Tips for Camping in the Catskills
Camping in the Catskills is an awesome experience! However, being only two and a half hours from millions of people it can be crowded. Following some basic tips can make your experience richer and also preserve the sensitive environment that the Catskills has to offer. Plan, plan and plan again This is a simple but critical skill. You can never “over-plan”. In fact, there is great joy in planning and anticipating your trip. Use trail…
West Kill Mountain in the Catskills
West Kill Mountain is the tallest peak on Devil’s Path at 3898 feet. It’s closest higher neighbor is Hunter Mountain that is 3.13-miles away at a Bearing 77.6° True or 90.7° Magnetic. It’s Isolation Limit Point is 3-miles away just below Hunter’s Summit. West Kill’s Isolation Circle Area is a large 27.7 mi² (71.8 km²). It was heavily glaciated and has many ridges with cirques in which small glaciers carved the slopes of this massive…
Doubletop Mountain via the Seager Trail
Doubletop Mountain a 3875′ peak was known as one of the hardest Catskill off-trail peaks and is the Catskill’s highest peak without a trail. Today with a herd path ascending from the north, the going is much easier. No one says you need to climb the herd path. I have been on Doubletop 3-times, but have attempted it five. Each time I missed making the summit was due to time and weather. Doubletop, with its…
Fir Mountain Hike a Quick Overnight
In the Big Indian Wilderness sits Fir Mountain a 3630′ trail-less peak. The mountain is located about 1-mile NW of Spruce Mountain and 1.5-miles SE of Big Indian Mountain. It sits on the Catskill Divide as the east slopes drain to the Esopus and on to the Hudson and east, south, and west to the West Branch of the Neversink and to the Delaware River and Bay. The summit does have Fir trees on it,…
Rescue: Hey, it’s only the Catskills! 7/29/20
DEC Statewide Forest Ranger Highlights Many people think the Catskills are full of simple easy hikes to its highest peaks. These excerpts from the latest Rangers of rescue in the Catskills show otherwise. Enjoy! Greene County Kaaterskill Wild Forest Wilderness Rescue: On July 20 at 2:15 p.m., DEC’s Central Dispatch was notified that a 72-year-old man from Galloway, New Jersey, slipped on wet rocks near Kaaterskill Falls causing an ankle injury. Forest Rangers Breigle, Dawson,…