mountain hiking difficult and picking a sunny day when the views are "the thing" wasn’t easy. I had a trip to cover last week anyway and I thought maybe I could squeeze in a day or two of hiking during prime fall foliage if the stars aligned correctly. At first I aimed for a day or two in Maine but that became a no go with the dark clouds locked over the northern mountains. In fact Vermont, New Hampshire and the Adirondacks were all looking sketchy. There was a window farther to the south in the Catskills where I could maybe luck out with some sunny days. I have a few “list” peaks in the Cats that I have wanted to hike and had been wondering when I would ever get there. The drive is long and it bypasses a lot of other attractive hiking peaks but with all of them currently masked by rain clouds I figured now was the time to venture onward and see what the Cats had to offer. Indeed the Catskills is a little bit of a different world in many ways. It’s quite a bit different from the wilds of the Adirondacks. Being located 1 ½ hours from one of the largest cities in the world (with a population of almost 2/3 that of Canada’s alone!), a lot of people have been coming to the Catskills for a long time to recreate. Clearly the forever wild policy hasn’t been adopted whole heartedly here. 
While the park was formed in the 1800’s there was only a first attempt at a master plan in the 1970’s. A lot of development has gone on in that time frame and a lot has changed since people first started coming north to “take the air”. The mountains have a wilderness feel but the valleys are choked with resorts and cabins some from another era and many left abandoned and deteriorating. The driving is never dull though as I went from trailhead to trailhead. Never quite got the swing of it as towns might be labeled on the map but the villages seem to bleed from one to the next making it tough to know when you’ve arrived and when you’ve left. Add to that the narrow winding valleys and it makes for fun navigating.There is still a lot of beauty in the hills t so it was well worth the trip.
After my long drive down on Monday I had just enough time to make a quick climb before dark. I chose Hunter mountain, picking it because, well… it was the one I could find relatively quickly and with a setting sun time was the most important thing. I took the Becker Hollow trail up to the summit. Perhaps not the most scenic way up but it was the shortest. Climbing 2000ft in less than 2 miles soon enough I was up high looking over the valleys. With a fire tower on the summit I got a good look at the surroundings. Looking across the summit to the Spruceton valley and further south to Slide mountain I saw rain coming in but the sunlight seemed to hold around me with golden light on Black Dome to the north. A short visit and a fast descent meant I was back at the base just as nightfall was closing in. 
I camped a couple of nights at a cheery place called the Devil’s Tombstone. I figure if it’s his tombstone… he’s surely not gonna be coming for another visit so it should be quiet. Right I was as only two other groups camped there that night. Morning dawned clear and it was off early for a full agenda with my one full day of climbing. Started the morning going up a short trail to Red Hill in the southern part of the park. This was a nice little summit with a firetower which gave me a good view of the Hudson valley and Connecticut to the east. From there it was a short drive up to Slide mountain (made famous by John Burroughs). The summit was beautiful with views to the north and east but I can’t say the trail up it inspired me. Not overly hard it was primarily an old Jeep road filled with loose, rounded, rubble sized rocks. Made for tough going as each step (on the way up and back down) was a potential ankle roller. The true summit is treed but there were two outstanding ledges on either side of the peak that gave great views into the heart of the Catskills.
Mr. Burroughs is immortalized at the summit with a plaque quoting some of his work - certainly a nice touch. Surprisingly I only met one small group of hikers as I was coming down which I thought was strange as the sun was shining and the leaves were nearing peak colour. After a quick lunch break it was off to Balsam Lake mountain for one last tower climb. The hike again was on an old Jeep road but this one was in better condition and the summit was soon reached in a fragrant Balsam forest. On this trail I finally met a few other hikers but they were mostly off on the herdpath to nearby Graham mountain so I had Balsam Lake mountain all to myself. Overall a full day with three hikes totaling 15 miles and roughly 4000ft of elevation gain. Certainly happy to get back to camp, cook up some food and relax by the fire with a cold beverage.
After a very rainy night in camp I figured I would get up early and race off to my appointment elsewhere but I found the eastern edge of the park still bathed in sunshine so I decided to squeeze out another hike. This time I climbed Overlook mountain just north of Woodstock. The trailhead was conveniently next to a Monastery, handy for a quick prayer before climbing – it is Woodstock afterall and some folks apparently never actually left. In fact I had my choice of monasteries within a short easy drive. As it turns out the prayer wasn’t needed as the “trail” was a reasonably well manicured gravel road that led all the way to the summit. Just shy of the summit is the now abandoned (and deeply eerie) Overlook hotel. I’ve seen the Shining (which of course took place out west... or not at all if you believe it to be fictional) so I had my concerns as I walked up the front steps. Fortunately this place has been abandoned since the 30’s. It was never actually completed running into financial difficulties during construction. Still I was glad to see there was no hedge maze to be found and the trees in the front lobby looked inviting right next to the fireplace. Sadly at the summit I could see my window of sunshine was ticking to a close with dark rainclouds marching over the hills to greet me. Time to head off. 
Overall I certainly lucked out in dodging the northern rainshowers and the Catskills proved an interesting place. Much more civilized than the more northern mountains (for better or for worse). Most of the hikes were relatively short day hikes. They still had some significant elevation gain to cover but most could easily be done in a half day. The “list” peaks I was chasing may not have shown the best the park has to offer but it certainly gave a range of what is available. I’ll most likely come back one day now that I have a bit of a feeling for what it holds and where some of the highlights are hidden.
