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February 14, 2005 |
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Diamond Notch & X-Country Skiing
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Careful readers of our column may have noticed something fishy about our last column, where it was reported that we got over two feet of snow on Christmas Day, when in fact we pretty much had a green Christmas this year. The column was a repeat of one we wrote a couple years ago - sorry about that. We'll make up for it this week by writing about two outings in one.
On January 22 (this year) we did get a good foot of snow here in the Catskills, and we couldn't resist getting out the next day to play in the fresh powder. By the time we slept in, ate a leisurely weekend breakfast, and finally shoveled ourselves out, we only had time for a short afternoon snowshoe. Our destination for this little jaunt was Diamond Notch. We put the truck in four-wheel-drive and drove to the trailhead in Spruceton; at the end of a very long dead-end road leading from Rt. 42 up the Spruceton Valley, in the Town of Lexington. Luckily the town snowplow makes it this far, and there was room to park. The trail starts at elevation 2,100'.
As we started in, we met a woman coming out, who had been camping by herself at the Diamond Notch lean-to the night before. She was in good spirits, and well equipped with everything one would need to camp out in the winter during a snowstorm. This meant that we did not have to break trail through the deep snow, as she had already done that for us. The dogs of course didn't notice and they went off trail, running and jumping in snow up to their bellies. The trail only goes 0.7-mile before coming to a four-way intersection where the Diamond Notch Trail crosses the Devil's Path. There is a beautiful waterfall at this junction, along the headwaters of West Kill. We proceeded toward Diamond Notch, coming to the lean-to after another 0.7-mile. It is a cozy lean-to, well chewed by porcupines. From here we broke trail through deep snowdrifts the short distance of a half-mile from the lean-to to the height of land in the Diamond Notch col, between Southwest Hunter and Westkill Mountains (elevation 2,650'). It's a beautiful spot, with steep talus slopes rising up sharply on both sides, but the wind was howling through the notch today so we didn't linger. The 1.9-mile hike back was quick, and we were cold enough to appreciate only taking a short hike this day.
The following weekend we still had a good snow cover throughout the region. On Saturday we met our friend Joe for some cross-country skiing at Minnewaska State Park, on the Shawangunk Ridge. It was a gorgeous sunny day, with perfect skiing conditions, and there were lots and lots of people with the same idea as us. The entrance fee at Minnewaski is $6 per each skier, and the groomed trails and fantastic scenic beauty make it well worth the price. We began at the parking area next to Lake Minnewaska (elevation 1,700'), about 2pm, and headed south on the green-blazed Upper Awosting Carriageway. The Shawangunk Ridge is full of these great old carriage roads that are generally flat or gently rolling, and 8-12 feet wide - great for casual hikers, trail runners, cross-country skiers, and mountain bike riders.
It took us a little while to get used to the feel of cross-country skis again, but soon we were gliding right along and enjoying ourselves tremendously. The trail led us for three miles through oak-pitch pine forest, past Litchfield Ledge draped in large ice columns, and finally to a high cliff-top looking out over beautiful Lake Awosting. We made a long, gradual curve east and then back north again, steady climbing in elevation to the top of Castle Point (elevation 2185'). We enjoyed more great views from here, across the Shawangunk Ridge to the south and Hudson Valley to the east. Then we began our long, mostly gradual decent back along the blue-blazed Castle Point Carriage Trail.
This route back was about a half-mile longer than the route out. By the time we were halfway back we were really feeling the effects of our workout in just about every odd muscle. Just before descending to Lake Minnewaska, we took in a fantastic evening view of the Catskills to the north and west. We made it back to the parking area just before dark, and got in a bit of trouble from the park staff who told us that the park had officially closed a half-hour earlier. We apologized for our tardiness, packed up, and headed for home - very happy for finally getting to rest, but also very satisfied with a great day of exercise and beautiful scenery.
- Aaron and Chris
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