Long Path: Goodbye Cats and Hello Caps!

View from Burnt Knob

It has been a rugged week of hiking through the Catskills, filled with epic vistas, mysterious mountaintop boreal forests cool and dark, blazing hot exposed rock ledges, and scrambling up and over every size and shaped boulder you can envision. However...just some days ago we were walked out of the Catskill Park after 94 miles, and made our way across the much more humble northern Catskill range, which has now led us into the Capital District. Over the last week we have experienced temps ranging from 95 degrees to 33 degrees, peaks over 4100 feet tall and lowland valleys lush with farms. Now with the trail covered with a thick blanket of leaves, our hiking shoes swooshing through and a cold breeze blowing...it feels like we have really come a long way. I'll share with you some of the highlights!

Need I say more?

We were a bit apprehensive about this portion of the trail called the Devil's Path...reportedly the most rugged hiking trail in NY state, 9 miles of which the Long Path follows. However luckily we had a Long Path pro drop in and join us for a day...Ken Posner...who we have decided to call The Flash. Ken set the record for running the Long Path in 9 days...count 'em...9 days. That's right. He is an active volunteer with the Long Path and works hard in so many respects to ensure this trail thrives. He has a book that he has written about his experience on this trail titled, Running the Long Path. Be sure to check it out!

Hiking with Ken Posner aka The Flash

Ken hiking barefoot atop the Devil's Path put us as ease, as did his navigational skills. His pooch, Odie, who has earned the trail name Mountain Goat, helped us scope out the easiest routes along the trail as well. We summited Sugar Loaf, Twin, and Indianhead Mountains in one fail swoop of an afternoon and the Devil's Path did put us to the test with its path of boulders!

Devil's Path

When we finished the Devil’s Path we had some more trail magic from our good friend, Star Left! She met us a lean-to with her bright self and two homemade salads chock full of veggies. We had talked about how much we had missed fresh vegetables when we last saw her and this was her gift to us. What a treat! We gobbled them up, caught up on trail talk from the last week and then bid adieu a couple miles down the trail at her car where she loaded us up with water for the night. Thank you Star Left! We missed you this past weekend!

A barred owl spotting while descending into Palenville

While hiking towards Palenville, we stopped and snacked at both Buttermilk Falls and Wildcat Falls taking in the views on the nearly bare waterless rocks and had the most incredible sighting on the steep descent into town. We got a glimpse of this owl in mid flight from the ground up to his perch, where he sat nobly and allowed us to take him in for a good while. Almost every single night we have had an owl of one kind or another hoo-hooting away near our camp. It felt an honor to finally meet one face to face…and mid-day nonetheless…usually they do not come out to hunt until dusk.

Robinson Farmstand in Palenville

Before we had even officially reached downtown Palenville we found this oasis at a road crossing. Upon seeing the chalkboard with the words “ICE COLD DRINKS, ICE CREAM, SNACKS” without speaking we both made a bee-line. This humble lil’ shed housed a fridge stocked full of gatorade and flavored sparkling water and a freezer with every kind of ice cream sandwich and ice pop imaginable. Beside the fridge were baskets of granola bars, crackers and chips, and even hand sanitizer and wet wipes for our grubby hiker hands. Thank you Robinson Family! We almost didn’t make it into town, instead choosing to sit the day out on your nearby bench eating ice cream! But we were glad when we made it to Palenville given the Circle W Market that had to-die-for paninis, gourmet coffee, and a lovely place to sit and charge our devices. Thank you Circle W Market for your hospitality!

View from former site of Catskill Mountain House

The Escarpment Trail proved plenty challenging but nicely graded and lined with picturesque views from Boulder Rock to the former site of the Catskill Mountain House to North Point.

View near summit of Blackhead

However these small climbs were just the beginning of our most epic day yet out here on the trail. We were low on water for the latter part of the day and so were hiking speedily in anticipation of water at Dutcher Notch. To get water here would require a .3 mile hike off trail down a 500 foot descent and of course ascent. Along the way we luckily passed a group of four hikers who we will call the Batavia Clan that told us that the water source was poor down at the Dutcher Notch spring (saving us this off-trail hike) but that water was running at the Batavia Kill which was where we had planned to camp for the night. They also informed us of the beautiful new lean-to where they had left freshly chopped firewood. We reached the notch at about 5:00pm and still had 3.5 miles to go to the lean-to including an 800 foot ascent of the Arizona Plateau and then a 600 foot ascent up Blackhead – the second highest peak along the Long Path and reportedly the steepest descent in the Catskills. It wasn’t the wisest idea but knowing that there was fresh water at the lean-to and desperately wanting to meet our goal for the day…we hiked on with just a ½ liter of water in 90 degree heat.

Approaching the last leg of the climb up Blackhead Mountain

Scott hiking across the Arizona Plateau

We hoofed it up those mountains faster than we thought possible and found ourselves crossing the mile long ridge of the Arizona Plateau in the golden light of the setting sun. It was indescribably beautiful and as we ascended Blackhead with the sun beginning to dip into the valley, casting a golden light over the Yellow and Paper Birch trees, the yellow Goldenrod, and Spruce trees, I swore I could just about touch it from our heights. We reached the summit of Blackhead in twilight and began our descent by the light of our headlamps. We were nervous about shimmying and sliding and climbing down the wildly-angled rocks and over loose scree down vertical drops and tight switchbacks…but with the twinkling lights of the nearby villages in the valley below and the sheer experience of those Spruce-fir woods in their night-time stillness…we were truly present and humbled, grateful for the mercy of Blackhead...okay and a lil excited to have gotten so far!

Atop Blackhead Mountain

We made it to the Batavia Kill lean-to by 8:30 and searched for a half hour for that darn new lean-to…never finding it. We did recognize the old one though and spent a fine night there, dining on dinner at 10 pm. We saw the new one in the morning as we hiked out…it is a beauty!

View of Black Dome range from Acra Point

After our wild night on Blackhead, we still had a few more significant peaks to climb…however these we knew well from our overnight excursions over the last couple years: Acra Point, Burnt Knob, and Windham High Peak. The heat was brutal on this day and we were exhausted from our previous day’s adventure… so last minute we hoofed it 3 miles towards the town of Windham and pulled into a lil haven called the Copper Kettle Inn. Here we met Lisa and Don, the motel owners. Don had two ice cold sodas in our hands within minutes and Lisa was sweet enough to handle our hiker laundry and even gave us a ride back to the trailhead in the morning. Thank you Copper Kettle! While at the motel we also had the grace of meeting to two kind souls, Dave and Cindy. This couple invited us out to dinner with them to the Chicken Run where we enjoyed not only delicious food but much needed laughter and genuine conversation. Dave even surprised us with coffee the next morning. You two made our night! Thank you and we will drop you a line in Sellersville!

With Cindy and Dave of Sellersville PA at the Chicken Run in Windham

Heading out of Windham the next day, we exited the Catskill Park after 94 long miles and summited the smaller Northern Catskill peaks of Pisgah and Richmond Mountains…in temps that had dropped 30 degrees overnight. Pisgah felt old and wise with its evergreen forested summit and strong winds and Richmond afforded us a view of those Catskill High Peaks we had traversed. To say we felt triumphant would be an understatement! And we were certainly no longer suffering from heat exhaustion.

The view from Richmond Mountain of the Catskills through which we hiked

We have since entered the Schoharie Valley and the Capital District. The terrain has changed dramatically from that of fog shrouded boreal forests to bright open woods reforested sometime over the last century and some still logged. The views are not so much from mountaintops but from country roads that curve through the valleys past rolling farmland. Stone walls criss-cross through the woods and old foundations dot the trailsides. Trail angels also abound here in the Caps!

Panther Creek Arts crew in West Fulton

While hiking into West Fulton, we had the good fortune of meeting the crew at the Panther Creek Arts Hall. We had walked a mile down from the state forest on road, all the while torturing each other with all the foodstuff we might find in West Fulton that we knew very well would not be there. We had not even rounded the bend yet onto the main street when we heard laughter emanating from this restored historical Methodist church. When we turned the corner, we heard, “Hey there hikers! Are you hungry? Come join us!” They were having a gathering and an evening potluck. Without question we accepted their invitation! It brightened our day that had been a hard one as we had spent the day hiking still chilled and wet from the day before. Gregory and Cornelia McGuyver have turned this space into community space for music, theatre, and shared meals. Thank you Panther Creek Arts for your generosity in food and spirit!

We are now not far from the end of the trail...it is bittersweet to say the least and although we are of course looking forward to completing our goal, we honestly hate to meet the journey's end!

Last but certainly not least, we would like to give a special shout out to the Phonecia Lodge in Phonecia NY. Brian and Sarah's hospitality was stellar, the space was sweet and clean and thoughtfully decorated, the continental breakfast - yum!, and best of all they provided bikes that we could take into town to run errands! Thank you Phonecia Lodge!