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March 24, 2003 |
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Wittenberg, Cornell, and Friday Mtns
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Ok, so we admit that we’re a bit crazy - crazy enough to go winter camping on one of the coldest nights of the year. We planned our camping trip months in advance with friends, timed for the long President’s Weekend and the full moon. When the time finally came, we decided not to let a run of sub-zero temperatures stop us, but it did mean being very well prepared and taking extra precautions to stay warm, dry, and safe.
Most people hike to these mountains from Woodland Valley Campground, Slide Mountain, or the East Branch Neversink Valley, but we decided to take a more unconventional route, setting off from the Giant Ledge parking area in Oliverea, elevation 2,200’. We set off at 9:00am. It was a beautiful sunny Tuesday, and it felt so refreshing to be out in the woods on a crisp day. The trail toward Giant Ledge was hard-packed and icy from heavy winter use. We hiked 0.65 mile to the ridgeline at 2,700’, and continued another tenth of a mile or so past the trail junction on the trail toward Woodland Valley. When the trail turned north, we turned off to the southeast and began a long bushwack toward Wittenberg. We descended into the headwaters of Woodland Valley Creek, through a magnificent maple-beech-ash forest. The sun felt great and our spirits were high. Snowshoeing was easy because the snow was hard and easily held our weight. The steep north face of Slide Mountain loomed above us as we descended about a mile to the valley bottom. Knowing that there was nothing but pristine Forest Preserve and melting snowpack above us, we bent down and took a long a cold drink from the crystal clear stream - so refreshing!
Now began the long, tiring climb up the western flank of Wittenberg Mountain, from 1,700’ at Woodland Valley Creek to 3,780’ at the summit. The distance was only about 1.5 miles, but the climb took us nearly three hours. Each time we stopped to rest we turned and looked back across the valley to the beautiful form of Slide Mountain towering over us. Halfway up the mountain Chris took off his snowshoes long enough to climb a beech tree to get a better view and photo of Slide. Further up the terrain became a bit less steep, but the snow got deeper. Some beautiful hemlock stands and small open areas marked the top of shoulder, 300’-400’ below the summit. Our bushwack slowed as we entered into the thick spruce-fir forest that crowns the high peaks here, and after pushing our way through for a short distance we finally stepped out onto the State hiking trail a couple tenths of a mile short of the summit. It was a quick hike to the top, and we sat on the wide rock ledges eating our lunch and resting in one of the most scenic spots in all of the Catskills. Wittenberg indeed has magnificent views to the east, over the Ashokan Reservoir to the Hudson Valley beyond, northeast to the Indian Head Range and Overlook Mountain, and southeast past High Point Mountain to the Shawangunk Ridge.
The afternoon was advancing, so we quickly hiked on the trail to the summit of Cornell Mountain, elevation 3,860’, and then further down the trail to the 3,500’ elevation marker where we turned off to bushwack again. The spruce-fir between Cornell and Friday Mountains is very thick and slow going any time of the year. A good map and good sense of direction is a must, and you have to watch out carefully for very sharp branches that can easily poke an eye. We came onto the ridge again, crossing over an unnamed knob between Cornell and Friday. Since our vision was restricted and our pace reduced, we had a few moments of uncertainty about our location until we could get to the edge of the escarpment and look back to see the summit of Cornell behind us and Friday ahead of us. It was now already after 4:00pm, and the sun had disappeared and was being replaced by light snow flurries, so we put on a hard push to cover the last half mile to the summit of Friday Mountain and find the sign-in canister by 5:00pm. We were successful, and then wasted no time beginning our descent into Wittenberg Brook Valley, where we had a second vehicle waiting on Moon Haw Road.
The east face of Friday is dramatically steep. We negotiated our way down past the upper cliff lines, and half slid, half stepped, down out of the spruce-fir and back into the hardwood forest. The pitch remained very steep for some distance and we had to be careful not loose our footing and slide down too fast. The terrain finally became a bit more gradual, and we followed the stream down out of the valley. Part-way along we came to the huge path of a landslide that occurred in the 1960’s, but still had exposed dirt banks and looked as if it could have happened just five or ten years ago. By the time we reached the car it was almost 6:30pm and getting dark, and we were exhausted from our long day. The whole hike was about 8.5 miles, 80% of it bushwacking, and we climbed a total of 3,300’. It was an immensely satisfying day, with a sense of accomplishment, but we were sure glad to go home to a warm house and food.
- Chris and Aaron
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