Catskills damage - Pls post and consolidate information here

[nyestreet]

Where did this go????

 

[Puma concolor]

I think the moderators were trying to consolidate threads and it was merged into the Adirondack Road Conditons thread. Doesn't make a ton of sense since Prattsville is in the Catskills.

Anyway, given the amount of damage in Prattsville, it is probably worthy of its own thread. Saw on the news that Gov. Cuomo will be there today along with other political luminaries including the Director of FEMA, Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. Gibson.

Used to be one of the towns in one of my patrol areas several years back. Hard to believe how hard they got whacked by Irene.

 

[Peakbagr]

I've changed the title to consolidate Catskill info and damage here. Should not have been been merged with ADK info.
Making this a sticky.

Alan

 

[Tom Rankin]

Copying from ADKHPs: (8/31 date)

Trailhead access updates: I was finally, with great relief able to speak to family members who both live and work in these Ulster County areas and can offer the following info:

Peekamoose/Sundown area: infrastructure highly impacted, bridges and roadways destroyed. Please do not attempt to go into these areas.

Slide Mt/Oliveria: including Fox Hollow/Panther/Slide and Biscuit Brook trailheads: Again infrastructures highly impacted. Bridges and roadways destroyed. Many local residents are landlocked. There is no access to these areas.

Dry Brook - Seager/Rider Hollow/Balsam Lake: Same as above with bridges and roadways destroyed. Many local residents have been landlocked. There is no access to these areas.

The local residents, those who have been assisting - ie volunteer fireman, highway workers, utility workers are the most amazing resilient folks!!! My heartfelt thanks to each of them for all of the efforts they have put forth so far and will continue to put forth to be sure that the local residents have food/water/shelter/medical access and eventually electricity. Please do them all a favor and find other areas to vist this coming holiday weekend.

To those who wish to get to their sections of trails to check them out and begin work, PLEASE do not attempt to do so yet. While your desire to do so is admirable, these workers need room to work so that local residents can get the help they need. PLEASE give them that space. If you feel you must "sight see" please be sure to bring the folks a drink or some food and a big thank you, but mostly PLEASE give them room to do what they need to.

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN HELPING!

 

[Tom Rankin]

New York / New Jersey Trail Conference Updates:

http://www.nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

Jeff Senterman here, The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference's Catskill Region Program Coordinator.

I wanted to alert people to a few resources the Trail Conference has for keeping up-to-date on trail information in the Catskills post-Irene.

At this time, the Trail Conference is recommending that hikers and maintainers stay away from the mountaintop and any effected flood areas through the weekend at least. This gives emergency crews the ability to rescue trapped residents, fix roads and clean up towns without any hindrance or having to rescue anyone else who gets stuck on a road or in the woods.

I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, but at the moment with the States of Emergency in Greene County, Schoharie County and parts of Delaware County that include orders to prevent non-residents from driving the roads, we think it is best to avoid hiking in the area at this time. We don't want to cause more problems for the crews or stretch emergency services thin with any emergencies we could have avoided by not being in the area.

As the mountains open up, we are maintaining a Post-Irene Trail Status page here:
http://www.nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers
This page includes the Catskills and all the other regions the Trail Conference covers. Our Catskill Region Facebook page is also providing updated information on trails, recovery efforts and area news and information:
https://www.facebook.com/NYNJTC.CatskillRegion
You can also follow the Catskill region on Twitter where we are constantly updating our information:
https://twitter.com/#!/NYNJTCCatskills

Once the mountains are open again and you are hiking, we would ask that as you come across trail problems, you use our Trail Problem Report Form (http://www.nynjtc.org/webform/trail-problem-report) to let us know about problems. We use this information to organize work in the area, to mobilize trail maintainers, and to set up work trips to tackle serious issues. Problems such as blowdowns will be handled fairly quickly. Issues such as serious erosion problems and bridge washouts will require more time as we must work with the DEC on handling those trail problems.

You can always email me too - [email protected] if you have any trail status questions or want to let me know about trail problems.

Most importantly, be safe out there as we return to the mountains and the trails.

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

I'd also add that if anyone is looking for ways to help communities, trails and families in the Catskills, the Trail Conference has set up a web page that lists local organizations providing relief in the Catskills and needing donations. We will continue to update this page as new information comes in.

http://www.nynjtc.org/content/catskills-recovery

Jeff

 

[Peakbagr]

The NYNJ Trail conference is a wonderful organization. Publishing a great set of maps is not the only thing they do. Props to Jeff and the Trail Conference.

 

[Mikie]

Here are some of the road conditions in Greene County:

NOTICE: Road conditions change hourly - Some roads will be closed for weeks, while others open and close on a hourly basis

September 1, 2011:

Greene County
Rt 23 to Windham: Open - minor damage from East Windham to Windham.
Rt 23 Windham to Prattsville: Closed - There is a work-around to get there.
Rt 23a to Prattsville: Closed down towards Prattsville
Rt 296: Open from Hensonville to Rt 23c - Closed from Rt 23c to Hunter (bridge near 23c is damaged)
Rt 23a: Open to EMS vehicles only - 1 lane of traffic - Road below Moore's Bridge is missing the west bound lane - Moore's Bridge is damaged - turn above Moore's Bridge is missing east bound lane (in passing zone).
Platte Clove Road: Reported open from Saugerties
Rt 16: Open from Bloomers Road
Rt 214: Closed (trees and power lines blocking road - washed out road) - From Hunter to Phoenicia
Colgate Road: Closed - Road out in 2 places
Rt 42: Closed - bridges out - road washed out - Major land slide at the pass (Balsam Mtn and Sleeping Lion)

I should also note that we received a disturbing report of a major land slide on Rt 42 at the V-notch pass between Balsam Mtn and Sleeping Lion Mtn. From what we understand, the land slide is very significant. There is some concern that Rt 42 may never open again.

 

[Puma concolor]

Platte Clove Road never ceases to amaze me. You just can't kill it. It hugs a massive dropoff but no matter how big the storm or flood, it always seems that Platte Clove Road endures with virtually no damage.

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

trail updates

I have been collecting updates from hikers sending in reports (we're not suggesting hiking in the area) and I have been getting updates from DEC. That information is all posted on our Post-Irene Trail Conditions Page (which also includes other areas people may be interested in hiking).

http://nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers

We are also updating in real time as the info comes in on our Facebook page.

So far in the Catskills the greatest trail issue is access to trailheads. With so many road closures due to washouts and bridge failures, I would say the majority of trailheads are not accessible for the time being.

In that light, the Trail Conference continues to recommend that hikers, maintainers and other visitors avoid the impacted areas of the Catskills. That includes:

The mountaintop areas of Greene County (Windham, Hunter, Tannersville, Lexington, Prattsville) / The Route 42 Corridor between Lexington and Phoenicia / The Route 28 Corridor between Boiceville and Margaretville / The CR47 (Oliverea/Branch Road) corridor / Peekamoose Road

Areas in Sullivan County were not as damaged by Irene, along with a few areas in the southern Catskills (Beaverkill, Vernooy Kill, etc). So there are some areas that could be accessed through the Holiday Weekend. Best to call ahead, use the highway websites to determine roadways closures and be flexible, as closures and detours are changing hourly as work continues repairing and rebuilding the infrastructure in the Catskills.

Jeff

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

trail updates & more of the Catskills are open

The Trail Conference is now recommending that hikers and maintainers avoid any severely damaged area or any area that the authorities are asking you to remain out of. We would suggest avoiding any areas near Windham, Prattsville, Fleischmanns, Margaretville and in the CR47-Big Indian/Oliverea/Frost Valley area. In addition, the Trail Conference recommends avoiding any areas with closures or restrictions. You should not try to drive any road that has been clearly closed. There are many severe washouts and bridges out throughout the Catskills and if you are driving on a closed road, you could be severely injured if the road gives way.

Otherwise, as has been reported in the news and publicized by the counties, the Catskills are open for business.

As has been discussed, it appears that the trails actually came through Irene is fairly decent shape. There are reports of some new eroded sections, some blowdown and a few other minor problems. The biggest problem seems to be the loss of bridges across many streams, which makes crossing difficult at best, impossible at worst in some places.

We will continue to assess damage throughout our trails and begin to organize crews to repair this damage. We will be working with our partner clubs and with the DEC to do this work. Blowdown removal can happen very quickly. Serious trail reconstruction efforts and bridge replacement will take longer as DEC will need to coordinate this work.

If you are interested in helping, please let me know and I will add you to my list of people interested in Catskill Trail Crews. You can also donate money towards Catskill Trail Rebuilding through the Trail Conference.

If you are planning on visiting the Catskills, The Trail Conference recommends calling ahead or researching your destination to make sure services are available and the area is open.

On the plus side, the Catskill trail status now includes several different bits of good news related to our region's trails! Trails throughout the Platte Clove Valley did well, as did the trails surrounding North/South Lake Campground and the trails in Delaware County.

The latest trail status from the Trail Conference:
http://www.nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers

Stay safe,
Jeff

 

[Tom Rankin]

Bridge Update

From the NYNJTC:

If you discover trail issues following Irene's damage, please let us know. We especially need to know about lost bridges, as the Trail Conference is attempting to get grants to help the DEC in the replacement of so many lost bridges. Here are the bridges that we know are either out or damaged at the moment:

Bridge for the Escarpment Trail east of Route 23 in Windham, Greene County (Elm Ridge Wild Forest), has washed out . Walkway near bridge has also been partially washed off the trail.

The bridge on the Black Dome Range Trail after it crosses Big Hollow Road and then crosses the Batavia Kill on its way to Acra Point has washed out, making the stream crossing very difficult.

The second bridge on the trail to Acra Point has been damaged.

The bridge at Buttermilk Falls on the Diamond Notch Trail has washed out. This is now a dangerous crossing with the waterfall directly below the trail crossing.

The first bridge over the East Branch of the Neversink River on the Table-Peekamoose Trail has been severely damaged. The bridge should not be used and the river crossing is dangerous and should not be attempted at higher water levels.

The foot bridge on the Giant Ledge trail just in from the trailhead has been washed out.

The foot bridge on the eastern side of Alder Lake has been badly damaged and should not be used.

The swinging bridge on the Mongaup-Hardenburgh trail is missing some boards and is twisted.

In addition to the loss of bridges, our other major problem post-Irene are blowdowns. Please let us know of any sections where there are more blowdowns than an average maintainer could handle or that are too big for a maintainer. We would like to organize some crews this fall to help with the clearing.

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

Trail Crew Status from the Trail Conference

FYI - this was posted on our Facebook page earlier today regarding our present status with putting together trail crews to tackle trail work in the Catskills...

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who wishes to help with our Catskills trails. We are not currently fielding crews, as the situation in our region is still one of repair and recovery. I have been advised by DEC that they (in cooperation with the Trail Conference and other trail partners), are in an assessment stage and because of the continued recovery and repair operations throughout the Catskills, we are not expecting to field crews from the State or from Volunteers for at least a few weeks to allow for roads to be repaired and reopened and allow operations in the villages to continue unimpeded.

As soon as we get a green light from DEC, we will start fielding crews to tackle blow downs this fall. Bridges will most likely take more time and effort to plan their replacement, especially the larger ones. The Trail Conference is currently fundraising and looking to local funding through grants to supplement DEC's budget in this bridge replacement since there are so many bridges out.

--Jeff Senterman, Catskill Region Program Coordinator for the Trail Conference

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

Catskill Trails in Ulster & Greene County are CLOSED until further notice!

As of September 8, 2011, All trails in the Catskill State Park/Forest Preserve in Greene and Ulster Counties are closed until further notice by order of the DEC.

Per DEC: "Unsafe conditions remain in much of the backcountry of the Catskills due to the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and heavy rains which continue to cause flooding, bridge wash outs, trail wash outs, downed trees and other debris. In addition, many local roads are closed or only single lane traffic. As a result, DEC has received local requests to close trail heads in these impacted areas in an attempt to keep the roads open for local residents and emergency vehicles."

Please note we will continue updating our trail status information as trails are assessed and hopefully reopened as soon as possible. The Trail Conference is working with the DEC on this process and will provide updates as we know more information.

Trails in the Catskills in Sullivan and Delaware County remain open.

Post-Irene Trail Status:
http://www.nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers

Trail Conference Catskill Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/NYNJTC.CatskillRegion

Trail Conference Catskill Twitter Account
https://twitter.com/#!/NYNJTCCatskills

Jeff

 

[TrailConferenceCatskills]

Catskill Trails in Ulster & Greene County Reopened

As of Friday, September 16, 2011 DEC has reopened most trails in Ulster & Greene County. For a list of trails and trailheads that remain closed, please visit our website here:

http://nynjtc.org/news/postirene-message-hikers-trail-maintainers