| |
January 17, 2005 |
|
Mink Hollow
|
The holiday season awarded us the opportunity to catch up with some old friends and family members that we do not get to see very often. A couple of Aaron's friends that he grew up with were in town from California and Colorado. Aaron and his lifelong friend Keith have done many Catskill-hikes together, while Egan, a high school and college friend, is not quite as experienced hiking in the Catskills.
We chose to hike up Mink Hollow, a moderate hike, close to Egan's home in Lake Hill. We drove to the end of Mink Hollow Road (elevation 1,500'), parked our cars, strapped on our packs and began our hike. With the strange winter weather so far, we did not need any crampons, snowshoes, or even gaiters! The trail, an old road that connects Lake Hill to Elka Park, was very icy. Much of the previous snow melted with the warm weather, and had refroze. There were also 1-2 inches of fresh snow on top, making walking a bit treacherous in places.
The most precarious of all were the stream crossings. Just a few hundred yards down the blue-blazed Mink Hollow Trail, we had to cross the stream. The dogs loved the freezing water - going neck-deep at times, and crossing back and forth at least twice. We grabbed a long stick to use for our balance, placing it on the stream bottom, as we inched across a large, snow-covered log. The three of us made it with only a couple boots getting wet.
While we walked, we reminisced about high school friends, college road trips, and of course our future plans. We passed a group of two adults and three kids (and two dogs) about a half-mile in. We wondered how they made the first stream crossing, and figured they must have turned back at the fast-approaching second one.
At the second crossing, we decided to stay on the east side of the stream and follow it all the way to the saddle (another 1.5 miles) between Plateau and Sugarloaf Mountains. We knew the trail paralleled the stream the entire way, so we were not worried about losing it. The best part about being off the trail was that there was no ice. The downside was that the snow was a bit deeper and we had to make our way through beech saplings and over boulders.
Just as we reached the col (elevation 2,600') and relocated the trail, the snow that we had seen looming over Plateau Mountain greeted us too. We stopped at the Mink Hollow Lean-to, three miles from the trailhead, for a snack. Piper found an old, and frozen solid, tennis ball somewhere, so we each took turns throwing it for her. We decided we were not quite ready to turn back yet, so crossed over the Devil's Path and continued north on the blue-blazed trail. After a slight descent, we walked through a gorgeous patch of snow-covered hemlocks. We sensed the snowfall picking up considerably, looked at our watches, and decided it was time to head back.
On our hike back we followed the trail out until that same stream crossing. Once again we decided to not cross, and climbed up to the western ridge. Once on the ridge, we continued to follow the stream out to where we had parked. We returned to Egan's house where we were warmed by some hot tea and stories served up by Barbara and Mike, Egan's parents. They were quite surprised that their Los Angeles-residing son was able to hang with us on such a hike. We reassured them that we took it easy on him, and we wouldn't be so kind on his next trip home.
- Aaron and Chris
|
|
