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August 11, 2003 |
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Pelnor Hollow
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With all of the rainfall we’ve been getting, hiking is much different this summer than last year. Rarely has the thermometer gone above 90 degrees, the forest is very lush, and the trails rather muddy. We had half of a Sunday free a few weeks ago and took advantage of the beautiful weather by meeting up with our friends Kate and Justin to hike a portion of the western Catskills where we had never been. We met at the scenic causeway spanning the Pepacton Reservoir and car-pooled to the trailhead by continuing west on Route 30 for about 9 miles, then south onto Holliday/Berry Brook Road. We reached the trailhead in about 2.5-miles at elevation 2,100'.
We consulted the newly constructed kiosk for some additional trail and Forest Preserve information, and embarked on the red-blazed Mary Smith Trail heading west. The first tenth of a mile is through private property with the trail quickly leading to a wide swath of cleared land where power lines run north/south. We took some time to enjoy the ripe blueberries along the forest and field’s edge. After fighting through some blackberry, we reached state land. This trail is also part of the Finger Lakes Trail that runs from the Catskills across the Southern Tier to the Alleghenies.
As we climbed up to the ridge, we discovered that it was not a good decision to wear shorts. The trail is seriously under-used compared to most in the Catskills. Combined with the abundant rainfall, the blackberry and raspberry bushes, and stinging nettles were out of control. The tiny thorns scratched our legs and then the nettles stung the cuts. As we traversed the un-named ridge (2,600'), it only got worse.
On the ridge, the red trail ended (1.2 miles) so we decided to head south along the blue-blazed Pelnor Hollow Trail, with the hope of reaching the Pelnor Hollow Lean-to before returning. The fairly open cherry/beech/oak canopy on the ridge allowed for much understory growth (especially blackberry!). After dropping down from a knoll, the trail climbed up once again to the highest point on the ridge at 2,672'. From there, we descended to 2,200' where we ate lunch at the Pelnor Hollow Lean-to (3.5 miles from the car). A small path led down to a large pond where it looks like beavers have dammed the Pelnor Hollow Stream over the years - the hiking maps show just a stream. Large white pines towered over its western edge, and many dead trees and snags provided a swamp-like feel. We spooked a great blue heron during our approach, which continued to circle for some time before departing.
We turned back, retracing our steps, and receiving more scrapes and cuts all the way back to the junction with the Mary Smith Trail. We took a brief detour to investigate a viewpoint that was indicated on the map. We remained on the blue trail as it headed down the north side of the ridge 0.2-miles to a wonderful spot called Split Rock Lookout. Here, a huge boulder sat atop a bedrock shelf that has split apart. The crevice, narrow enough to jump over, was about 20 feet deep. The view looked west, across the Spring Brook Valley (where Route 206 leads to Roscoe) to Brock and Campbell Mountains.
During our hike down from the ridge we knew we would have to walk through a huge patch of nettles again. We took solace in the fact that an even larger stand of hay-scented fern would be just after it. As the nettles stung our battered legs, our minds were fixated on the ferns. Upon our arrival they didn’t disappoint, gently soothing us as they brushed up against our shins, calves, and knees. This nettle/fern experience made us realize that our work week often seems like nettles and blackberry, but it is the outdoors - the hiking, the snowshoeing, the canoeing, the fishing - that keep us sane, the things that we look forward to, the "ferns" that keep us on the trail.
- Chris and Aaron
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