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December 17, 2001 |
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Sugarloaf Mountain
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In order to work off all of the turkey, dressing, and garlic-mashed potatoes of Thanksgiving, a hike was desperately needed the next day, so we took off for a trek up Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf, located in the town of Hunter is part of the Indian Head Range, which is traversed by the Devil's Path. The Devil's Path, running 25 miles from the Platte Clove to West Kill Mountain, is some of the most rugged terrain in the Catskills, and 3,800' Sugarloaf Mountain provides just that.
We set out from the trailhead on Elka Park Road (closed in winter), which is reached from Greene County Route 16 south of Tannersville. After signing in, we followed the yellow-marked Roaring Kill Trail 0.25 miles to a trail junction. From there, the Pecoy Notch Trail leads southeast (which is the way we returned), but we elected to head west along the blue-blazed Mink Hollow Trail. This time of year the autumn leaves cover the path, making it difficult to follow the route sometimes, so we really had to keep our eyes open for the markers. This recently constructed trail follows old tan bark or quarry roads in places, and after a half-mile we passed through an old bluestone quarry.
After nearly 2 miles, the trail begins to skirt private property, and an incredible viewpoint opened-up. From here we looked south at the Mink Hollow clove, between Sugarloaf and Plateau Mountains. Evergreen-capped Plateau Mountain drops 1,300' to the hollow below, and the lack of leaf cover exposed many rock ledges on its steep slopes. After following the trail into the hollow, a narrow bridge traverses the Roaring Kill in a deep, dark hemlock grove - an incredible spot.
Upon the junction with the red-blazed Devil's Path Trail, we headed east, embarking on a 0.9-mile climb up Sugarloaf Mountain in which we gained 1,200' in elevation. The climb involved pulling ourselves up over ledges, followed by taking a short breather, followed by more of the same. Some views exist to the southwest towards, Cooper Lake and Tremper Mountain. As we headed down the equally challenging rock ledges on the eastern face, other views opened up towards the Hudson Valley. Eventually we reached Pecoy Notch and headed north along the blue trail.
The short (1.7 miles) Pecoy Notch Trail is extremely interesting, as we passed through a beaver meadow, a hemlock ravine, and the Dibble Quarry, one of the largest old bluestone quarries we have seen. Hikers and local kids have built huge thrones, chairs, tables, towers, and fireplaces out of bluestone. In the remaining mile or so back to the car, the trail passes through another quarry, although much smaller. This difficult, 7-mile trek was exactly what we needed, justifying our next move, which was to head home and stuff ourselves all over again with Turkey Day leftovers.
- Chris and Aaron
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