| |
April 22, 2002 |
|
Samuel's Point
|
The last weekend of March provided us with a fantastic camping experience. Our friend Joe came up from NYC to enjoy the warm weather and get away from his hectic city life. After much debate over the many options here in the Catskills, we decided on exploring a place we had never been. The steep slopes that spill off Wittenberg Mountain's southeastern face, leading to a three-mile-long ridge ending at Samuels Point, which looms over Boiceville. We gathered our gear and hit the trail early Saturday morning, hoping that our route would bring us everything we'd hoped - and of course it did.
We began at the Woodland Valley State Campground and headed south along the red-blazed Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Trail. After signing in (which allowed us to rest a bit after the steep ascent out of the valley), we entered a beautiful hemlock grove underlain by unique bedrock and boulder formations. It didn't take us long to see that many of the hemlocks were infested with the woolly adelgid. This insect, which looks like small white fuzzy dots on the hemlock branches spreads rather easily and can eventually kill the trees. A study by the Olive Natural Heritage Society shows the highest concentration of the pest is around areas where people tend to congregate, like campgrounds, and Woodland Valley is one of the most infested places in the Esopus Valley.
Because of the warm weather, what little snow we had was melting and water was everywhere. The trail was muddy, and little streams poured off the slopes, crossed the trail, and cascaded down to Woodland Valley Creek. After 2.6 miles, we reached the junction with the Terrace Mountain Trail. This is where our trail hiking ended and our bushwhacking began. We followed the contour of the land, circling around the base of Wittenberg and hitting the ridge at 2,800'. At the ridge we discovered a vernal pool and a huge boulder standing on end, measuring 10 feet in height. We took a minute to imagine this massive rock letting loose from the upper slopes, crashing through the forest, and coming to rest here on its narrow end.
Because of the warm weather, what little snow we had was melting and water was everywhere. The trail was muddy, and little streams poured off the slopes, crossed the trail, and cascaded down to Woodland Valley Creek. After 2.6 miles, we reached the junction with the Terrace Mountain Trail. This is where our trail hiking ended and our bushwhacking began. We followed the contour of the land, circling around the base of Wittenberg and hitting the ridge at 2,800'. At the ridge we discovered a vernal pool and a huge boulder standing on end, measuring 10 feet in height. We took a minute to imagine this massive rock letting loose from the upper slopes, crashing through the forest, and coming to rest here on its narrow end.
We set up camp in a small clearing surrounded by white birch and red spruce. Chris climbed a tall spruce to get a better view of 3,780' Wittenberg Mountain and the other peaks looming over us to the west. Without our heavy packs, we continued along the ridge through a couple of tall hemlock and spruce stands, down into a saddle, and finally ascended 2,885' Samuels Point. As we neared the top, we encountered mountain laurel everywhere. We dodged as much of it as we could, since it is tough to hike through. From the summit, we were rewarded with great views north and east. We peered down on Boiceville watching dots zip by on Route 28. By this time our feet were soaked from the slushy snow and our stomachs were hungry. We returned to camp.
After building a wonderful fire to stay warm and dry out our boots, we cooked up some pasta with vegetables, played a few rounds of '20 Questions', and then hit the sack. We awoke at 6am under clear skies. Eggs, bacon, and Joe's special (but secret) blend of coffee started us off right, and then we packed our gear and retraced our steps back to the trail. We decided to stash our packs and take a side trip up Wittenberg despite the probability of icy trail conditions. We were pleasantly surprised by the relative lack of ice, although we did contend with more wet snow. The view from the summit and the sight of swooping ravens was well worth the effort. Joe had to head back early, but we took another side trip out to see the Terrace Mountain lean-to. While the lean-to was in a great spot, we were disturbed by much of the one-mile length of trail, which served as an eroding streambed for the melt water.
All told, we hiked about 16 miles. We arrived back at the car around 4pm with our lungs full of fresh air, our muscles sore, and our thoughts bubbling with picturesque images and the serenity of the Catskills.
- Chris and Aaron
|
|
