DSettahr
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I just got back from doing the Sugarloaf Mountain loop in Platte Clove in the Catskills. I hiked in the Mink Hollow trail from the Roaring Kill trailhead to the Devil's Path at Mink Hollow, then up and over Sugarloaf on the Devil's Path west to east, and then back out to the RK trailhead from Pecoy Notch on the Pecoy Notch trail.
In general, the day was very humid but not to hot. The exposed rocks on the trail were very slippery from rain the night before, so hiking poles were a must.
The Mink Hollow trail seemed to be in frairly good condition. There were a few places where it had obviously been re-routed in recent history to avoid areas that had become very eroded. There are also more switchbacks on the trail than are shown in the NY-NJTC map. The second quarry had some interesting stone walls and structures left over from when it was in operation.
One important note to be made about the Mink Hollow trail- when you get to a spot where there is an excellent view out over the hollow on the right from a rock outcrop that you can climb down to, note that the trail here makes a sharp turn to the right to descend a switchback. I almost missed this turn, and judging from the herd path that leads straight on through the woods, quite a few people miss the turn.
At the Mink Hollow lean to I met two groups that had stayed there the night before. The first group was from Cornell University and was comprised mostly of incoming freshmen to the school who were participating in a pre-orientation team building trip. They had hiked in over Plateau the night before from Devil's Tombstone, and were planning on going over Sugarloaf, Twin, and Indian Mountains to spend that night at the Devil's Kitchen lean to. Given that it was approaching 11 am and they had not left yet, and were planning on doing this with full packs, I hope they made it there ok. The second group was 4 young people and a dog who were lounging around the lean to trying to decide whether to hike Plateau or Sugarloaf- they had come up the Mink Hollow trail from the south and I think were planning on spending another night at the lean to so they were in no rush.
The trail up Sugarloaf from the west was very steep, and given the wet conditions, very slippery. In some places it was also a bit hard to follow. Near the top, there is large boulder overhanging an outcrop that can be climbed, providing a good view of Mink Hollow and Plateau Mountain. Farther on, just below the summit, watch for a well traveled unmarked trail to the south. This leads a couple hundred feet to a rock outcrop providing another good view to the south. I chose this second viewing area to eat my lunch at.
The summit is pretty wide and provides flat walking for a good distance. The summit itself did not seem to be marked, at least I did not notice any signs indicating I had reached the summit. At what appeared to be the actual summit, there was another umarked path, this one not so well traveled as the previous one, heading off to the south. It went a couple hundred feet to a small clearing that appeared to have been used in the past as a camp site. Given that it was well above 3500 feet, either it has been used illegally or during the winter. It did look like a good spot to camp at though.
There seemed to be a lot of trash on the trail as it went over Sugarloaf. I carried out numerous candy wrappers and a couple of empty water bottles with me. Fortunately I had the room in my pack to carry the bottles.
Going down the east side of Sugarloaf was just as steep, wet, and slippery as ascending the west side. I banged my elbow pretty hard on a rock when I slid down an exposed rock face but other than that I made it down without any mishaps.
The hike out the Pecoy Notch trail was by far the most scenic trail of the day. This trail obviously recieves very little use; it was far less eroded than either the Devil's Path or the Mink Hollow trail. There was a really nice camp site located on the west side of the trail just south of the beaver meadow. The meadow itself was filled with wild flowers, and as I stood on the edge of the meadow, there was a breeze that brought down the first couple of leaves from fall with it. The rock north from the meadow is mostly a ridge walk along a stream on the west side of the trail.
The southern most of the two quarries, listed as "Dibbles Quarry" in the ADK guide, was full of impressive piles of rock, and equally impressive rock sculptures left by hikers over the years. The quarry has become a labyrinth of rooms and walls, and of course, chairs. In one section, a fireplace and numberous chairs have been constructed, with a view of Katterskill High Peak, Twin Mountain, and Platte Clove. It would be a great place to build a fire in the evening, watch the sun set and the stars come out. There is also plenty of flat ground for camping on the slopes above the quarry, and a reliable stream for water about a quater mile up the trail.
If anyone is looking for a good scenic hike in the Catskills with some climbing but no mountains to summit, I would strongly recomend the Pecoy Notch trail. The quarry would be a great place to take kids to as well, as there is so much there to explore.
In general, the day was very humid but not to hot. The exposed rocks on the trail were very slippery from rain the night before, so hiking poles were a must.
The Mink Hollow trail seemed to be in frairly good condition. There were a few places where it had obviously been re-routed in recent history to avoid areas that had become very eroded. There are also more switchbacks on the trail than are shown in the NY-NJTC map. The second quarry had some interesting stone walls and structures left over from when it was in operation.
One important note to be made about the Mink Hollow trail- when you get to a spot where there is an excellent view out over the hollow on the right from a rock outcrop that you can climb down to, note that the trail here makes a sharp turn to the right to descend a switchback. I almost missed this turn, and judging from the herd path that leads straight on through the woods, quite a few people miss the turn.
At the Mink Hollow lean to I met two groups that had stayed there the night before. The first group was from Cornell University and was comprised mostly of incoming freshmen to the school who were participating in a pre-orientation team building trip. They had hiked in over Plateau the night before from Devil's Tombstone, and were planning on going over Sugarloaf, Twin, and Indian Mountains to spend that night at the Devil's Kitchen lean to. Given that it was approaching 11 am and they had not left yet, and were planning on doing this with full packs, I hope they made it there ok. The second group was 4 young people and a dog who were lounging around the lean to trying to decide whether to hike Plateau or Sugarloaf- they had come up the Mink Hollow trail from the south and I think were planning on spending another night at the lean to so they were in no rush.
The trail up Sugarloaf from the west was very steep, and given the wet conditions, very slippery. In some places it was also a bit hard to follow. Near the top, there is large boulder overhanging an outcrop that can be climbed, providing a good view of Mink Hollow and Plateau Mountain. Farther on, just below the summit, watch for a well traveled unmarked trail to the south. This leads a couple hundred feet to a rock outcrop providing another good view to the south. I chose this second viewing area to eat my lunch at.
The summit is pretty wide and provides flat walking for a good distance. The summit itself did not seem to be marked, at least I did not notice any signs indicating I had reached the summit. At what appeared to be the actual summit, there was another umarked path, this one not so well traveled as the previous one, heading off to the south. It went a couple hundred feet to a small clearing that appeared to have been used in the past as a camp site. Given that it was well above 3500 feet, either it has been used illegally or during the winter. It did look like a good spot to camp at though.
There seemed to be a lot of trash on the trail as it went over Sugarloaf. I carried out numerous candy wrappers and a couple of empty water bottles with me. Fortunately I had the room in my pack to carry the bottles.
Going down the east side of Sugarloaf was just as steep, wet, and slippery as ascending the west side. I banged my elbow pretty hard on a rock when I slid down an exposed rock face but other than that I made it down without any mishaps.
The hike out the Pecoy Notch trail was by far the most scenic trail of the day. This trail obviously recieves very little use; it was far less eroded than either the Devil's Path or the Mink Hollow trail. There was a really nice camp site located on the west side of the trail just south of the beaver meadow. The meadow itself was filled with wild flowers, and as I stood on the edge of the meadow, there was a breeze that brought down the first couple of leaves from fall with it. The rock north from the meadow is mostly a ridge walk along a stream on the west side of the trail.
The southern most of the two quarries, listed as "Dibbles Quarry" in the ADK guide, was full of impressive piles of rock, and equally impressive rock sculptures left by hikers over the years. The quarry has become a labyrinth of rooms and walls, and of course, chairs. In one section, a fireplace and numberous chairs have been constructed, with a view of Katterskill High Peak, Twin Mountain, and Platte Clove. It would be a great place to build a fire in the evening, watch the sun set and the stars come out. There is also plenty of flat ground for camping on the slopes above the quarry, and a reliable stream for water about a quater mile up the trail.
If anyone is looking for a good scenic hike in the Catskills with some climbing but no mountains to summit, I would strongly recomend the Pecoy Notch trail. The quarry would be a great place to take kids to as well, as there is so much there to explore.
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