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September 8, 2003 |
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Giant Ledge
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With our summer schedules chock full of family gatherings, weddings, events for work, and festival-going, we have not had enough time to do as much outdoor exploration as we had hoped. Sometimes you just have to make time. That’s what we did this past Sunday squeezing in a mere 4-hour hike during the only window we had.
The five of us and Piper piled in our friend’s Jeep knowing that parking spaces would be scarce at the trailhead on this gorgeous day. We drove up to the horseshoe curve on Oliverea Road and parked among the eight or nine other cars at the Giant Ledge trailhead. As we signed in at the register, we encountered a woman that was noticeably confused. We asked if we could be of any assistance as she stared vacantly at the trail map in the kiosk - hoping that our gut instinct wasn’t true. We asked where she was headed and the reply was "I don’t know". We then asked if she knew where she was, and again the answer was "I don’t know". After helping her get her bearings, we recommended she pursue Giant Ledge and explained what trail to follow.
We embarked knowing the yellow-blazed Phoenicia-East Branch Trail would be muddy and the rocks slippery. The headwaters of the Esopus Creek gushed under the small footbridge as if it were the spring snowmelt. The recent trail work conducted/commissioned by the NYSDEC is keeping this over-used trail in decent shape. Within the first mile there must be more than ten erosion-control measures that have been established to combat the effects of hikers on steep slopes. Waterbars, constructed of boulders, cobbles, and dirt cross the trail at 45-degree angles, diverting water diagonally off of the trail. Stone steps made from huge trailside boulders have been deliberately placed to form steps in steep places attracting hikers to them instead of the unstable talus and earth.
After the initial ascent to 2,700’, we followed the blue-blazed Giant Ledge-Panther-Fox Hollow Trail as it proceeded north on a long, level ridge. Because this portion of the trail is relatively flat, it collects a tremendous amount of water. Small marshy areas with standing water along the trail were a welcomed sight for Piper who frequented them, but nightmares for those with non-waterproof boots and trail-maintainers. Thankfully most of the areas had been attended to with strategically placed stones allowing us to jump or step from rock to rock.
At the 3,000’ mark, we refilled our water bottles at a magnificent spring just off the trail. It was so cold and so tasty we dumped out our water bottles and filled all with the natural spring water. Upon our arrival at the Ledge (3,200’), we explored the western view towards the Big Indian-Oliverea Valley and some of the inviting campsites. We had passed three groups that had stayed overnight on the Ledge on their way back down. We were envious.
The best snack we brought along consisted of tortilla chips and a marvelous mango-black bean salsa, which we devoured on one of the fine east-facing overlooks atop Giant Ledge. There were six others there taking in the stunning view. The light green hardwood slopes capped by the darker green spruce/fir summits of the Burroughs Range loomed immediately to the south while the jagged light blue wall of the Devil’s Path spanned the northeast horizon some 15 miles away. A haze hung over the Hudson Valley, some 25 miles in the distance.
We returned from the 3-mile roundtrip and were glad to see that the woman we had helped returned safely. We certainly understood her mindset - the need to just get out and do something on such a beautiful day in such a beautiful place, but everyone needs to be well prepared before entering the wild.
- Chris and Aaron
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