Berlin Mountain

 

I started a new schedule this week. I realized I was taking tons of time off for hiking because I prefer to reserve weekends for family and friends whenever possible. I am hoping that switching to 4-day work weeks with Mondays off will alleviate this. It will be annoying to work over 9 hours a day, but I think this'll be a good move overall. 

For the first hike, I wanted to knock out Seymour, but I had to be home in time to take Quinn to hockey. Also, with a Warhammer event and Halloween coming up, I kind of needed a little time at home to work on models and a costume. As such, I asked Google what the prettiest views on the Taconic Crest Trail were and it spat out Berlin Mountain. I'm not super convinced it was the correct answer, but it was a nice hike.

Trail reports warned that the road immediately after the Berlin State Forest turn-off is pretty rugged. They were correct. As one progresses up the road, areas where it climbs up or down have deep ruts which can bottom out your car. I wasn't too worried about that, but the geology in the area does feature some sharp rocks and I was a little concerned about a blowout. 

I did avoid some of the deeper ruts by driving off-center on a few sections, but in all, the RAV-4 made a good showing of itself. It took some time for us to get started, but we had plenty of time to complete the 4+ mile hike.

There is very little signage and there are no trail markers until you get close to the ridge.  The only signage warns you that ATV use is prohibited. This is funny because it seems this trail was designed for 4x4 use and has been used as such fairly regularly.

Sunny was very excited to be out in the wilderness. Were he not wearing his pack, he'd have been basically invisible all day. 

It was definitely time for jackets, hats and gloves. I removed the jacket about halfway up.

You can tell we're not in the High Peaks today!

I did not research the history of the area, but the majority of the trail leading to the ridge was certainly constructed for vehiclular use and still featured some manmade drainage. It was here where I reached behind to find my water hose and realized it was gone. I hiked back to the car to get a bottle to pour water into. 

Only when we got to the summit did I realize Sunny also had a water bottle in his pack. Fail. 

The "old road" portion of the  trail crosses a drainage and begins climbing steadily across the face of the valley. This is a lovely, easy hike with soft ground underfoot.

I suspect some of the evergreens planted on the old road were done on purpose. This part of the road spurs off back down to the drainage if that is your destination, otherwise continue to climb along the face of the ridge instead.

Even this far South, we're past peak. Even the ferns are mostly dead now. 

There are several spots where you can clearly see where trails veer off from the old road. Your path is fairly clear, but check the map. I believe the picture above shows the second place where the old road's main path bends right while the trail also climbs steeply along the face of the ridge. I think a Jeep or other ORV could still meander most of the way from here just the same (legality aside).

The old road becomes an actual trail when you reach this TCT trail marker. The easy parts of the climb are about a 12% grade while the two steep sections are in the vicinity of 25%; nothing crazy.

The climb was a bit rough on my feet. I'm used to lots of "stepping up" in the ADK.  I believe this isn't a hugely popular hike, so the grade, while steep, is also very smooth. As such, my feet were poised at an angle for much of the hike.

Sunny and I made it to the top of the ridge in less than an hour (including the detour to get a bottle). Here, I switched on my phone to let everyone know where I was. Like a big, dumb idiot, I'd forgotten to leave anyone my plans for the day. The danger was exacerbated by the fact that this trailhead doesn't have a log book.

We started our ridge walk with lots of pep in our step.

Mossy marble!

It was a lovely hike along the ridge as usual. There was clear evidence of  recent ATV usage the entire way. It's impossible to say whether it was trail crews or n'er-do-wells.

There's a lovely stand of evergreens in the col immediately before the ultimate ascent. I suspect this is a shady respite on hot Summer days.

Active trail maintenance was evident on the TCT.

"ATV use prohibited! We really mean it!"

We sat and enjoyed the view for almost an hour. It was chilly, but I had my light puffy.

Sunny was looking majestic.

Some rusty bolts were sticking out of these boulders. I remember seeing photos of some kind of memorial. I guess this used to be it.

Found a perfect camping site near the summit on the West side.

Oh right.

Heading back South.

Only when we hiked back down did I realize my water hose was lying right there where I'd stopped. Double fail. Also pictured: some of the trash we packed out.

It was a lovely morning hiking an area I don't often visit. I'm glad we were able to get out there this morning. We'll see if the weather cooperates next Monday for something more challenging.