Tom Rankin
Well-known member
We arrived at the Panther (Catskills) PA at 8:30, and in spite of this being a required winter peak for the 3500 club, there was only one other person we would see all day! So, having the mountain(s) to ourselves, we set off first for Giant Ledge. The trail was covered with a dusting of new snow down low, which would increase the higher we got. There is quite a bit of ice under the fresh snow, making for tricky footing. Crampons or Snowshoes would have been overkill. Microspikes and careful treading worked well.
The weather was spectacular! Some early clouds blew off and we could see for miles into a deep blue sky. The sky was the deepest blue I've seen for many years, and we took lots of pictures thru the ice covered trees.
We ran across bear and bobcat tracks during the hike. This bear's print was just as large as Laurie's foot!
Arriving at Giant Ledge after just over an hour, we were greeted with fantastic views! I've been here several times, but there were the best views I've ever had. We could see Slide, Cornell, Wittenburg, etc. all the way around to the Western Devil's Path and the summit Panther. The new snow was only a high elevation event, leaving a white crown on all the peaks.
We lingered a while and headed up to Panther proper, of course first dropping down into the col. The steepest and trickiest parts of the hike were in between the 2 peaks, and the snow was drifted up to about 20" in places. Where there was no wind, the snow averaged 5" or so in thickness. The summit area was beautiful with the snow on the confers. We visited all the view points here too, and soaked in the amazing views.
It was blustery at the top, so we didn't stay long. On the way back, we finally ran into a young man who had already hiked Slide in the morning and was heading to Panther. We chatted a bit and found out he was only 2 hikes away from finishing! Early Congrats! Back we went to Giant's ledge and had to stop again and gawk. We finished the hike and drove off to celebrate the season at Laurie's parent's house. A great way to start the Holidays!
Here's the pics, most by Laurie.
Negotiating the slippery slope!
Looking thru the trees
First ones out to Giant Ledge
W-C-S
Bobcat? (Pole basket is about 3.5")
Pano of the Devil's Path
Frozen Firs
Another Pano
A long way down to the bottom of Giant Ledge!
W-C
An impression of the patches from Laurie's backpack in the snow!
The weather was spectacular! Some early clouds blew off and we could see for miles into a deep blue sky. The sky was the deepest blue I've seen for many years, and we took lots of pictures thru the ice covered trees.
We ran across bear and bobcat tracks during the hike. This bear's print was just as large as Laurie's foot!
Arriving at Giant Ledge after just over an hour, we were greeted with fantastic views! I've been here several times, but there were the best views I've ever had. We could see Slide, Cornell, Wittenburg, etc. all the way around to the Western Devil's Path and the summit Panther. The new snow was only a high elevation event, leaving a white crown on all the peaks.
We lingered a while and headed up to Panther proper, of course first dropping down into the col. The steepest and trickiest parts of the hike were in between the 2 peaks, and the snow was drifted up to about 20" in places. Where there was no wind, the snow averaged 5" or so in thickness. The summit area was beautiful with the snow on the confers. We visited all the view points here too, and soaked in the amazing views.
It was blustery at the top, so we didn't stay long. On the way back, we finally ran into a young man who had already hiked Slide in the morning and was heading to Panther. We chatted a bit and found out he was only 2 hikes away from finishing! Early Congrats! Back we went to Giant's ledge and had to stop again and gawk. We finished the hike and drove off to celebrate the season at Laurie's parent's house. A great way to start the Holidays!
Here's the pics, most by Laurie.
Negotiating the slippery slope!
Looking thru the trees
First ones out to Giant Ledge
W-C-S
Bobcat? (Pole basket is about 3.5")
Pano of the Devil's Path
Frozen Firs
Another Pano
A long way down to the bottom of Giant Ledge!
W-C
An impression of the patches from Laurie's backpack in the snow!
