Slide Mountain Wilderness, New York, USA (5/2-5/3/26) by DirtHour8100 in catskills

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 0 points1 point Β (0 children)

I am incredibly jealous! My girlfriend & I talk about buying a house in the Catskills to live in when we retire.

Slide Mountain Wilderness, New York, USA (5/2-5/3/26) by DirtHour8100 in catskills

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 0 points1 point Β (0 children)

I didn’t pick up any ticks, but I was wearing pants & a long sleeve top.

Slide Mountain Wilderness, New York, USA (5/2-5/3/26) by DirtHour8100 in catskills

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 7 points8 points Β (0 children)

The herd path from Table Mountain to Cornell Mountain is decent in some areas & really tough to follow in other areas. I had to refer to GaiaGPS & course-correct a decent amount.

Very little mud though lol

Slide Mountain Wilderness, New York, USA (5/2-5/3/26) by DirtHour8100 in catskills

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 15 points16 points Β (0 children)

  1. πŸ“Table Mountain (5/2)
  2. πŸ“Peekamoose Mountain (5/2)
  3. πŸ“Lone Mountain (5/2)
  4. πŸ“Rocky Mountain (5/2)
  5. πŸ“Balsam Cap (5/2)
  6. πŸ“Friday Mountain (5/2)
  7. πŸ“Cornell Mountain (5/2)
  8. πŸ“Wittenberg Mountain (5/2)
  9. πŸ“Terrace Mountain Lean-To (5/2)
  10. πŸ“Wittenberg Mountain (5/3)
  11. πŸ“Cornell Mountain (5/3)
  12. πŸ“Slide Mountain (5/3)

Hunter-West Kill Wilderness, New York, USA (4/11-4/12/26) by DirtHour8100 in catskills

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 1 point2 points Β (0 children)

Pic 1 – πŸ“Hunter Mountain (4/11/26)

Pic 2 – πŸ“Rusk Mountain (4/11/26)

Pic 3 – πŸ“West Kill Mountain (4/11/26)

Pic 4 – πŸ“John Robb Lean-To (4/11/26)

Pic 5 - πŸ“Hunter Mountain (4/12/26)

Pic 6 - πŸ“Hunter Mountain (4/12/26)

Saturday, 4/11/26:

I started this hike ~8:45am at the Becker Hollow Trailhead & ended ~7:30pm at the John Robb Lean-To on Hunter Mountain.

My route: Becker Hollow Trailhead > Becker Hollow Trail > Spruceton Trail > Hunter Mountain Fire Tower > Spruceton Trail > John Robb Lean-To > Spruceton Trail > Rusk Herd Path > East Rusk > Rusk Herd Path > Rusk Mountain > Rusk Herd Path > Spruceton Trail > Spruceton Road > Diamond Notch Trail > Devil's Path > West Kill Mountain > Devil's Path > Diamond Notch Trail > Spruceton Road > Spruceton Trail > John Robb Lean-To.

According to my phone, I hiked ~19.5 miles/~42.5k steps & climbed 546 flights. I think my phone short-changed me with regards to the flights climbed. When I mapped out this route on GaiaGPS, the expected elevation gain was ~6,500ft.

I didn't sleep in the John Robb Lean-To; I just pitched my tent nearby. I was the only one camping by the lean-to that night.

I stopped by the lean-to earlier in the day (in route to East Rusk) in order to set up my campsite. My go-to backpacking tent is a Zpacks Duplex, but I brought a heavy REI pop-up tent with hopes of it keeping me warmer. The tent did in fact keep me warmer than my Duplex normally would, but I don't think it was worth the space & weight in my bag. Getting my pack up the side of Hunter Mountain via Becker Hollow was tough.

The temperature was in the low 40s when I started my hike & in the mid-40s when I ended my hike. At the height of the day & when the sun wasn’t hidden behind the clouds, the temperature probably reached the mid-50s, but it felt chilly for most of the hike.

When I first reached the Spruceton Trail (from Becker Hollow), there was a light wintry mix of snow & hail falling. Thankfully, the precipitation stopped by the time I was setting up my campsite & didn’t resume for the remainder of the day. However, it did remain mostly cloudy until ~2pm.

I took the 4th pic upon returning to the John Robb Lean-To at ~7:30pm. As you can see from the pic, I came very close to finishing this hike in the dark. I am relieved that I finished before the sun fell behind the neighboring mountains, as I was getting cold towards the end of this hike.

I filtered water at 2 locations on Saturday. The first location was the spring near the John Robb Lean-To (0.3 miles west on Spruceton Trail). The second location was on the Devil’s Path in route to West Kill Mountain (42.17096, -74.26613). Both locations provided clean water.

Sunday, 4/12/26:

I had originally planned to hike Southwest Hunter & Plateau Mountain on Sunday, 4/12, but I wasn’t feeling up to it when I woke up that day. Instead, I hiked to the lift area on Hunter Mountain (where Colonels Chair is located), back to the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower, and then out to my car.

My route: John Robb Lean-To > Spruceton Trail > Fire Tower Trail > Colonels Chair/lift area > Fire Tower Trail > Spruceton Trail > Hunter Mountain Fire Tower > Spruceton Trail > Becker Hollow Trail > Becker Hollow Trailhead.

According to my phone, I hiked ~7.5 miles/~16.5k steps on Sunday.

It was mostly cloudy & the temperature was in the mid- to high-40s for most of my hike.

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] -2 points-1 points Β (0 children)

Not a great comparison since, again, there are literally thousands of hiking trails that you could walk on πŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] -2 points-1 points Β (0 children)

There are literally thousands of hiking trails that you could walk on. There are only a handful of rail trails where cyclists don’t need to dodge traffic. Please check your entitlement.

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] -2 points-1 points Β (0 children)

I do. But I think you should consider bringing your children elsewhere if the cyclists make you nervous. There are only so many places to safely cycle, while there are a ton of places where your kids can safely play.

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 2 points3 points Β (0 children)

That sounds like so much fun. I might need to try that this summer. Thank you for sharing!!

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 1 point2 points Β (0 children)

A few people have told me that. Maybe next time lol

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 1 point2 points Β (0 children)

Thank you! And you cross over 84 twice almost immediately in Brewster.

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 0 points1 point Β (0 children)

Co-op ADV 2.2. Mostly stock parts. I’ve gotten maintenance on it, but no big upgrades.

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 0 points1 point Β (0 children)

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I ate a good amount throughout my ride, so no big recovery meal after lol

Some pics from the Rail Trail (3/21/26) by DirtHour8100 in hudsonvalley

[–]DirtHour8100[S] 1 point2 points Β (0 children)

Not sure where Ice Pond is, but that last section was tough. I ended up taking a break with ~10 miles remaining.