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December 16, 2002 |
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Panther Mountain
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Finally, a winter in the central Catskills that has begun with a few good old-fashioned snowfalls! All of this recent snow has allowed state, county, and town highway workers to stockpile overtime hours, enabled Belleayre to have its best start ever, and helped us get a jump on our winter outings. We took advantage of the incredible weather during the first full weekend in December to explore a part of Panther Mountain that we hadn't in quite some time - Fox Hollow.
Two hunters had gone in ahead of us, likely at the crack of dawn. The blue-blazed Giant Ledge-Panther-Fox Hollow Trail begins at 1,900' and almost immediately starts to climb, a quick 0.4-mile ascent to the splendid Fox Hollow Lean-to. From here there is a view of Garfield Mountain across the hollow and south to the false summit of Panther. The valley was so silent - no cars below, no people - just the sound of woodpeckers, chickadees, and the soft crunch of snow with every step.
The most recent snow was about 6" which allowed us to see many deer tracks and those of the hunters ahead of us, one of which turned off the trail and headed up to a small ridge about one mile in. The other continued on the trail as we did for another half-mile. Just after the second hunter left the trail, we noticed another set of tracks coming straight up from the steep hollow below, crossing the hiking trail, and proceeding directly up the mountainside. Sure enough they were bear tracks and we guessed it was heading up out of the hollow for the last time until spring. The snow was deeper here (maybe 7-8"), which allowed us to see the marks of the bear dragging its claws through the snow as it walked - two parallel lines between the prints!
As the trail skirted 300' below the north shoulder of Panther heading south, the mountain blocked out the warm, bright sun. Finally the trail led us up that ridge, about 2.0 miles from the start and at 2,900' elevation. We decided to do a bit of exploring off-trail along the northern shoulder. After a half-mile of following the ridge and scaring off a large deer, we turned back towards the trail. Due to the lack of leaves, many of Shandaken's snow-covered mountains were easy to see, as were the six mountains that comprise the Devil's Path in Greene County.
There was still three hours of daylight left, so we decided that we could make it another half mile to one of our favorite places in the Catskills, the northernmost of four false summits on Panther Mountain (the true summit is another mile further and 420' higher). We had contemplated bringing our snowshoes and after climbing a few hundred feet in elevation we wished we had. On top of the 12" of natural snow, the drifts from wind added an additional 10"-12" in spots. It was tough going; however the sun and the beautiful backdrop of the northern and western Catskills made it much easier.
As we approached the false summit the balsam fir branches that were weighed down with snow relieved themselves by dumping some of it down our backs and filling in our tracks and those of a snowshoe hare that consistently crossed the trail. This spot is truly a gem. The ground is nearly all exposed bedrock, yet stunted fir and spruce and mountain ash find ways to grow here. We stopped for lunch on a flat, open area and used a large boulder that was placed there by a glacier some 14,000 years ago. The sun glistened off the shiny new roof on the Tremper Mountain Fire Tower as we ate lunch and enjoyed cheap cigars. We were relieved to not be pushing on any farther, as we looked south over another false summit and beyond to the true summit of Panther a mile away.
The hike down was enjoyable and we only encountered two other people. They were at the lean-to, and as we arrived they left us saying "everyone should get to enjoy this on their own". We agreed. Many hikers embark from Fox Hollow expecting to reach the summit of Panther five miles away. That distance and the presence of the numerous false summits likely force many to turn back. Quite often the true treasures are not found on the summits but can be found anywhere, whether it be relaxing lunch spot on the way, or a rustic lean-to just in from the trailhead.
- Chris and Aaron
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