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September 13, 2004 |
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Halcott Mountain
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One of the least popular hikes in the Catskills is Halcott Mountain, with no trail to the top and very few views in summer. This of course makes it more appealing to us. It is a short hike so we were able to climb up and back in the morning hours of a beautiful, late August day. The early-morning fog that blankets much of the low-lying Catskills in summer mornings began to lift and the streams and ground were full from recent heavy rain.
We were hiking by 8am after parking at the small pull-off area in Deep Notch, along Route 42 between Bushnellsville and West Kill (elevation 1,800'). There is no marked trail to Halcott's summit, however there is a new NYSDEC kiosk (with nothing on it) at the pull-off area. Just a few yards beyond the kiosk is a beautiful waterfall that you can see from the road. After the recent rain, it was really pouring over the ledges in the bedrock creek bed. During snowmelt or after heavy rains there are numerous waterfalls, visible from Route 42, that spill of Halcott's wet eastern face.
The ascent began immediately and did not end until reaching the ridge leading to the summit. Aside from the numerous 'herd paths' from hikers, we could also tell there had been recent hiking activity. This side of Halcott is so wet that the lower elevations are inundated with stinging nettles. Recent hikers had trampled some paths through, but it was not enough to prevent us from agony. Unfortunately we didn't bring long pants and there was no way around. It is an understatement to say that our legs got stung pretty bad throughout the day. Thankfully the 'stinging' only lasts a few minutes. The dogs did not seem to be affected by the nettles in the least bit.
Since there is no designated trail that is professionally laid-out, all of the 'herd paths' lead straight up the mountain - the shortest distance between two points being a straight line. After taking frequent rests on large boulders, interesting patches of talus, or at the base of huge maples, we eventually reached the 3,100' ridge. It was about one mile from the start, but a gain in elevation of 1,300'.
We were now just under a mile north of the summit on the ridge. The rain-soaked understory along the entire length of the ridge was a dense stand of blackberry brambles. Not only did we get soaked, but also the thorns tore our legs apart as we proceeded south, climbing gently to the 3,520' summit. We tried to enjoy the remote quietness and the glimpses of far off mountains through the leaves, however the thought of the nettles brushing against the hundreds of cuts on our legs loomed in the back of our minds.
After a few false summits we made it to the top and found the canister placed there by the Catskill 3,500 Club. We were right, just the day before a group of 6 hikers had come up and signed in at the canister. In addition, there were two people that wrote of their climb in bare feet (through the nettles) just three days prior. We signed in at the register. We both had climbed Halcott four years ago during a white-out in winter. This time we could see what the forest looked like; last time we could only see a few feet in front of us.
After some summit exploration, we returned by taking a more southerly route, and followed the rim of a ravine out. We descended some precipitous slopes, including one with gorgeous moss-covered talus.
After an even more miserable experience with the nettles, we came upon dozens of large piles of rocks near the bottom of the valley. According to friends that have hundreds of these on their property, they are Native American grave markers. The natives would bring their dead into the mountains where they hunted and bury them, always on east-facing slopes, with a large rock on top of the pile pointing in a direction indicating what time of year they died. Surely these still exist all over the Catskills. Seeing so many of these huge cairns in one place was quite a site and a pleasant end to the hike.
- Aaron and Chris
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