Trail Conditions Forum

Walked this section on Sunday June 9, 2013, happy to get in another section between the monsoons that have recently visited us. One great thing about the Catskills is the cooler weather that always seems to be 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the NYC area.  Sunday was cool, clear and a nice breeze to cool off with due to the high humidity.  Temperatures ranged from 62 in the morning to 72 at the end of the hike.  As described, this section is not used as much as other parts of the LP.  Most trails I am used to walking have developed a clear brown path, compacted from the years and number of hikers passing over its surface.  Not in this section,  this is a wild child!!!!  You really are walking through the forest and the plants.  There are many wet areas and semi-swamps to cross, be prepared.  Brother & I were fortunate that the bramble patches described in this section have not yet grown to their full height and reach.....yet.  The bigger challenge was stinging nettles all along the trail.  They were present in many areas, just enough to remind us to keep moving along, "nothing to see here". Which couldn't have been further from the truth.  The diversity of plants on this section was really really great to see.  Additionally, this is one of the few areas we have seen where the deer have not eaten all of the underbrush.  The understory plant growth was what a real forest in the northeast should look like; dense and filling different heights of the undercanopy of the larger trees.  In several areas we were treated to floor covers of Jack-in the-Pulpit plants and were generally pleased to see so many of them.  This is truly their home.  The former CCC groves of evergreen were quiet and grand, as if one is in Nature's Cathedral.  The ability of the forest to muffle sound in general was impressive.  We think also saw high bush blueberry in flower, which was a treat as we have not seen this before.  The flowers appear as a pink trumpet shaped bloom. Many more song birds were about on this trip, as well as a garter snake or two.  Bear scat was also observed at several locations along this path.  We also saw a deer at the end of our walk. The path was clear as could be in this area.  The blazes could use a little maintenance.  A few trees are blocking the trail that have fallen over and also sometimes hide the blazes when proceeding down the trail. If you want to experience a different type of walk through the woods, this is an interesting alternative.

Hiked this section on Monday May 27, 2013.  The path is not as well used as the previous sections but is passable and well marked.  There is more under growth here (tick country) and wild columbine was present, in bloom, throughout this section.  We were also treated to an occasional Jack-In-the Pulpit, we have never seen them in the wild.  The trees here are leafed out so walking under them resulted in a nice cool temperature.  Lots of birds to be heard but they are shy, we didn't see too many.  As noted on the trail map, there is not much in the way of views on this section, although one can occasionally be rewarded with a view to the north. With only one more section to hike on the LP on Trail Conference maps, we are excitedly anticipating falling off the edge of the flat earth at the end of the next section.......

Is the Highlands trail still closed at the section by Monksville Reservoir?    This is the alert I read on this web site: "ALERT 3/2013: Due to construction of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, trails crossing the construction area are closed until construction has ended in spring. This includes the Hewit-Butler / Highlands Trail and the Horse Pond Mountain / Highlands Trail near Monksville Reservoir."

The website (and the state website) still says: "ENTIRE AS HEWITT STATE FOREST TRAIL SYSTEM" is closed. Is that still true?  Or just select trails now are closed? I was planning on doing the state-line/surprise lake loop hike: http://www.nynjtc.org/hike/abram-s-hewitt-state-forest and was wondering if that hike is now possible to do?

Section 16:  From Riggsville to Bull Run   Miles 1.7 to 2.6 (from Vernooy Falls to woodland road) -- dozens of large trees down across the trail.  Must have been a tornado, or maybe this was from Irene.  I was able to climb over and/or bushwhack around them, but these are major obstacles, as bad as I've ever seen on a hiking trail. Will need a crew with big chainsaws to clear this.  Thank you in advance to whoever goes out there and clears this.

I just thought I would mention this.  I recently met someone in the Tarrytown area that teachs at the school that stands above the Old Croton Aquiduct.  She told me that she is part of a group that wanted to close that section of the aquiduct near the school.  I hope this never comes to pass and that's why I'm bringing it up here.  Could you imagine that part being closed and having to do a detour?  Hopefully it never comes down to having to fight over public acces to that state park area.

5/11/2013 Hiked this section yesterday to try to avoid the rain today......Still caught a few sprinkles towards the end of yesterday.  This section was truly magnificent.  The recent rain has caused the ground cover plants to burst out of their sleep.  The mountains are literally carpeted with flowers at this time.  We could not believe the amount and diversity of plants and flowers that are currently in bloom, non-stop from one end of this hike to the other.  To quote the Geico Gekko: "Trillium (red & WHITE), Spring beauties (multiple colors and patterns), trout lillies, false Solomon's whatever it is (slender pale yellow flower?), viburnum white flowers, purple violets (?) and yellow violets (?).  Need I say more?"  The views were great.  The only disappontment was a light haze across the valleys.  You could still see a good distance.  The views here have been well maintained and vegetation has been kept low so as to keep the views open.  Another benefit of going now is that the trees have not fully opened their leaves yet.  Some good views of adjacent mountains and areas the trail travels are to be had as one hikes the trail. An interesting feature of this circumstance is that you can see the greenery of the deciduous trees openning at the base of the mountains moving up the sides of the mountains.  Green to grey/brown and then a distinct line across the top of each peak where the evergreen trees are dominent and appear as a green/brown cap to each peak.  Batavia Kill was a pleasure to see again; running cool & clear.  Even with the more recent rain the stream was running with a good flow but not exceeding its banks.  Views both to the north of Catskills and into the Big Hollow Rd. valley were very good and interestng to observe.   Animal life was limited again.  We observed 2 garter snakes and some but not many birds.  This included a turkey vulture and possibly an immature eagle.  Based upon the bird calls we heard through the forest there are song birds in the area but not many.  One last item we have noticed throughout the Catskills is that some animal uses the trails to constantly mark its territory, not deer based upon the droppings, usually always in the middle of the trail.  It is consistent, if nothingelse, in its placement of "materials".   The trail and markings were in good shape in general.  A few signs need to be replaced as they are nearing the end of their service lives.  The Batavia shelter is in need of a major rebuilding; the floor is falling apart and portions of the roof are collapsing.   The end of this hike was somewhat a bittersweet ending on this day.  We are now leaving the main Catskills behind.  They are magnificent as well as challenging.  Rt 23 seems to mark the end of the "big stuff" on the trail.  Of additional note, I recently dug out some of my old books and found a mint copy of the Guide to the Long Path, 2nd Ed. 1987.  Didn't even know I had it.  At the time of this publication, the Rt. 23 end point was the end of the Long Path.  The trail at that time was 216 miles long.   Another great section of the Long Path, not to be missed.

I am leading a hike utilizing these trails from Ringwood Manor, next Saturday, May 11. Will I encounter any problems or closures due to pipe line construction?

Today,  I parked at the circle on Johnsontown Road,  and did a loop hike which ended with my descending from the viewpoint above Almost Perpendicular.  The Blue Disc trail, as I headed south after crossing the gas pipeline, has at least three steep places that are badly eroded.  One is about 300 years north of the viewpoint, as the trail climbs a steep section. Maybe steps need to be built here.  But there are 2-3 places in the Almost Perpindicular that are in poor condition.  Sections that are all rock are OK, but those containing soil are losing it.  There is a woods road that perhaps could be used as an alternative, although it does not climb directly to the viewpoint--the main attraction here.  The other trails and roads I took were mostly in good condition, though it is a shame how much truck traffic the Victory seems to get. Jonathan

4/27/2013 Great day for a renewed hike on the Long Path, pressing ever forward for 2013 (start of our 4th season)!  Brother & I hiked from the Scutt Rd. parking area in N.Lake/S.Lake to the Batavia Kill at the end of Big Hollow Rd.  The walk was approximately 11.6 miles and was challenging asending from Ducher Notch to Arizona Mtn. and then onto Blackhead's peak.  I still feel like I was on a stairmaster for approximately 9 hours.  In general the trail was clear and the views were great towards the Hudson Valley and now of Albany to the north northeast.  We still have not had a perfectly clear day to get a crystal clear sky.  The views are somewhat hazy, it's a shame not to be able to take clearer pictures.    The path was in great shape and easily followed.  Markings were clear although the signs at North Point have either been removed or have fallen off of the post at this location.  They are on the ground and look to be due for replacement.  Plant life is starting to burst out all over but the tree buds are just starting to open.  They still need to a few more weeks to open up fully.  We didn't see too many birds or wildlife on this section, I guess it's still a bit early for that.    As usual, Spring takes its time coming to the Catskills.  Snow and ice patches are still present in many locations throughout this walk but generally not an issue.  Except at the top of Blackhead on the north side of the peak.  Upon arriving at the top of this peak, we noted snow and ice on the trail as one descends to the north towards Batavia Kill.  Two couples arrived from this section of the trail and we asked about the conditions.  "The trail is covered with ice and snow and is very steep and slippery.  However, if you focus and use the trees and some bare rocks you should be able to descend in about 20 mnutes and it is bare ground below this area.  We are glad we came up and are not going down that way."  Talk about a pep talk.........  We pressed on, not really having any good alternatives and descended from the top.  The Long Path guide is not kidding when they describe this as a steep decent, one of the steepest on the trial.  After roughly 30 minutes of sheer terror, clinging for dear life to trees, slipping on the ice and snow, wailing and nashing of teeth, we made it to the clear area, probably around the 3500' elevation.  Many oaths were sworn and a general feeling of relief was felt.  The moral of this story: this was year 2 of a lack of traction gear.  While we made it through, as we had last year on the Borrough's Range with issues at the Cornell Crack, next year the Microspikes are along for the ride.    Water quality of the Batavia Kill looked good.  Nice and clear with no sedimentation in the water.  Looks like it could be a great trout stream.  Colorful, speckled rocks on the stream bed, wonderful to look at.  Also of interest is the iron truss bridge at the last house on Big Hollow Rd. by the trail parking area.  It was built in 1900 in Canton, Ohio.  Impressive in its durability.  All in all, another great section of the Long Path, not to be missed!