January Thaw

Early morning commuter heading in to check on the huts
Headed up to the park early this morning to get in a ski. Don’t usually go for the early morning skis until later in the season but I’d missed my chance to ski Thursday night so decided to make the early trip up. Grey, drizzly skies greeted me as I pulled into P10 at quarter to 7. Grim weather but I had seen the groomers rolling along the Doldrums so I knew I would have fresh tracks. Indeed all the primary trails seemed to be freshly groomed so the skiing was quite nice. In spite of the +2C weather (and rain falling) the tracks were actually firming up nicly with the cold supplied by the snowpack beneath them. This made the skating fast but the classic tracks looked to be glazing over and might prove to be icy. I skied up along the Parkway to the lookouts but had to use my imagination as thick fog blocked any view. No stunning sunrise either as the dark, gloomy grey brightened only slightly to light, gloomy grey as the sun came up. A quick loop around 1A and B before heading down Burma for the trip home. In the woods the conditions were a little bit tougher than the parkways. The warm temperatures were bringing the last of the ice on the branches down and the delicate sound of breaking "glass" filled the air as the ice dropped from above. I probably was less than an hour behind the groomer riding the fresh corduroy but the trails had already built up a good layer of icy chunks and bits of branches making the skiing a little more like riding ball bearings. It was manageable on skate skis but I would think the classic tracks would fill up fast and be a bit of a pain. Once I shot out onto the parkway it was apparent that the wider open parkway skiing might be the ticket for today. Far less debris and nice new tracks Could be the answer for the weekend which shows more of the same weather ahead. Maybe we can get rid of the last of the ice covered branch debris with this warm weather and get back to some more wintry weather in the days to come.

Tough to make out the ice chunks but lots of little twigs on the foggy Burma road (and the ice chunks are there!)

Beautiful weekend for some skiing

Even the bright shiny orb called the sun was out on Saturday which has been a rare sighting in the last couple of weeks. With sunny skies I headed up to P19. I figured the upper part of the park would be comparatively quiet and I wouldn’t have to fight for a parking spot with the hordes of skiers clambering for P10 and P7. Sure enough I was rewarded with easy access and relatively quiet trails. After skiing the lower valley and up 55 to Taylor Lake I took a tour up to the Pontiac lookout on trail 56. I thought this was a “backcountry” trail and would receive no grooming this year but looks like a skidoo ran up to the lookout at some point recently. Perhaps it was the maintenance crews trimming and cutting fallen branches. Unfortunately they hadn’t pulled a grooming sled behind them so I was left with a somewhat flat track to ski up which slowed things up a bit but no matter. The warm sunshine and shiny ice on the trees made up for the slower skiing. Love this trail punching through the tall pines. Reminiscent of the skiing at Vernon although the pines are 2 or 3 times as tall out there. Also did a quick ski around the Ste Cecile loop and it too was in pretty good shape – free from branches and logs and reasonably well groomed. As it was somewhat cold out I wore my wonderful new fleece layer (just purchased). Unfortunately it proved too effective and I over heated 10 minutes into my ski… gonna have to assign that fleece to -20C (and colder) skis and work on a layer that works for… ummm, “slightly cold” conditions.

Mind your head under the arch
Sunday I got one of the last places to park at P7 and checked out the backountry trails skiing 6, 22, 17, a bit of 11 and 8 along with sundry other groomed trails. To be honest I prefer the backcountry trails with some fresh snow as today the tracks were somewhat hard packed and “skied out”. Still they proved a sometimes interesting challenge to negotiate so a good afternoon was had. Still a few branches here and there to dodge but – unlike my last post – there have been enough skiers smashing through them that the blocks of ice are mostly gone. Not quite so painful if you fail to duck at an inopportune moment. I could have used a few layers (inches?) of binder wax on the skis today though. Icy trails and blocks of ice left in the track as they fall from the tree branches above did short work on my wax. I was forced to stop a few times to reapply some fresh wax or flounder helplessly up the climbs.



I must say I am impressed with how quickly the crews have worked to clear the trails from fallen debris after the ice storm. Having done a little “post ice storm” clearing myself in the past I know it to be long, labourious work. Skiing the trails over the Christmas break and seeing trails choked with bent over trees and down fall it’s hard to believe most of that has been refreshed. The NCC website suggests 80% of the network is now free and clear. That's 160km of trails cleared so good on them to work through this. The only big ticket omissions at this point are Ridge to the Fire tower and trail 36 but hopefully those are on the work sheet for this week.

Can I have a do-over on Christmas vacation?

New Year, new snow!

Snow!
A beautiful layer of snow fell overnight! By no means is it enough to cover all the damage from last weeks freezing rain but its certainly a good start. Pete and I went for a New Year's Eve (well, afternoon really) ski along the Pine road as the fresh snow started to fall. This ski has become a bit of a tradition as Pete typically works a half day on New Year's Eve and then schedules in a ski before making the drive for home. I on the other hand am not working at all this week so I traditionally sleep in, prepare the pack with some celebratory liquids, wax up some skis and wait for him to book off work. It's a tough job but I always feel up to the challenge. Conditions were quite good although there were still a lot of sticks and twigs exposed at that time but it was certainly encouraging to see the snow falling hard.

Icy trees
Today - New Year's day - I felt a little optimistic as snow had been falling all night so I threw the wider skis in the truck with the hope of skiing some of the backcountry trails. Things were pretty nice although there certainly has been a lot of damage from last weeks freezing rain. Quite a lot of downed branches and even a few trees along with iced up trees bent over double on the trails. I pulled a few medium sized logs off the tracks but there are still a few much bigger ones here and there that will need to be cut. If the NCC isn't going to groom the backcountry trails this year I wonder who will? For that matter does grooming include cutting deadfall and brushing back the trails? If it does how will they get there if not with a skidoo (and will that ruin the track?)? Perhaps if I think about it for a bit longer more snow will bury all the hazards and I won't have to worry about it.

Took a little work to pull this broken branch off the track
While the logs might be one issue there is also a lot of branches doubled over with the prodigious weight of ice coated to their branches. This makes for some awkward skiing in the woods. Forces you to mosey left and right to avoid them. That isn't too bad when the trail is flat. Bigger problem is screaming down a steep incline to be faced with a load of ice covered branches in your way. Bit like going through those beaded curtains... at speed... and the beads are blocks of ice... and they're quite heavy... and there are often rather a lot of them (from the voice of experience;-). If we can get a few (more) skiers to go crashing through the branch traps, the ice (or maybe the branches) should break off forming some nice tunnels. Could make for some interesting trails. Either way it sure is beautiful skiing in the park right now. More snow over the next couple of days should make for a happy start to the year.

Beautiful skiing

crystal tunnels
Originally uploaded by kenmores

After yesterday's storms I wasn't expecting much but skiing today was actually quite nice. Along with the freezing rain (and actual rain) that fell yesterday a little snow also fell. Not much but enough to make the skating track nice with a firm base underneath. The classic tracks also looked skiable as people "broke them out". For the most part, I stuck to the parkways as the tinkling glass coming from the forests sounded ominous. The sounds were of course the ice covered branches dropping little bombs of ice (and occasional branches) as the sun warmed them up. No grooming on the trails but perhaps the crews were also waiting for the falling debris to subside before heading in to work. There'll be a little work to clear the fallen branches and trees that came down as a result of the freezing rain. Sking along the parkways required a little creativity to duck and dodge around some fallen limbs but I saw nothing that couldn't be skied around. With such nice warm temperatures the skiing was actually quite pleasant. Another cold snap is coming so it was good to take advantage of the nice day while we had the chance.

Christmas coal...

Expectations were high for a dump of snow to finally bury the rocks and get the ski season headed in the right direction... but alas it was not to be. Christmas morning dawned grey and warm so I loaded up the skis and headed to P17 to try a loop of the Wakefield triangle. The trails were pretty used up but still skiable. With no fresh snow there really isn't much for the groomers to work with so no complaints here. I opted out of the trail past Ste Cecile as it had only been compacted but not trackset for classic.

On a positive note the "ditch" I mentioned in my last post on the main skating trails through the Lac Phillipe area were renovated and are now nice and smooth. Perhaps the crews up here can till 12" deep in 7" of snow! I also got a look at the newest yurt in the park. Wanakiniwa(sp?) is set in the main Lac Phillipe campground high on a hill looking over the lake. Looks like a nice spot to spend the night. Based on the few notes in the logbook its a little hard to find the yurt in the dark as its set off the main trail in a little maze of skidoo trails. Apparently one group had to call the NCC emergency linefor directions when they couldn't find their rented hut in the dark. Not like Taylor lake yurt which is set right on the main trail... but maybe this one is quieter as a result of being a little deeper in the woods.

Completed the loop down trail 52 which is still a little thin on snow but skiable none the less. Sadly that was the good news as any threat of fresh snow quickly perished as freezing rain started to fall overnight and bouts of actual rain (and some freezing stuff) fell throughout the day. I spent most of the day looking out the window in hopes of seeing a flake or two of snow falling... but no luck yet. This could set things back on the trails but hopefully a little snow will fall this week.

Bit of a chill in the air

Bit of cold weather has set in over the last few days. Good for the snow to help firm up the tracks but sometimes a shock to the system when you actually get out into it. I guess the first cold snap is time to toughen up and get ready for the much colder days ahead in January. Always seems like my mid-weight fleece layers have gotten a little thinner though and aren’t providing the same insulative properties they did last year. The lint trap in my dryer might corroborate that evidence (all that fluff has to come from somewhere) but perhaps I just have to suck it up and get out there. Once I actually get going it’s never too bad.


The ever present Lusk Lake residents come to collect the "rent"

Saturday I made the long drive up to Lac Phillipe to check out the conditions high in the park. The drive is now 30 seconds faster thanks to the new highway extension which I got to enjoy (with promises of another 30s shaved off my drive time by 2012!). The grooming on the whole was pretty good but I wonder if the guys doing the grooming actually know what skate skiing is. I seem to recall a similar “ditch” being a constant problem last year… but too soon to start complaining. As Johnny Klister suggests (#6) no point developing the rare grooming technique of tilling 12” deep in 7” of snow so perhaps we’ll have to wait for a bit more snow before assessing the grooming quality. The classic tracks looked great by the way and the ditch only forced me over to one side a little bit so it wasn't the end of the world. To be honest I was the only person I saw all day that was skating so if its just for me... I was fine with it! I skated up to Lusk Lake first where there was still a little warm sunshine to be had. Beautiful spot to sit on the deck even if the Hut marauders set upon you with blinding efficiency. Surprised to have the trail and hut to myself but I stoked the fire as I left and met the overnight guests at the bottom of the hill as I skied out (Good advice Mike - stoking the fire – thanks). Another quick trip out to Taylor lake and I see they’ve moved the hut out there again. No longer out on the point it is instead set back in the trees. Nice new deck here as well so I’ll have to test that out on a sunny day. Finally a trip along the Pine road towards Herridge. For the most part – while it was pretty cold there wasn’t much wind to speak of so all in all a beautiful day on the trails.

Sunday the wind picked up so it was both cold and a bit raw. I tried to stick to the trails in the trees skiing out of MacKenzie King and down to the CEGEPs. The Parkways were beautifully tracked and (as long as the wind was at your back) a great ski. Unfortunately the trails in the trees still are a bit thin with occasional rocks poking through and even a couple of small water hazards spotted on trail 15. Makes it a bit of a game of "spot the obstacle" (rock, dip, divot or creek) and then dodge around it. More snow for Christmas is on the agenda so hopefully that will fill things in nicely... and maybe I’ll check out some post-Christmas sales to get some new fleece – just in case it happens to be cold in January.

Bryan's birthday ski - take 3

What's become an annual event went off again on Monday. Sadly it had been planned for Sunday when a larger contingent would likely have participated but Bryan got marooned with car woes and spent much of the day arguing with mechanics on the correct balance of his tires... Delayed until Monday most folks were occupied with other distractrions and only Bryan and myself made it for the ski. Not sure if that even constitutes a quorum but I suppose it still counts. Fresh grooming on the parkway and Ridge road made for some nice skiing. We made a Tour du Hut visiting 4 of the Gatineau Trail huts with some form of pit stop at each. At Western a gentleman had the fire well stoked and the hut was downright toasty. Great spot for some lunch and a beverage but it made it a challenge to get back out on the skis and continue along the trail... Had I brought a sleeping bag I might have gone for a long afternoon nap. At Shilly Shally we met the self proclaimed "Chalet Beautification squad" who spent a 1/2 hour preparing some adornments for the hut. Mostly made from local materials there were a few odds and ends packed in to complete the project. They said something about "having a contract" with the NCC but I probably misheard and in fact it was that they "wanted a contract" with the NCC. Either way it was a nice addition to the hut... and as it decays and becomes unsightly it will also make an excellent firestarter for the woodstove.

Excellent job ladies, only 8 more chalets (and maybe a few yurts?) to go :-)

Mistakes picking sticks - but what odds...

Beautiful weekend to get out and ski. Lots of fresh snow out there to be had. Unfortunately in my haste I probably made a rookie mistake and picked the wrong techniques on each of the days. Saturday was cold and sunny and the tracks seemed to have firmed up nicely from the first grooming. Perfect day for a skate ski... but I picked the classic boards. Not a big loss though as the classic tracks were equally good and I did a nice long loop to check out much of the parkway and Ridge road. All of which are in good shape with just a few thin spots here and there. For the most part its easy enough to step around the trouble spots so clean sailing all day.

Rare sunshine and snowflakes... where were these things coming from?
On Sunday it was much warmer and not snowing (at my house) so I decided to load the skate skis into the truck. Of course as I drove up to the park it began to snow (hard) and soon enough there was lots and lots of soft wet snow. Perfect day for a classic ski... but I was commited to skating at that point. Ah well, off I went down the Pine road past Herridge and almost out to Lac Phillippe. Skating in the soft snow was hard work but I wasn't in a rush and I'll take the extra snow without complaints. The weatherman had called for rain on Tueday which likely would have thinned out the skiing almost completely. Thankfully he's revised his forecast and it looks like more snow is on the way. Soon the thin spots will be a thing of the past.
no more trucks...
On a positive note I did get out Sunday morning to catch my cousin Bob carry the Olympic Torch. Knowing only the "road" he would be running on (and it was a long road with several runners) I managed to luck out and catch him at the end of his run passing off to the next runner. Good job Bob! You didn't stumble and drop the torch in the snowbank or anything ;-)

That's better...

"David" promised those magical words that all skiers love to hear - a "Colorado Low" and now the park is blanketed with snow. Last night I went for a short ski (trudge?) though things were pretty soft but it was still nice to be back on skis (after a 5-day lay off). This morning I went back for another ski and the parkways were nicely groomed. The tracks were still pretty soft when I started at 7 and my skis would sink 3/4" every time I weighted them. Made for slow progress but I guess someone has to be the "compactor" when we get a dump of soft, wet snow. After a few dozen more skiers take to the trails things should firm up nicely. Add to that colder temperatures on the way and the track should be really nice by the weekend. Only the parkway was groomed this morning (at least where I skied). Perhaps more will get tracked today but to be fair we only really got 8" of snow so working the side trails might be a little premature exposing rocks here and there. There was a little asphalt exposed on a windy corner and I did tap through the snow in a few spots with my poles so - while we might hope for "mid winter" to arrive overnight... it has not. But it's still really nice to be out there and getting this ski season underway on home turf! Quite a number of skiers heading up as I was coming down and all of them had a pretty good smile on.

What the heck is going on here!!!

I go away for 1 week, leaving you people with a simple task - get snow! - and this is what I come back to?! Okay, I thought the emails asking me to bring snow back in my carry-on luggage were funny but I had no idea you weren't joking. I guess if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. Time to make some calls...

Heading home

Sweet tracks
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Well that's it. After a week of skiing its time to pack up and head home. The snow here has been superb (and things are looking grim back home) so it proved a fortuitous trip indeed. When I think back just a few months ago - when I broke my foot - I didn't think I would be skiing so soon or to such an extent. After 6 days and close to 25 hours on the boards I'm quietly pleased with the progress. Oh, a little vitamin I was consumed to be sure but on the whole the foot performed well. This ski camp was a bit of a departure for me. Not sure I would do it again. It was a lot of fun but I found it to be a little too much of the same thing day in and day out. My usual M.O. would be to ski a few different places in the same period of time. Still the price was right so it was hard to refuse. That said, the skis are coated in travel wax, bags are packed.... so tomorrow I head for home.

Moonrise on Paradise

Moonrise on Paradise
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Snow here continues to be sensational. Can't believe how few people are out here (though the weekend was pretty busy) and often find myself on my own on the trails.... such a shame but I continue to tough it out. Monday we got another big dump of snow (4 inches) and it fell spectacularly fast. Made the skate ski I was on a somewhat tough slog but I didn't hear anyone around here complaining. Today it was blue skies and perfect grooming. A morning ski followeed by an early afternoon nap and then out again for an evening (which falls pretty early these days) ski... life is tough. I am following the pictures of "snow" back home but to be honest... don't feel too bad that I missed some of the "first skis" on the parkway verges. Here's hoping some more snow falls before I come home.

No snow at home?

home for a few days
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Somebody's been hogging it all. Their not even sharing with the local valley.... but I found it. There's lots to ski on(over a meter of base) and everyones welcome.

Waiting for snow

This weekend is supposed to be quite pleasant and sunny - definitlely not November weather. Had a look at the blog posts from the last couple of years at this time (who knew they'd be useful for something). Seems I hadn't skied much by this point in the last two years either. They turned out to be great ski years... so I remain optimistic that snow will indeed fall this winter. It will be cold. The skiing will be great. All will be as it should. In the meantime I continue to rollerski... and hike... and wait...


Should be a snowcat... soon, very soon

Remembrance Day hike

Well I missed it… The snow fell last week(just 36 hours off my predicted time) and then disappeared almost as quickly! Sadly I must have overslept because I didn’t think to go ski on it… and now it looks like it could be a few weeks before we see any more snow . Back to roller skiing and hiking for me… Wednesday was Remembrance day and - with the day off work - an opportunity to take a hike . Bryan, Mike and I have gone hiking the last couple of years on Remembrance Day and the weather was looking like this year would be another fine one. At the last minute I spotted a new geocache planted deep in the northern end of the park so we headed off to check it out. Met a few other cars full of hikers as we hit the Eardley escarpment road but no one was at our trail head so we had the back woods to ourselves. The route principally followed a high tension hydro easement through the woods. I thought it would be a pretty dull hike but it turned out to be quite nice. The trail dipped and rolled, in and out of the woods and provided scenic and varied views the whole length. The Gatineaus obviously aren’t high enough to have much “above treeline” hiking but in the hydro easement we had all kinds of views so this worked out as a nice alternative. At the end of the trail a sizeable summit presented itself – I dubbed Mount Hydro Pylon – and after a tough scramble up we topped out to great views of the northern end of the park. I had brought the stove so we heated up some soup and had a little lunch in the warm fall sunshine. Took a few moments to remember why we had the day off and relaxed a while before making the call to head back down for the car. All in all another great day out on the trails. I’d rather be skiing but I guess patience will be the word this year.

One more trek in the High Peaks...

I took a quick trip down on Sunday to the Adirondacks to get one last hike in the big mountains before the snow starts to fall. Actually the high peaks have already seen their share of early snow but it has all melted now and for the most part the leaves are all gone. The forecast however was slated to be beautiful so this looked like as good a time as any. Sunday I took a leisurely start taking care of a few errands in town before packing up and making the drive down. Sadly that was bad judgment on my part as – with the switch to daylight savings time – it gets dark incredibly early. Arriving in Lake Placid a little after 3pm it was clear I had less than an hour before the woods would start to get dim and only a couple of hours at most before I’d be in full headlamp mode. With nothing incredibly short in mind to hike I took my time got some gear items and headed off to my favourite secret camp spot near Newcomb. Sadly my secret camp spot is no secret to the local hunters who have erected mini, mobile condos on all the best sites and were busy inside playing cards and (presumably) prepping their ammo. This left me with some slightly less ideal options but still acceptable for my needs. By 6:30 I was tucked in my sleeping bag with this month’s edition of Powder magazine (I read it for the pictures) and a long night ahead of me.

In the morning I woke to cooler temperatures (just slightly below zero) and quickly packed up and headed to the trail head. It was looking like a sterling morning and I was bound for Mt. Adams a firetower peak I’ve had my eye on for a long time. One car was at the trail head but they were bound for Allen so I would have Adams to myself. Much has been written about the disrepair of the Lake Jimmy bridge(crossed early in the hike) and I can report that it is in excellent shape with only minor issues… still totally serviceable. The climb up Mount Adams starts shortly after the fire observers cabin – about a mile from the trail head - and points pretty steeply upwards. Some might call it murderously steep but I was alone on the hike so this wasn’t an issue for this day. After a tough scramble up the trail I got to the treed-in summit and quickly climbed the tower. The view from the tower is probably one of the better ones I’ve had as Adams is tucked into a massive cirque of high peaks. The MacIntyres, Santanonis, Colden, Marcy, Skylight and Allen to name a few all play out around you. The tower itself is a little beat up – the roof having blown off the cab – but it’s still structurally sound. Could have spent hours there but after all too short a while I started to get cold – the temperature just above freezing at that point with a stiff breeze. Descending was no less a challenge as there are some pretty sketchy chutes to negotiate. Soon enough though I was back in the valley floor – round trip including an hour or so at the top was less than 4 hours. After the short walk back to the car I relocated to a sunny spot on the banks of the Hudson River to make some lunch and enjoy the early afternoon.

Mt Adams firetower observer's office

Lunch done I drove over to the entry to the Santanoni preserve and wandered partway up the trail to the “farm”. I had hoped to take the time to go all the way out to the great camp itself but with an incredibly short amount of daylight I opted to turn around after the farm house (about halfway to the great camp). Equally the trail register showed several groups ahead of me all of whom signed in as “hunting” which sealed the deal at a shorter walk in the woods. Fortunately I had left my antler hat at home but nevertheless the woods (particularly in flatter terrain) belong to other users at this time of year. This is truly a beautiful place and I hope to make the full walk out to the great camp next year. With that, another high peak hiking season draws to a close. Snow is forecast any day (most likely on Nov 4th) and soon the skis will be out. With luck I’ll get another hike in the high peaks this winter but we’ll see how that pans out.

Good News

The rain, fog and impending darkness could not discourage me from a quick trip to the park to roller ski. Of course I may need some help from Hans and Franz as my arms seem to be a little ummm, soft. Nothing a few nights climbing some big hills won't cure. Watch out for wet leaves tho'!! Not sure why they closed the parkways so soon - the first snow is still eleven days away.... just sayin'.

Fall slipping away?

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’.

Catskill Sampler

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.