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Trip Log
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The Devil Returns |
4 members of the NEOH group set off on Thursday post-Thanksgiving dinner for the eastern edge of NY. Rob & Heather in one car and Kevin and I in another, we headed east to complete this point-to-point hike. The rendezvous point was a lovely Holiday Inn Holidome in Kingston, NY. We all arrived at a reasonable time and set in for the night with a dense, cool fog outdoors.
At 5:45 am, the alarm was off, and we slowly got our act together and checked out at 6:30 am. Breakfast was a local Dunkin' Donuts in downtown Kingston (cute place) with cool air but no fog or precip! The Subaru trains then left for Spruceton Road at the western terminus of the Devils Path. Traffic was light, so we made good time...enough for a second round of coffee in Hunter. My car was then dropped at the end of the trail, and we all packed in Rob's car to head east to Prediger/Platte Clove Road to begin the hike.
By 9:30 am, we set off on the trail....oh yeah...with about 13 other day hikers. Very unexpecting. At least the trail was fairly dry, and we weren't in pouring rain like we experienced in 2006. After the first grueling climb, we reached the summit of Indian Head only to see a lovely picture of a neighboring cloud deck. Beautiful as it was, we continued our trek down IH and up Twin Mtn. Low and behold, we saw the same thing here! Nevertheless, the air was dry and the trail just kept banging away at us. We broke for lunch at the top of Sugarloaf and then made our way down this nasty, craggy mountain in a bit of spitting snow and wind. We safely crossed onto flat ground in Mink Hollow to an empty lean-to for the night. And let me remind you the forecast was calling for snow at elevation 60 mph gusts and 45 mph sustaining winds. GREAT weather. We all pitched in and gathered wood, collected water, Kevin got the fire going, and dinners were prepared. By 7 pm, we had 2 others that had trucked in from the road to join us for the evening - meet Phil and Chris from NJ. They were going to base camp from this lean-to and climb Sugarloaf the next day. With a careful fire built, we stuck it out until 8:30 (for some) and 9 pm for the rest. 4062' of elevation gain/8 miles.
Saturday or maybe still Friday night, 2 hikers were awake from nature's calling and the howling winds, only to spot 3 headlamps making a very, very slow trek up the side trail. Of course, we had 6 jammed into this tiny lean-to, and we were already taking on snow flakes and whipping winds. Dummies... By 6:30 am, the 4 from Ohio were up and attempting to make breakfast while the winds raged on. At least we only got a dusting of snow and the skies were clearing quickly. By 8:30 am, we were on the trail in search of water and protection from the wind. Let me make this quick note - if you want a beautiful, crazy, maddening climb, please tackle Plateau Mountain with a sheen of ice and 2-3" of snow. CRAZY tough climb to crest over 3800' from mire 2580' in Mink Hollow. We all survived this one and gathered back to a 4-some at the top for wonderful photo ops. Then it was a lovely winter walk across Plateau and down another monster 1500' descent to Route 214; our 1/2 way point. We all enjoyed the break and a lovely lunch. Then it was back to the grind. Up Hunter Mountain at 4040', the highest in the county and 2nd in the Catskills. Once again, we all made it in remarkable time and re-grouped at the summit lean-to. It was 1:30 pm and it was decided we weren't going for the fire tower yet another 1.65 miles away. So...across Hunter's rim (lots of nice photos) and down again to Diamond Notch. The winds were finally presiding, but we still felt it was best to go for the lean-to vs. setting up tarps. We gathered again after this rocky and icy descent at the picturesque waterfall located at the spur of Diamond Notch and the Devils Path trails. 8050 elevation gain total/16 miles complete. It was a .5 mile walk up to the lean-to and this time we met 2 other CT boys out with monster packs - Max and Bill. What fun they were to hang out with that night! Healthy fire, lots of good dinner, and plenty of trail talk.
Around 6:30 am on Sunday, we were all clamoring out of bed to get breakfast and break camp for the final day. We had about 7 miles to go and the biggest climb on the trail – West Kill Mountain. It was a brisk 32F with sunny, sunny skies. We were on trail by 8:30 am, took a quick group shot at the waterfall and started climbing. At Buckridge Lookout, we regrouped, tried to dry off the wet snow drops from our clothes and grab a snack/lunch, while enjoying the 270 degree views. Then down we went, only to quickly come across fresh bear tracks! And lots of squirrel, dear and other small animal tracks in the fast melting snow. Kevin and I reached the car by 1 pm and Heather and Rob strolled in 15 minutes later.
What a fantastic trip with great friends, old and new, and a safe ending to a seriously tough hike. No blood, broken bones or blisters, but Heather did a damn fine job breaking some gear. She melted her boots, bent a Leki, destroyed some socks and gloves, and was covered in mud. Kevin also gave in to Rob’s fire gods with a melted Teva sandal and air conditioned gloves. Rob and I may have walked away unscathed ?
Until next the next adventure -
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