I wasn't sure I'd have the opportunity to join some friends up Slide Mt. in the Catskills this weekend, but Wendy encouraged me to do so. I'm very grateful for that because hiking really recharges the batteries. I managed to get up in time despite forgetting to set my alarm properly, though Sunny was once again reluctant to get off the couch.
We were very concerned during our trip to the mountain. Despite the weather forecast, it rained almost the entire way; rain and mid-30s Farenheit do not mix. We were relieved when it started snowing less than ten minutes from the trailhead. There were plenty of parking spots to choose from, but there were quite a few folks hiking that day. For this hike in the snow in the mid-30s Farenheit, I wore my synthetic base layer, normal hiking pants, synthetic shirt, moisture shell, and my new pair of Darn Tough socks.
Sunny was slightly excited to get started.
The trail starts off right away with a stream crossing. It was moving, but it was easily navigable.
"All of this stuff is mine now."
The trail starts with a short, flat leg, but climbs steadily soon after.
The first third of the climb wasn't very snowy yet. The terrain on this trail is rocky, but not as worn down as many of the Adirondack trails I've seen. The climbing was a steady escalator diagonally up the side of the mountain. It was work, but not too strenuous. As usual, the fresh snow on the mossy boulders and evergreens was very pretty to look at. I was getting warm, so I unzipped my shell.
About halfway up, the snow had taken over. The air was moist, but cool. The trail was rocky on all the ascents with very little mud.
Sunny and Korra got along very well today and both had a great deal of fun. Almost every group we came across gave them pets.
The wind picked up as we became a bit more exposed on the last quarter of the hike, but I only had to re-zip my shell to get warm again. There's a switchback immediately before the ultimate ascent which offers a nice respite from the steady climb. This is a very pretty leg of the journey which also features a couple of lookouts that might have, on another day, provided a view to the Northeast.
We made the socked-in summit before 11am. It was breezy enough to don my puffy, but not so cold that we couldn't stop and have our summit sammies. Sunny got half my sandwich. Mark shared the hot chocolate he brought (which was delicious) while we chatted, took photos, and greeted other hikers.
It wasn't very icy, so I decided to keep my microspikes in Sunny's pack for the descent. My boots and hiking stick did a good job of keeping me upright on the descent despite a bit of slush buildup. I felt really good about my descent time today. Unfortunately, I rewarded my hiking stick for a job well done by leaving it at the trailhead.
Here's the map of our six mile hike. Some of my companions described this as a "basic bitch" hike and I can't find fault in that observation. There wasn't a lot of variation or complication to the ascent; just about anyone could summit Slide Mountain. Still, it was a beautiful day in the woods. We may come back for Hunter soon.
Thanks go out to the fellas for some great conversation and a successful time in the outdoors.
We rewarded ourselves with some Mexican food. I rewarded myself with expensive Tequila.
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