A Day in the Dogskills: Hunter Mountains
The brown months are sad but I still want to hike. I think maybe I especially need to hike.
In this late April, the conditions in the Adirondacks still boast high water in the streams and tall snow monorails on the trails, so Sunny and I headed back to the Catskills to work on our fire tower list. This week we'd be climbing Hunter Mountain. My buddy recommended also bagging SW Hunter while we were at it since it's on the 3500 list.
I looked at all the options for summiting Hunter and there certainly are quite a few ways to do it. I thought it might be a good idea to start training up for the longer distances we'd be doing this Summer, so I chose one of the longer routes. For this one, we'd be starting from the Spruceton Rd. trailhead and doing the loop around Hunter Mountain's Western spur. There was lots of advice to hike clockwise in order to spread out the elevation gain over a longer distance, however I really prefer to get the elevation gain done early if I can help it. As such, I decided we'd hike it counterclockwise instead.
The trailhead was situated near a roaring stream. There was no privy available, but lots of parking spots. This is also an equestrian trailhead with a structure to help tourists get on horses. The Spruceton trail (clockwise on the loop) supports horses al the way to the summit. Diamond Notch trail (counterclockwise on the loop) is a rugged mountainbiking trail.
I took about 20 minutes to get us ready and bury a couple of poops in the woods. The temp was 34F so I just had on my long-sleeved base layer, poly tee, and hiking pants. I left the windbreaker in my pack. The trail register is closer to this trailhead than on some of the other Catskill trails I've been on this year. I signed us in and we were on our way at around 7:50am.
The hike starts off with a short stint on the road and passes another parkng area.
The Diamond Notch trail starts at the end of Spruceton Rd and has its own register.
I'm not sure how it is other times of the year, but there was lots of moving water to be had on this side of the mountain nearly all the way to the top.
The West Kill was really moving. I filled my BeFree filter with the fresh, cold water. The filter itself was a bit siezed, so I left it in Sunny's pack to moisten up. Sunny bathed and frolicked not for the last time that day.
The trail was smooth and easy all the way to the first junction. There was lots of recent trail maintenance as well.
At the juncition, we bore left up Devil's Path. To the right, the Diamond Notch bike trail continues South through the valley between SW Hunter and West Kill mountains.
Ascent
The trail immediately gets more rugged past the junction, but it's not difficult by any means. There's a bit of initial elevation gain up to to the valley entrance. Here, the West Kill's waters danced noisily over piles of Limestone to our right.
This part of the valley was dominated by young deciduous trees. This time of year, we could see clearly for quite some distance.
After a flattish bit, the trail climbed steadily but easily up along the North side of the valley.
I took a panorama to show you the interesting way Hunter and SW Hunter creates a giant bowl which I'd almost describe as a gorge. This time of year you can make out its features quite easily through the trees.
Eventually the terrain becomes steeper and more rugged. However, it's not nearly as daunting as some of the descriptions of this hike make it out to be. It's a good workout, but nothing to write home about. I will say that I am still quite enjoying the way the limestone rocks lie on the ground in the Catskills. These trails are so much easier to travel than those up North.
As usual, you'll know you're in the home stretch when evergreens start to dominate.
I was talking to a buddy today and he expressed the same feeling I had when I reached Geiger Point. "That was it?" I'm sure this hike might be a lot tougher in the Summer with the sun beating down, but today it was kind of a cake walk. There was a bit of mud here as the trail traversed horizontally towards the lookout, but there was some great trail maintenance using flat limestone blocks. These were obviously a lot nicer to rock-hop than similar crossings laid down with round hunks of Adirondack anorthosite or granite.
The Geiger Point lookout doesn't have a great view, but it does have a pretty sweet rock. The wind had intensified a bit, but air temps had increased to 40F.
There's one last bit of elevation gain to get to the top of the ridge, no more or less worse than the ascent to the point. There's not really much more running water on this part of the climb, but we did pass over an underground stream that was gurgling in the hollow places beneath the trail.
Limestone erratics are cool.
This was one of the prettiest parts of the hike. I was glad to experience it on the ascent instead of when I was tired and plodding.
Sunny was excited to find a bit of ice left in the racetrack as we reached the ridge.
Southwest Hunter
We arrived at the SW Hunter junction two hours and 3.5 miles after we started at around 9:45am. It was still about 40F. The herd path is marked with a small cairn, but it isn't really necessary; The trail is very obvious.
I also want to note how much dog poop I saw here and on the rest of the trail. It's really disappointing to see it strewn about up here. People not only didn't bury it, but didn't even bother to fling it into the woods; they just let it sit there and rot.
At any rate, the map made the jaunt over to SW Hunter look fairly mild, so I figured we may as well bag it while we were up there.
The trail is a straight shot for about half a mile. It is very well-groomed and maintained for a herd path.
There are even spots where wash-outs have been shored up and filled in.
At the end of the half mile to the final ascent, the trail is beaten down past the turn up to the summit. Many hikers have added dead wood at the curve to stop folks from going too far, but we did it anyways. Sunny rarely lets me make mistakes like that, but when people smell goes off-trail, he'll also follow it sometimes. I added some more wood to the roadblock when I realized what we'd done.
SW Hunter only has a prominence of 200' or so and the final ascent was just 150'. The summit of this mountain was totally obstructed, desolate, and windy. We stuck around long enough for a selfie and headed back.
Hunter Mountain Fire Tower
The hike across the col between the mountains was really cool. The woods were pretty despite the lack of foliage. Again, I was stricken by how the trails erode so flat and clean in the Catskills. This place is, apparently, called Devil's Acre.
The trail passes a spring where we refilled the BeFree. It was delicious.
We stopped at Devil's Acre lean-to and ate half our Stewart's sandwich. What a lovely shelter this is. It's a standard-sized New York lean-to nestled in a pretty spot with a big firepit and nearby spring. Not only that, but...
The privy has a pretty great view in the brown months!
After twenty minutes chillin' at the lean-to, we started off again at around 11am. Nearby, the Devil's Path splits off and heads East towards Devil's Tombstone campground. After a little research, that seems like a cool place to visit or stay. Perhaps another time.
After the junction, the climbing began again. Hunter has about a 500' prominence so it was a bit of a climb, but like the climb up from the valley, this was more aerobic and fun than strenuous.
There are a few spots where the trail levels off through the woods.
The trees here are young, but growing thick and close to the trail. After some research, I found that years of logging and fires have created an unstable forest which could be in a state of flux for years before we ever see the return of old growth trees. Still, it was refreshing to be out of the brown and among the evergreens and moss-covered ground.
After our leisurely climb through the woods, at around 11:45am (less than an hour after we left the lean-to), the forest gave way to a huge yard, a well-maintained fire tower, and a lovely cabin with a porch and two picnic tables. There was a small group from New Jersey hanging on the porch, the first people we'd seen all day. Sunny was excited to finally get some pets from strangers.
The rest of the Stewart's sammy disappeared.
There's no sign pointing to it, but there is a privy across the yard. I did not brave it. Something tells me it wasn't a pretty sight. With the numerous trails leading here, I figured this was a popular place. There wasn't a lot of trash on this summit like there was on Overlook, but there was something near the privy that I quite franly draw the line at carrying out myself.
The cabin was locked, but the views from the landings below were lovely. Still, the wind was really howling up there and my belly was spinning from the vertigo. I took a few photos and headed back down much to Sunny's relief. He really hates it when I disappear up a fire tower. In this photo you can see not only the cabin and picnic tables, but the equestrian mounting block to the right of that. You can see the snowy slopes of the Hunter Mountain ski lodge a couple of miles distant in the upper right.
Descent
The blue trail down from the fire tower is the horse trail and also ranger access to the fire tower. Fresh tire tracks led me to believe they'd been up recently.
We were among the evergreens as we crossed the shoulder of Hunter's Northern spur.
We came to the junction with the lodge less than a mile down the spur. I suspec this trail gets a lot of use in the winter.
A yellow-marked trail pointing to another lean-to breaks off from the blue trail a short distance from the lodge junction.
The approach to the lean-to is fascinating. The trail winds through cracks between huge limestone boulders.
The lean-to is situated on a picturesque shelf on the side of the mountain.
Wow.
It's one of the nicest lean-tos I have ever seen.
There's a nearby campsite with a fire pit...
...and another spring...
...which is routed down through a long pipe back to the blue trail into a cistern.
Here you can see by my path how this lean-to just clings to the side of the mountain.
The rest of the trail looping around the mountain's Western shoulder was basically a gravel road. It was still lovely to be in the woods but the road was quite gravely in lots of places and my feet did not appreciate that. I did my best to walk on the grass or leaves instead. I was very glad I chose to hike the loop counterclockwise so I could enjoy the more natural trail on the way up. I nearly put in my earbuds, but I made myself abstain and enjoy the woods while I was there.
Towards the end of the trail, a little bridge crosses a stream. Sunny and I stopped to play a little fetch. He he participated with gusto despite having just hiked ten miles.
Back at the Trailhead
We signed out at the register at 2:04pm, a bit over 6 hours after we started with a little over 5 hours of moving time.
Unfortunately, my car couldn't turn over. While getting ready, I'd had the car running on battery with the heater on and I also think perhaps I didn't shut down the car properly before we'd started. Fortunately, the Halo saved the day once again.
The drive took me down Rt 23 which runs along an escarpment with an expansive view. I stopped at the Five State Lookout which my photograph does an incredibly crappy job of capturing. I'm not even going to bother posting the picture but it was a really nice drive.
I've enjoyed this early Spring in the Catskills. The unique geology is really quite cool. The trails have been well-groomed and easy to follow. I can definitely appreciate the region and will be back again and again. However, it's about time to head back to the Adirondacks.
I'm not sure where we'll be going next, but it won't be a High Peak just yet. I've seen the trail reports and the snow is definitely rotten and the trails themselves are raised, icy monorails. We may find a lower-elevation fire tower somewhere in the Southern ADK to climb.