AirCrash 3: Expedition 7/14/2007

[+weathernowcast]

I would like to attempt Air Crash 3 on July 21. Starting early in the morning. More details to follow. If you are intreseted please post here.

 

For further information see Aircrash 3

[+weathernowcast]

an 8AM departure is planned

 

An approach from the south is planned from the trailhead at Plattekill Clove Mountain Road.

 

I have tentative maybes from Ramapo and avagraphics.

 

We would be following a 3-4 mile section of the Long Path. Although 6 years old, Edward G Henry's Catskill Trails: A Ranger's Guide to the High Peaks describes the hike (pages 55-62). Based on conversations I have had with fellow hikers, the references in the guide seem a bit out of date and the trail has improved since the book was printed.

Edited July 9, 2007 by weathernowcast

[+Quoddy]

an 8AM departure is planned

 

An approach from the south is planned from the trailhead at Plattekill Clove Mountain Road.

 

I have tentative maybes from Ramapo and avagraphics.

 

We would be following a 3-4 mile section of the Long Trail. Although 6 years old, Edward G Henry's Catskill Trails: A Ranger's Guide to the High Peaks describes the hike (pages 55-62). Based on conversations I have had with fellow hikers, the references in the guide seem a bit out of date and the trail has improved since the book was printed.

I think you meant The Long Path. The Long Trail runs from Quebec to Williamstown, MA.

Sounds like a good trek. It's a busy time for me, but I'll see if I can fit it in and let you know.

 

Edited July 9, 2007 by Quoddy

[+briansnat]

My suggest route is below. You want to approach the peak from the south and return via the north largely because you really don't want to go down the steeper south face. It's much easier to climb it than descend. Also you can snag Aircrash 1 on the way if you take the southern route.

 

But you do want to use the south face because of the extraordinary view from hurricane ledge which is on the south face below the summit. There is no view from the summit. It's very dense, stunted evergreens.

 

One word of warning. The April nor easter caused thousands of trees to come down across the trails in the Catskills. Volunteers have been clearing the trails ever since and opening them one by one. Clearing has been completed on most trails, including this section of the Long Path. However the snowmobile trail around High Peak has not been cleared (as of two weeks ago) and I'm betting that the unmarked trail that crosses the summit hasn't been cleared either. A small bow saw, or pruning saw might come in handy in case there are trees in your path. The down trees are mostly hemlock and other evergreens and might be difficult to climb over unless you have a saw to remove the branches. Some of them will be very large (I saw the remains of many on Indian Head last weekend, which had just been cleared).

 

Edited July 9, 2007 by briansnat

[+ramapo]

I've never hiked in this area and it's been a long time since my last visit to Kaaterskill Falls so I ran out at lunch to Campmor to buy the Catskill map set. Couldn't resist also picking up a couple of the very nice topozone maps of the local area, then replaced the lost binoculars, a new day pack to replace the one with a broken strap, and it always good to get a new pair of socks...so this is already an expensive expedition.

 

Brian's recommended route appears good to me. Looks to me like a 10ish mile round trip with some slow going on the unmarked trail due to elevation and probable blow downs. I think I have the ranger's guide at home someplace, waiting to finally be put to good use. Will have to look for it tonight.

 

Is the plan to be at the trail head at 8AM? It seems pretty late to get started from down here.

 

I'm still not 100% sure I can make it but I sure hope to be there. Sounds like a great adventure.

[+ramapo]

Recent trip report....this looks like the intended route. Thanks to Packanack for the pointer.

 

Trail: Kaaterskill High Peak from Platte Clove Road

 

Date Hiked: 6/2/07

 

Conditions: Hiked up from Platte Clove, following the snowmobile trail around to the north side, then up to the loop around the mountain. Fabulous walk up through the lower levels, not too steep, nice foliage. Took the unofficial blue-blazed trail to the peak, then down the north side to the loop. That north side descent is much more steep than the south, requiring some scrambling. Followed the loop back around to the north (my friends didn't want to bushwhack, kinda annoying). There are several large nettle patches through there, but with the rain falling by then I didn't even feel them. Passed the plane wreck, then back down & out the snowmobile trail. Trail had long muddy sections, particularly in the Pine Plains area, on the hike up. As we started down heavy thunderstorms with hail hit; after that, much of the trail was under water, sometimes as much as knee deep.

 

Special Required Equipment: The bugs were out in force up at the summit & ledge- even with DEET it wasn't the most pleasant place for lunch. Heavy waterproof boots were a must, but nothing was real protection from the amount of water that fell during the storm.

 

Comments: My final peak of the 3500's!

 

Submitted by: Rob

[+weathernowcast]

We would follow Brian's southern route

 

This is from wikipedoa:

 

Starting from the trailhead parking lot at the top of Platte Clove, recently expanded by NYSDEC, hikers follow the old Steenburg Road, now the snowmobile trail, blazed both with large orange plastic discs for snowmobiles (rarely seen) and smaller blue ones for foot users (A color given on all DEC lands to sections of the Long Path not part of other designated trails). The cascades of a nearby tributary of Platte Creek beckon through hemlock stands, but are on private land. Vehicle tracks can still be seen as there are several forks leading to private homes in the area, usually chained off. Elevation gain is noticeable, but comes at a slight though steady pace.

 

At the last fork, a mile (1.6 km) from the trailhead a state sign indicates the distances to Palenville, the next place the Long Path reaches civilization, and other points of interest on the far side of the mountain. From this point on the trail becomes narrower as it is barred to all other motor vehicles, and starts to curve to the northeast, into state land. A yellow-blazed spur, the former Nature Friends Trail, only recently added to the state system, leads to the scenic Huckleberry Point overlook after a while.

 

The travel levels off from its gentle climb, and starts heading due north, as it crosses some brooks and the hemlock stands around them. Postings marking the back bounds of some private lots are still visible through the distance, as are some unauthorized trails to those lands. Finally some more gentle ascending into a more beech-dominant forest heralds the beginning of Pine Plains, 1.25 miles (2 km) from the Huckleberry Point junction, as the trail also begins to curve to the west.

 

Spruce, fir and other evergreens become much more common in this somewhat distressed environment, where the trail is often quite wet. Yet the scenery makes it worth the effort for many hikers, especially with the wildflower sightings possible here in the late spring.

 

Beyond Pine Plains, the forest returns to a more deciduous character as the trail remains level while becoming decidedly westward in heading, crossing many rivulets or streambeds, some offering picturesque mini-cascades of their own. Finally, at a junction 3.7 miles (6 km) from the trailhead, the Long Path drops down into Kaaterskill Clove while the snowmobile route heads up a slightly steeper slope. After several hundred feet (about a hundred meters), it reaches the loop.

 

From here, hikers can take one of two routes: either turn right (west), walk several hundred yards, and look carefully for a pair of cairns in the woods on your left marking the north end of the Twilight Park Trail (not yet official, but well-marked) OR turn left and proceed around the mountain, past one of the easily spotted plane wrecks. As the path curves to the right, you will eventually encounter a five-foot high cairn in the middle of the path marking the south end of the Twilight Park Trail. A combination of smaller cairns, surveyor's tape flags and old blue paint blazes have been used by various stealth maintainers over the years to keep this wet and sometimes hard-to-spot route marked. While not seriously steep, it is almost constantly ascending, responsible for the last 450 vertical feet up the mountain in less than a mile. The southerly approach is probably best, since the steepest portions of the ascent are to the south and are best handled going up rather than down.

 

It begins by winding through the notably scrubbier woods of these slopes before finally settling for a traverse up past some impressive rock outcrops, where it becomes more heavily treaded and easier to follow. Finally, just above 3,500 feet, it reaches a short but steep open rock face that requires some scrambling to reward the climber with a view to the north of the Blackhead Range, over Kaaterskill Clove, with Kaaterskill Falls clearly visible below.

 

Beyond it the path becomes even more obvious as the surrounding forest becomes totally boreal, with spruce and fir in every direction. Some gentle ascents alternate with level stretches before a last ascent into the small, viewless summit clearing. Distance is roughly 5 miles (8 km) from the trailhead, with a vertical gain of 1,455 feet (443 m).

 

Upon return, some hikers using this route prefer to either continue south along the Twilight Park Trail to the loop, or remain on the loop (which is often as wet as Pine Plains below it) to the plane wreckage at the loop's southeastern corner and bushwhack from there down to the trail just past Pine Plains in order to save some time and distance

Edited July 9, 2007 by weathernowcast

[+weathernowcast]

I originally picked the 21st because the folks at a central Pennsylvania weather casting firm "dare" to forecast that far out. When I placed this post the forecast was for "brilliant sunshine" now they are calling for rain. In another forum, in another world there is a long discussion about if it is "right" to give the public 15 day forecast because of their inaccuracy. This experience continues to make me an opponent of the practice.

 

Also, many people have conflicts with the 21st (Midwest geobash, NY.NT AT meeting, soccer games). I do not want to change the date at this time, but, if you are interested in attempting AirCrash 3 and are available any of the following days please post here or send me an e-mail. 7/14, 7/15, 7/21, 7/22. 7/23, 7/24.

 

Thank you.

 

For those that showed interest on 7/21 and contacted me, The plan is to still go on 7/21 assuming the current forecast changes (again) and will co-operate.

[+citicar1976]

I am available if you decide to try for 7/14 or 7/15.

[+weathernowcast]

We will start up the mountain at 8AM 7/14/7 from the parking lot located at:

 

N 42° 08.000 W 074° 04.950.

 

Please gather between 7:30 am and 8AM.

[+briansnat]

We will start up the mountain at 8AM 7/14/7 from the parking lot located at:

 

N 42° 08.000 W 074° 04.950.

 

Please gather between 7:30 am and 8AM.

 

Figure a bit over a 2 hour drive.

 

Directions:

NYS Thruway to exit 20. Bear left onto 212 West to Centerville. Turn right (North) on CR-35, then left onto CR-33 towards West Saugerties. This becomes Platte Clove Rd. Parking area is on right just before The Bruderhoff.

 

If you want to to see scary, look over the edge on Platte Clove Rd. No guardrails .

[+briansnat]

We will start up the mountain at 8AM 7/14/7 from the parking lot located at:

 

N 42° 08.000 W 074° 04.950.

 

Please gather between 7:30 am and 8AM.

 

Figure a bit over a 2 hour drive.

 

Directions:

NYS Thruway to exit 20. Bear left onto 212 West to Centerville. Turn right (North) on CR-35, then left onto CR-33 towards West Saugerties. This becomes Platte Clove Rd. Parking area is on right just before The Bruderhoff.

 

If you want to to see scary, look over the edge on Platte Clove Rd. No guardrails .

[+weathernowcast]

 

Figure a bit over a 2 hour drive.

 

Directions:

NYS Thruway to exit 20. Bear left onto 212 West to Centerville. Turn right (North) on CR-35, then left onto CR-33 towards West Saugerties. This becomes Platte Clove Rd. Parking area is on right just before The Bruderhoff.

 

If you want to to see scary, look over the edge on Platte Clove Rd. No guardrails .

 

Thanks Brian.

 

For those of you not familiar from the area who do not want to drive. Contact me directlyand you can drive up from Hawthorne, NJ we *Surfcaster, and I) will be leaving at 6Am sharp.

 

Here are two of the latest hike reports:

 

Trail: Kaaterskill High Peak

Date Hiked: 6/23-24/07

Conditions: Took the Long Path in from Malden Ave. in Palenville. The majority of the trail was in fine shape with some blow downs up in the area of the snowmobile trail.

Special Required Equipment: Just the standard good boots for the vertical and footing. In my case a first aid kit would have also been useful.

Comments: I hiked in from Palenville Friday evening, camped night near Buttermilk Falls. Packed up Sat morning and set off to hit KHP, leaving my pack stashed near the campsite. Saw huge bear paw prints in mud along the trail and met a trail runner who said he had just seen the largest black bear he had ever seen in the east. I did directly encounter a tree with my head which is why a first aid kit would have been useful. See more under Trip Reports. Returned the way I had come in, after summiting Sat afternoon. Saw 2 groups of 4 and 1 group of two, above the snow mobile trail. Only saw the trail runner on the north side on the Long Path. That trail gets little use, but is lovely.

 

Trail: Long Path from Palenville to Kaaterskill High Peak

Date Hiked: 6/16/07

Conditions: Trail was dry in most places an, as usual, wet and muddy in others. This was BEFORE the torrential downpour that last 2 hours. The trail just after Buttermilk Falls is a little tricky to flow. Dark blue trail markers on dark trees in a dark forest can be hard to pick up. The "herd path" to the top is now VERY obvious with a cairn at the beginning off the snowmobile loop. Very few obstructions. Some steep places.

Special Required Equipment: Poles if you like them for the steeper areas. I found my Marmot Precip jacket very handy.

Comments: For a longer trail report and pictures try www.catskillhiker.com

[+marlin01]

If I get back from upstate by then I will join you, I have been wanting to get the two aircrash caches for quite some time. Also, one of the local cachers just put out three new caches along the road to the trail head, so everyone could get at least five caches for the day.

[+trowel32]

I'm still considering...If I go, this will be the last time I get up at 4:30 am for a quite a while though

 

Sounds like a great hike.

[+weathernowcast]

I'm still considering...If I go, this will be the last time I get up at 4:30 am for a quite a while though

 

Sounds like a great hike.

 

Please do come. I will e-mail you my cellphone number.

 

Also, to everyone, we are planning on having at least two cars there so we will most likely make this a through hike. This means that a bushwhack back to the Long Path will not be required, and that we will be able to do the caches on the mountain and follow the north path down the north face. Doing this will take us near 2 or 3 sets of falls and Poets Ledge on the way down to our second parking spot.

 

We will be running shuttles, which means folks from the nether reaches of NJ will be waited for.

 

Gathering is STILL at Platte Clove Mountain Road trailhead parking. We will determine where the parking will be at the end of the trail. Most likely near 23A.

 

Distance wise, not much is added, it might actually be a bit shorter as a second trek through he Pine Plains will be avoided. Also, as we will be descending the north slope we will probably never see 75 degrees the entire day, maybe not even 70.

[+GPS Guy]

I'd like to suggest a bushwhack on the way in to save some distance and avoid the north and east section of snowmobile trail, which I have found to be quite muddy. Try this: When you climb to the saddle at 2970 feet SE of the peak, turn left and bushwhack to Aircrash 1. That should save your socks from getting wet for a while.

Also, between Aircrash 1 and the south trail to the summit, you will find large quantities of nettles on the trail. Long pants may be useful in that area.

Have a great time!

 

[+briansnat]

Gathering is STILL at Platte Clove Mountain Road trailhead parking. We will determine where the parking will be at the end of the trail. Most likely near 23A.

 

I don't know if things have changed, but parking at the north end of the LP on 23A has been problematic for many years. There are no parking signs along the local road where the long path comes out of the woods and no parking allowed on 23A in that area.

 

I had a good rapport with the owner of a beer/wine/grocery store not far from the trailhead (we stopped in often returning from skiing over the years) and parked in his lot a few times with his permission. Unfortunately he was quite old and that was 8+ years ago so I doubt he is still with us.

 

They may have since remedied the parking situation, but I can't say for sure.

 

GPS Guy's idea of a bushwack from the LP to Aircrash 1 is something we considered when we did the trip. We thought the better of it because the growth is fairly dense, but it is only about 1/4 mile from the trail to AC1 and knocks off about a mile and a half.

 

You would leave the trail about where the red arrow is (just north of the on the map above.

Edited July 12, 2007 by briansnat

[+GPS Guy]

Gathering is STILL at Platte Clove Mountain Road trailhead parking. We will determine where the parking will be at the end of the trail. Most likely near 23A.

 

I don't know if things have changed, but parking at the north end of the LP on 23A has been problematic for many years. There are no parking signs along the local road where the long path comes out of the woods and no parking allowed on 23A in that area.

 

 

I have seen a DEC Trailhead parking area near either 42 10.584, 74 01.822, or perhaps 42 10.543, 74 01.652. It is on the north side of 23A heading out of Palenville. I've assumed that this area serves the trails up South Mountain.

Edited July 12, 2007 by GPS Guy

[+weathernowcast]

Gathering is STILL at Platte Clove Mountain Road trailhead parking. We will determine where the parking will be at the end of the trail. Most likely near 23A.

 

I don't know if things have changed, but parking at the north end of the LP on 23A has been problematic for many years. There are no parking signs along the local road where the long path comes out of the woods and no parking allowed on 23A in that area.

 

I had a good rapport with the owner of a beer/wine/grocery store not far from the trailhead (we stopped in often returning from skiing over the years) and parked in his lot a few times with his permission. Unfortunately he was quite old and that was 8+ years ago so I doubt he is still with us.

 

They may have since remedied the parking situation, but I can't say for sure.

 

GPS Guy's idea of a bushwack from the LP to Aircrash 1 is something we considered when we did the trip. We thought the better of it because the growth is fairly dense, but it is only about 1/4 mile from the trail to AC1 and knocks off about a mile and a half.

 

You would leave the trail about where the red arrow is (just north of the on the map above.

 

Brian,

 

Just north of the what on the map?

[+weathernowcast]

Gathering is STILL at Platte Clove Mountain Road trailhead parking. We will determine where the parking will be at the end of the trail. Most likely near 23A.

 

I don't know if things have changed, but parking at the north end of the LP on 23A has been problematic for many years. There are no parking signs along the local road where the long path comes out of the woods and no parking allowed on 23A in that area.

 

 

I have seen a DEC Trailhead parking area near either 42 10.584, 74 01.822, or perhaps 42 10.543, 74 01.652. It is on the north side of 23A heading out of Palenville. I've assumed that this area serves the trails up South Mountain.

 

GPS guy,

thank you!

the latest catskill map I have shows this parking near a yellow trail. We will proabbly hike THROUGH TO that location.

[+briansnat]

GPS guy,

thank you!

the latest catskill map I have shows this parking near a yellow trail. We will proabbly hike THROUGH TO that location.

 

It's a bit of a hoof from there to the trailhead and you have to walk on the shoulder of 23A for a ways. I just wish they allowed parking on Malden Ave like they used to. Kind of stupid if you ask me.

[+GPS Guy]

It's a bit of a hoof from there to the trailhead and you have to walk on the shoulder of 23A for a ways. I just wish they allowed parking on Malden Ave like they used to. Kind of stupid if you ask me.

 

I see what you mean. This interactive DEC map shows the area we speak of. Wouldn't it be nice if they put in a cable bridge across the creek there.

 

[+briansnat]

It's a bit of a hoof from there to the trailhead and you have to walk on the shoulder of 23A for a ways. I just wish they allowed parking on Malden Ave like they used to. Kind of stupid if you ask me.

 

I see what you mean. This interactive DEC map shows the area we speak of. Wouldn't it be nice if they put in a cable bridge across the creek there.

 

 

There was a bridge, but it washed out many years ago.

 

Here is the image you tried to link to. (way cool interactive map)

[+Quoddy]

I'll be there in the morning. I couldn't resist the opportunity to get an extra bit of training for my upcoming thru hike. I'll be carrying a pack with gear and supplies for at least an overnight.

[+weathernowcast]

The current expeditionary force:

 

Ramapo

theSurfcaster

Citicar1976

RidgeRunnerJoe

Quoddy

Trowel32

Weathernowcast

[+avgraphics]

Oh man!! You guys are gonna have a great day. Take lots of pix for the gallery so that we who couldn't make it can see what we missed.

[+ramapo]

We had a GREAT day and were able to find both crash sites. This was easily the hike of the century and possibly of all-time, personally speaking. It was both challenging and rewarding. The weather was just about perfect and I had the pleasure of spending the day with a fine group of fellow hiker/cachers. We logged just over 10 miles. It was a long trip down from the top and it seemed that most of the day was spent going downhill (that didn't make it easier).

 

Thanks to Brian for organizing the expedition. He certainly picked a good one for #500. Details, logs, and pictures to follow after a long, hot shower, food and maybe some sleep.

[+citicar1976]

We made it! And we had a GREAT time doing it. Thank you Weathernowcast!

[+Quoddy]

Great Day... Great Caches... Great Company. Thanks for organizing this one, Brian.

[+trowel32]

Thanks for organizing this FANTASTIC hike (I finally made it home!) Now for some zzzzzzzzzzz's

[+arcticcatmatt]

Nice thread. Looking for pictures and where they were taken

 

I have had that geocache on my list for over a year now. I keep telling myself no because it looks like you have to climb cliffs.

[+Quoddy]

Nice thread. Looking for pictures and where they were taken

 

I have had that geocache on my list for over a year now. I keep telling myself no because it looks like you have to climb cliffs.

Check out the Aircrash 1 and Aircrash 3 sites when everyone has had a chance to log. Some shots can't be shown because of giving away the virtual information. BTW, you may not see many shots of the very steep section since I think everyone had other thoughts on their minds... like just making it. It's a great cache and day out.

[+weathernowcast]

Hurricane Ledge

 

(see the Air Crash 3 postings for more photographs!

 

Thank you all who came on this expedition: Ramapo (my first cache was a Ramapo cache it was extra special to have him along), TheSurfcaster (first time in the Catskills and an excellent travel companion), Trowel32 (a great puzzle solver, she has helped me many a time), Quody (a training trip for this gent, best of luck on YOUR adventure), RidgeRunnerJoe (the most experienced, he never did sweat), Citica1976 (I always enjoy a hike in the woods with citicar)

 

We made it!

 

All 7 of us!!!

 

The idea to attempt this hike and this cache originated with Miss. Keeto who posed the question on the forum and BrianSnat who suggested as it was one of his favorites.

 

This the chronology of the day:

 

0500 Woke up and re-read the hiking notes and double checked the coordinates of several trail intersection. We were to use the south parking area just off of Platekill Gove Roadalong the Long Path and hike through to a parking lot just west of Palenville.

 

0545 TheSurfacaster arrives at my house. We talk a bit and IMSpider shows up to wish us luck we depart northbound at 0600.

 

0750 We arrive at the Palenville parking lot and wait for Trowel32 so she can leave here car there. We depart for the Plattekill Glove Parking lot and arrive 20 minutes later. Although it is only 5 miles as the crow flies the vehicular route is actually over 12 miles and takes over 20 minutes. We greet our last four hiking compannions (Ramapo [his was my first cache I had ever found], Quoddy, ridgerunnerjoe and Citicar1976.) I leave The Surfcaster with the fellow hikers and Citicar1976 and I drop off make one more shuttle to the north parking lot and return with Trowel32.

 

0912 We begin our ascent. elevation 1875 feet. Overall we will hike up 1780 feet amd descend another 2900 feet as the north parking is at 700 feet.

 

0930This first portion of the trail was an old logging road. Although the trail has suffered from erosion over the year, it is an easy hike at this point and a very beautiful area. Our first decision came 30 minutes into the hike where the trail separated from the logging road. The trail was marked to the right, the logging road continues up but on private property ending who knows where. We chose wisely and stayed on the trail.

 

1034 We ascended straight up for about 2 miles in just over . We are now 0.19 miles from Air Crash 1 at the saddle to the east of High Peak. We put it to a vote: bushwack? If anyone said no we would not bushwack. At least one of my companions voted not to bushwack so we continued onward along the Long Path

 

10:38-11:08 we walk through the Pine Plains for about a mile. The going is a bit slow but the trail is in fair condition you just have to step on the high ground and not the mud. Because it has been so dry lately, the bad things we heard about this area did not prove true, although we probably crossed this terrain in its driest state of the year.

 

11:08 elevation 2918 we reach the trail which ascend up to High Point we are now at 3020 feet. We turn left on to this trail only 555 feet to the top! We make a short climb and then turned left onto the snowmobile trail.

 

11:10-11:30. We walked and easily found AirCrash 1 along the snowmobile trail. Being a snowmobile trail at over 3000 feet it was not surprised that the trail was in pretty bad shape in parts. Overall though it was passable. We have now left the Pines Plains behind and are in an area of deciduous canopy. One of the most enjoyable parts of this hike is the variety of vegetation. You enter several different ecosystems along its way.

 

12:00-12:30 We complete our 1.75 mile walk on the snowmobile trail through a beautiful glen. The entire floor of the first here are full of 2 foot high nettles. The trail is well marked but the needles surround the trail. The hikers in the group with shorts are feeling the pain now and put on their pants here. We lost nearly 100 feet in elevation along this snowmobile trail. Now to gain it back!

 

12:30-12:54 now only ½ mile to Hurricane Ledge. We find the trail leading north to High Point at 72N 09.467 74W 04.947, This is only a 0.2 mile ascent to Hurricane Led we gain 600 feet in that distance. Just after you see a huge boulder and cave we reached a little place where I had to get on all fours. I believe everyone that hikes this part must complete this scramble as we found no alternative to reach the Hurricane Ledge. There is a fossil in a piece of rock tucked away here that you can look at when you collect you balance to make the little heave on to the trail.

 

A second time the first three of us missed the easiest part of the trail and lifted ourselves up by our arms. The last four in the group took the walking path that we missed.

 

13:00 we ate a nice lunch at Hurricane Ledge. We did not want to leave. The weather was perfect. You could easily see the Hudson down to Kingston and far beyond. These images are indelible in my brain. I will always remember our hiking group here. This will be one of my favorite memories of all time. Thanks for trusting me to get us to this point. The views were spectacular and only usurped by the company!

 

14:00 Lunch is over and we head to High Point. The terrain flattens and the cedar forest up here is amazing. So different then the rest of the trail. We find two high point markers GZ. We also find a little trail that partially takes us to the Crash Site. This was a bad crash. We quickly find the plane and look around for the required information. We each take our pictures and the spot and then head back to the peak.

 

15:00 After spending two hours on the top of High Peak we descend into the long hike to Pallenville. We will need to loose 2900 feet in about 6 miles.

 

15:00-15:30 We head down to the snowmobile trail on a challenging but beautiful and perfectly marked bit of trail. This was a lot of fun! Luckily we had great weather but as this is the north slope it is a bit slippery. Watch your step and check out the trock formations. What fun this was.

 

15:30 We made it ½ mile to the snowmobile trail to be greeted by “lost” ATVers we also find two hikers with a Belgian Malinois. We quickly retract the statement that we really didn’t mean that we wanted that ATVers to die, just gain a brain somehow. The 100 foot stretch on the snowmobile trail was destroyed for our walk here. We turned left here at descended back to the Long Path. The intersection of the trail to High Point and the snowmobile trail is 42N 10.057 74W04.888. The intersection of the connector trail between the Long Path and the Snow Mobile trail is 42N 10.131 74 W04.766

 

16:19 Northbound and then eastward, we have followed the Long Path now for nearly and hour and have lowered ourselves to 2197 feet. The trails are very comfortable here and we take in the view of our first bonus feature: Buttermilk falls. The shear face of the falls and subsequent cascades makes for an awe-inspiring view of the valley from the top of the falls. This was just as amazing as Hurricane Ledge but had so many different attributes it was worth it coming over here.

 

17:08 Wild Cat falls. After another ½ mile on the trails we come to wild cat falls. Another amazing waterfall with fantastic views. Worth the price of admission. It was fun watching my fellow hikers walk around and explore these falls. Everyone ws very safe as a fall from a slipper rock would mean death as the falls are over 100 feet high and you need to heed gravities wrath when approaching the edge.

 

17:50 We follow the long path east and are at 2396 feet. We need to go down! Please let us go down! For the last 2 miles we had a nice leisurely walk through wonderful terrain that was nearly flat. Large Glacial Erratic litter the variety of forest. The shadow of the mountain here makes for an eerie and somberly quiet environ.

 

19:03 We hike down hill for 2 miles and reach a paved road and head west along the marked trail. Someone left water for hikers coming off the mountain. I purchased five bottles for the group. Overall I consumed 4 Liters of water and still and 1 L in the backpack. Several of us used water purification tablets and drank water from the falls.

 

19:03-19:30 We make it to the cars at the north parking lot. The hike on the paved road was interesting as the end of it has been blocked off and nature is returning it to the soil. We crossed the new bridge on 23 and headed to the cars. The bridge is new as it was washed out by floods last year. Can you imagine!

 

19:30 We arrived in the parking lot and talked to the Ranger who lives next door. He told us about the six swimming holes in the river and some of his adventures rescuing stranded hikers. Luckily, we were not one of them. Thanks to all who participated in my 500th cache!

[+briansnat]

Looks like it was a great trip. Near perfect weather, great group of people. Wish I could have made it.

[+trowel32]

Nice thread. Looking for pictures and where they were taken

 

I have had that geocache on my list for over a year now. I keep telling myself no because it looks like you have to climb cliffs.

 

articcatmatt,

 

The rock scrambling section was pretty short. Maybe 3 or 4 tricky spots in one short section over a distance of 150-200 feet (100 foot or less elevation gain), but about average difficulty for a hike of this type. This was the section just below hurricane ledge. It may depend on your experience, but in comparison to high peaks in the adirondacks and hiking baxter state park in Maine, I would consider this easy to average scrambling. If you are afraid of heights some of this section might bother you a little bit, but it really wasn't bad. I'm usually scared on tough rock scramble areas, and this didn't bother me (much)

 

Here is our group shot at Hurricane Ledge. Of course our bodies are blocking out most of the scenery but I posted a bunch of other pictures on the cache page.

 

 

L to R. Quoddy, citicar1976, RidgeRunnerJoe, Weathernowcast, Surfcaster, Ramapo, trowel32 (kneeling)

Edited July 16, 2007 by trowel32

[+GPS Guy]

Well, the other members of our group have described our adventures in detail so I will just get to the part where I speculate on the cause of the crash.

 

My opinion is that this was not a real crash site and that it is a hoax by GPS Guy. My reasoning is as follows:

1. This “crash” site was too easy to get to. I find it hard to believe that the plane conveniently crashed on a snowmobile trail. Real crash sites, such as “Air Crash 3” are always hard to get to.

2. We know that GPS Guy has a fixation with plane crashes and has probably been bringing home parts from crash sites or buying wreckage through EBAY (see category “Aircraft” subcategory “Wreckage”)

3. GPS Guy’s wife got tired of tripping over aircraft wreckage in the basement and told him to get rid of that junk.

4. GPS Guy put all of the wreckage out for garbage collection, but found out that aircraft wreckage is on the “Do Not Take” list.

5. GPS Guy’s wife says “I don’t care how you get rid of this junk, just get rid of it!"

6. GPS Guy comes up with a brilliant idea. Using his snowmobile, he hauls all of the wreckage up to the mountain and dumps it there. Because some of it (the engine, wings, etc.) is very heavy, he just dumps it right along the trail.

7. GPS Guy then decides to set up a virtual cache so he can have some fun luring suckers to his “crash” site.

8. As proof of this, I intend to check all of the serial numbers from the wreckage parts. I am certain that this will show that the parts came from various aircraft, not just from a singe plane.

 

HaaHaa!! Well, now that I've picked myself up from under my desk, and finished clearing out the cellar, I wanted to congratulate you all on your fine hike together. I'm glad you saw what a nice patch of woods that is. Thanks for all the pictures. Well done!

[+briansnat]

Nice thread. Looking for pictures and where they were taken

 

I have had that geocache on my list for over a year now. I keep telling myself no because it looks like you have to climb cliffs.

 

articcatmatt,

 

The rock scrambling section was pretty short. Maybe 3 or 4 tricky spots in one short section over a distance of 150-200 feet (100 foot or less elevation gain), but about average difficulty for a hike of this type. This was the section just below hurricane ledge. It may depend on your experience, but in comparison to high peaks in the adirondacks and hiking baxter state park in Maine, I would consider this easy to average scrambling. If you are afraid of heights some of this section might bother you a little bit, but it really wasn't bad. I'm usually scared on tough rock scramble areas, and this didn't bother me (much)

 

Here is our group shot at Hurricane Ledge. Of course our bodies are blocking out most of the scenery but I posted a bunch of other pictures on the cache page.

 

 

L to R. Quoddy, citicar1976, RidgeRunnerJoe, Weathernowcast, Surfcaster, Ramapo, trowel32 (kneeling)

 

Looks like it could be the cover for some Irish folk band's CD.