...When you can do something different? I had business in Callicoon. So Joanne doggy sat Bookah and squired her around town and down for some spashing in the Delaware River while I had my meeting.
Took longer to get to Calicoon and the meeting went longer so we got a late start. But hey, got to go hiking in the afternoon once we were all the way down there so what the heck.
Made the drive up to the lovely and remote Shin Creek drainage, scene of our trip up Mongaup last year. The idea was Shin Creek 'cause its so beautiful and remote, and its a different way up Hodge Pond mt than others have done.
We parked right next to the DEC sign, and while we were gearing up, the black fly armada jumped us. So it was into the woods, down the hill to cross the creek, and then back up the other side.
What awaited us was unexpected after the humid and thickish climb to Mongaup from Shin Creek last June.
It was one of the nicest strolls thru completely open forests that I've been through in a long time. The beech trees were spaced apart, no blowdown and best of all, ZERO PRICKERS ALL DAY...ZERO. For the first half mile it was hard to tell what to look at first. The open understory, the carpets of Trout Lillies, no blowdown, or just gaze at how far we could see with leaves off the trees. Its apparent that in a month, lots of this will be fern glades.
By plan, we climbed up onto HP's flat northern ridge and bigger surprise,the woods were maybe even more open. Mix of larger beech, maple and ash and now the Trillium were mixed in with the Trout Lillies. Our stroll continued as we crossed the red-marked snowmobile trail that circumnavigates Hodge Pond Mt from east to west at just under 2,800', and enjoyed the excellent woods all the way to Hodge Pond's wooded summit. The flies had driven Joanne under a head net, and tough guy that I am, didn't need mine(mostly 'cause I forgot it home). Once Bookah had her lunch, it was pace-while-I-ate to keep the swarming atrocity at bay.
With the idea of getting Jo home in time for an evening engagement, we decided to take HP's direct north escalator down to the parking area.
On any other day and any other mountain, a nice route by any standard. But not when measured by the ascent route. A little steeper (expected), but with some portable footholds and a tad more undestory. Trying to continue my string of cute moves, I decided to come in a little north of the car to avoid the little up and down across the creek. Instead, he had about 0.2 miles of "The African Queen" thick swamp to push thru, some of it squishy and thick. We jumped across the stream, watched some trout in a backwater, enjoyed a neat beaver pond and then it was pushing thru the bush another 75 yrds to a dirt road that intersected Shin Creek Rd about 100 yds from the car.
Hodge Pond is not much of a mountain from a height standpoint, but the route is as nice a woods as anything in the Catskills. This is one of those, gotta go back in Autumn routes. Try this way up Hodge Pond Mt. You won't regret it.
Pictures on the way.
Took longer to get to Calicoon and the meeting went longer so we got a late start. But hey, got to go hiking in the afternoon once we were all the way down there so what the heck.
Made the drive up to the lovely and remote Shin Creek drainage, scene of our trip up Mongaup last year. The idea was Shin Creek 'cause its so beautiful and remote, and its a different way up Hodge Pond mt than others have done.
We parked right next to the DEC sign, and while we were gearing up, the black fly armada jumped us. So it was into the woods, down the hill to cross the creek, and then back up the other side.
What awaited us was unexpected after the humid and thickish climb to Mongaup from Shin Creek last June.
It was one of the nicest strolls thru completely open forests that I've been through in a long time. The beech trees were spaced apart, no blowdown and best of all, ZERO PRICKERS ALL DAY...ZERO. For the first half mile it was hard to tell what to look at first. The open understory, the carpets of Trout Lillies, no blowdown, or just gaze at how far we could see with leaves off the trees. Its apparent that in a month, lots of this will be fern glades.
By plan, we climbed up onto HP's flat northern ridge and bigger surprise,the woods were maybe even more open. Mix of larger beech, maple and ash and now the Trillium were mixed in with the Trout Lillies. Our stroll continued as we crossed the red-marked snowmobile trail that circumnavigates Hodge Pond Mt from east to west at just under 2,800', and enjoyed the excellent woods all the way to Hodge Pond's wooded summit. The flies had driven Joanne under a head net, and tough guy that I am, didn't need mine(mostly 'cause I forgot it home). Once Bookah had her lunch, it was pace-while-I-ate to keep the swarming atrocity at bay.
With the idea of getting Jo home in time for an evening engagement, we decided to take HP's direct north escalator down to the parking area.
On any other day and any other mountain, a nice route by any standard. But not when measured by the ascent route. A little steeper (expected), but with some portable footholds and a tad more undestory. Trying to continue my string of cute moves, I decided to come in a little north of the car to avoid the little up and down across the creek. Instead, he had about 0.2 miles of "The African Queen" thick swamp to push thru, some of it squishy and thick. We jumped across the stream, watched some trout in a backwater, enjoyed a neat beaver pond and then it was pushing thru the bush another 75 yrds to a dirt road that intersected Shin Creek Rd about 100 yds from the car.
Hodge Pond is not much of a mountain from a height standpoint, but the route is as nice a woods as anything in the Catskills. This is one of those, gotta go back in Autumn routes. Try this way up Hodge Pond Mt. You won't regret it.
Pictures on the way.
