Tom Rankin
Well-known member
We started from the end of Spruceton Road with my son, Dave, the aspiring ornithologist, and 2 3500 club members. It was misty at the start, but it stopped just a few minutes down the trail. The trails are generally in good shape, with a minor amount of mud. I did a quick check, and the stream that must be crossed when heading to the Diamond Notch leanto or Westkill, was easily crossed.
There were no views at the view point around 3300', so we kept going. We took the standard herd paths to Leavitt, and retraced our steps back to the trail. By now, Dave had seen quite a few birds (and heard several more). There were also tons of wild flowers in bloom, including Trillium. We made a quick stop at the Devil's Acre leanto and chatted with a man who was staying the night. Then we left the Devil's Path and headed up the gradual ascent to the summit of Hunter. Due to past storms, this trail is very open and the Sun was now out and beating down on us hard. However, when we arrived at the Leavitt view point, there were almost no views, and we were socked in again at the fire tower. Oh well...
We took the time to dismantle the fire pit that has obviously seen a lot of use!
Then we headed off to the John Robb leanto, one of the objectives of the trip being to do a little maintenance. When we arrived at the turn off, 2 boy scouts were just about to kindle a fire in the small meadow where the leanto used to stand! I more or less read them the riot act, noting that there is a burn ban, and no fires would be permitted that close to the trail in any case. The leader said he was unaware of the restrictions. Once again: We did nail up a new NO CAMPING sign in the meadow, since the old one is long gone...
(At least there was no fire ring on Leavitt, one of the few peaks that does not have one these days!)
There was also a small fire going in the fire pit at the leanto. I mentioned that there was a burn ban in effect, but the occupants did not see the need to put the fire out. Instead of having a huge confrontation, I let this one slide, as they were very friendly, let us do our work, and helped me put up the aforementioned NO CAMPING sign. I got the feeling that they were responsible campers.
Leaving the leanto, we headed back to the cars. We did run into 0-g and his son, who were just finishing a whack of Rusk. Jocko seemed to be having a grand time!
After the hike, we adjourned to the Last Chance in Tannersville, which has excellent food and beer, but at pretty steep prices!
There were no views at the view point around 3300', so we kept going. We took the standard herd paths to Leavitt, and retraced our steps back to the trail. By now, Dave had seen quite a few birds (and heard several more). There were also tons of wild flowers in bloom, including Trillium. We made a quick stop at the Devil's Acre leanto and chatted with a man who was staying the night. Then we left the Devil's Path and headed up the gradual ascent to the summit of Hunter. Due to past storms, this trail is very open and the Sun was now out and beating down on us hard. However, when we arrived at the Leavitt view point, there were almost no views, and we were socked in again at the fire tower. Oh well...
We took the time to dismantle the fire pit that has obviously seen a lot of use!
Then we headed off to the John Robb leanto, one of the objectives of the trip being to do a little maintenance. When we arrived at the turn off, 2 boy scouts were just about to kindle a fire in the small meadow where the leanto used to stand! I more or less read them the riot act, noting that there is a burn ban, and no fires would be permitted that close to the trail in any case. The leader said he was unaware of the restrictions. Once again: We did nail up a new NO CAMPING sign in the meadow, since the old one is long gone... (At least there was no fire ring on Leavitt, one of the few peaks that does not have one these days!)
There was also a small fire going in the fire pit at the leanto. I mentioned that there was a burn ban in effect, but the occupants did not see the need to put the fire out. Instead of having a huge confrontation, I let this one slide, as they were very friendly, let us do our work, and helped me put up the aforementioned NO CAMPING sign. I got the feeling that they were responsible campers.
Leaving the leanto, we headed back to the cars. We did run into 0-g and his son, who were just finishing a whack of Rusk. Jocko seemed to be having a grand time!
After the hike, we adjourned to the Last Chance in Tannersville, which has excellent food and beer, but at pretty steep prices!
