DSettahr
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Spent another weekend in Albany, which meant another day of hiking in the Catskills. This was to be a low key hike, however. Anna had a friend from college down to visit from Maine, and so we wanted something that was not a bushwhack and not too difficult. I also wanted a destination that I'd not visited before, and that would count towards one of the numerous lists on which I've been working.
After some thought, the destination became pretty obvious- Acra Point. It had a trail and could easily be hiked as a loop. It wasn't too far from Albany, so we didn't need to start driving early. Additionally, it counted towards the Catskill Hundred Highest, which, while I've not been eagerly working towards, will certainly become a more prominent goal after I complete the Catskill High Peaks. Furthermore, coupled with a visit to the Cave Mountain Brewery afterward, it would be my first completed view and brew towards the Views and Brews Patch.
We arrived at the trailhead at about 11 am to find that the small parking area was already close to full. With some careful maneuvering, we were able to park off to the side without blocking anyone else from leaving. Soon, we were headed down the road towards the trailhead. A quick glance at the register showed that there were already a number of people ahead of us with the same itinerary.
The trail mostly follows an old road all the way to the Batavia Kill Lean-to. The going was quite easy, and it was only as we started to approach the lean-to that the ascent started to get anywhere near steep. The lean-to was in pretty good shape, although porcupines are starting to do a number on the floor, especially near the front, and there are some small holes as a result. The log book was also literally falling part, and needs to be replaced soon. An entry in the log book indicated that a couple had spent the previous night there as part of a 4 or 5 day backpacking trip, their first together. They must have left not long before we arrived, as there were still warm coals in the fire place.
This lean-to, or more specifically, the area around it, must be a hot spot of illegal camping, as there were some prominent signs reminding users of camping regulations. This obviously hadn't stopped some visitors, however, as there was a fire ring right next to the nearby stream. Just uphill of the lean-to is a really nice small designated site, but it appears it doesn't get much use. I guess most people who get to the lean-to to find it occupied don't know the site exists, and so they end up camping illegally near the lean-to instead. Perhaps a sign should be put up near the lean-to indicating the existence of the site a little farther up the trail.
Beyond the lean-to, the trail used to make a steep climb up to the ridge. This old trail, however, has been closed, and the new trail switchbacks back and forth across the terrain, allowing for a gradual ascent over the last quarter mile or so to the height of land, where we reached the junction with the Long Path. Taking a right at this junction takes you South to Blackhead Mountain. Straight ahead was a herd path which we followed for about 100 feet, thinking that it might take us to a lookout, but instead it just faded from sight quite quickly. We returned to the junction and took a left, heading north towards Acra Point.
The going from here on out was quite easy, and the ascent to the summit was gradual. So far that day, we had not yet encountered any other hikers, but along the ridgeline we started to encounter numerous other groups (and dogs! It seemed like every group had at least one dog with it). The trees along the ridge were mostly stunted hardwoods and were leafless: oaks, maples, etc, with a few softwoods: spruce, fir, hemlock, thrown into the mix. The ridgeline lacked the dense fir stands, however, that are common on the higher Catskill peaks. It reminded be a lot of hiking in West Virginia. Behind us, the Blackhead Range dominated the view through the trees. Here and there, we encountered small patches of snow hiding in the shade of the trees.
After making our way quickly along the ridgeline, and climbing up over one small nub and descending slightly before climbing again, we soon reached the true summit. Here, a gap in the trees gave us some views of the Capital Region. We could easily make out the edge of the Heldeberg Plateau, as well as the SUNY Albany Campus and the larger buildings downtown.
After starting our descent, we reached the best views of the day a little bit north of the summit. Here, a rock outcrop a short ways off the trail to the west gave us excellent views of the Blackhead Range to the south, the Batavia Kill Valley, and Burnt Knob and Windham High Peak to the west. We could see snow on the Blackheads, and it was quite obvious that the sun never gets high enough to shine on the northern slopes of these mountains. Near the overlook, a no camping disc reminded users that camping was illegal this close to the trail, but it was apparent that this rule had been ignored here as well.
As we continued our descent, we ran into even more groups coming up via the shorter northern approach to Acra Point. At the junction with the trail back down to the parking area, we briefly considered climbing Burnt Knob as well, but elected instead to head straight back. The trail back down into the valley was also quite neat, and followed a pretty little stream for most of the way. I saw some more prominent "no camping" signs off in the woods along this stream, so I guess illegal camping has been a bit of an issue in this area for some time. The descent via this trail was also a little bit steeper in spots than the Batavia Kill Trail I thought, but nothing that made our going difficult.
When we returned to the parking area, we were astonished to see cars parked along the road for some distance. I guess the amazing weekend weather we had encouraged everyone to get out for one last fall hike before winter conditions set in. We certainly couldn't have asked for better weather, it was warm enough that we were hiking in t shirts most of the way. Total time for our hike was about three and a half hours to go four and a half miles, so we certainly took our time. This is an excellent hike for families with young children that they'd like to start exposing to areas outside that are away from civilization.
Afterward, we continued to the Cave Mountain Brewery in Windham for some excellent beer and food, thus completing my first step towards the Views and Brews Patch for New York State.
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