Tom Rankin
Well-known member
We hiked two 'little' peaks today, High Falls and Beaver Kill in the Western Catskills. It had rained a little during the morning, and we got a late start, not hitting the trail head till about 1:00 PM. The drive was very long from Poughkeepsie, and the roads got worse and worse till we got to the dreaded 'Seasonal Limited Use Highway' sign! 
We parked in the town turn around but a guy came up on his riding mower and told us that we were on private property. We protested a little, but drove up the dirt 'road' a few hundred feet, and parked on state land. It was muddy and bumpy, but we found a place where the road was wide enough for people to get by if needed.
We walked up the old road until we came to the Fall Brook lean-to. It was in good shape. Once again, we found quite a few odds-n-ends at this lean-to, including a fire extinguisher, a bible, a road map, lime for the outhouse, cut and split fire wood, and several other things. From here, we took a bearing and headed East towards High Falls. We dropped a little down to a stream and then figured out exactly where we were, based on elevation. This let us know that we were a little North of the direct line to the summit, so we slowly angled South. We hit the summit ridge just a little North of the summit and wandered around the top for a while before deciding that there was no higher places. The views were ok to the West, but that was about it. We took a slightly more direct line back and hit the road a little South of the lean-to. It was pretty warm going up and the flies were out in force!
From here, we walked back down the road to a stream crossing. We saw a cairn but there really was no herd path. We followed the stream, changing from the right bank to the left after a while. Near 2900' we discoverd a nice old road leading along the side of the stream. We followed it for a few minutes, until we realized we needed to head west.
From here, we had two stiff climbs with very large flat areas in betewen. It started to rain at this point. Eventually we got to the false summit, East of the true summit. A short down-and-up brought us to the summit of Beaver Kill. At this point, we stopped for a food break. When we got ready to leave, we noticed that the fog had rolled in. We made sure we used the map and compass to get back to the false summit and back down the steeps to the old road. By this point it wasn't raining, but we were feeling cold and wet. We decided to see where the road went for a little while. Not wanting to meet the maintainer of the road, we turned off a little before the end and found the stream, which lead us back to the road. On the way back down the road, a large truck was parked in the middle of nowhere. There was no one in it, and no obvious place where anyone could have gone.
We got back to the car, executed about a 15 point turn with the car, and got turned around. The whole trip took about 5 hours.
We parked in the town turn around but a guy came up on his riding mower and told us that we were on private property. We protested a little, but drove up the dirt 'road' a few hundred feet, and parked on state land. It was muddy and bumpy, but we found a place where the road was wide enough for people to get by if needed.We walked up the old road until we came to the Fall Brook lean-to. It was in good shape. Once again, we found quite a few odds-n-ends at this lean-to, including a fire extinguisher, a bible, a road map, lime for the outhouse, cut and split fire wood, and several other things. From here, we took a bearing and headed East towards High Falls. We dropped a little down to a stream and then figured out exactly where we were, based on elevation. This let us know that we were a little North of the direct line to the summit, so we slowly angled South. We hit the summit ridge just a little North of the summit and wandered around the top for a while before deciding that there was no higher places. The views were ok to the West, but that was about it. We took a slightly more direct line back and hit the road a little South of the lean-to. It was pretty warm going up and the flies were out in force!
From here, we walked back down the road to a stream crossing. We saw a cairn but there really was no herd path. We followed the stream, changing from the right bank to the left after a while. Near 2900' we discoverd a nice old road leading along the side of the stream. We followed it for a few minutes, until we realized we needed to head west.
From here, we had two stiff climbs with very large flat areas in betewen. It started to rain at this point. Eventually we got to the false summit, East of the true summit. A short down-and-up brought us to the summit of Beaver Kill. At this point, we stopped for a food break. When we got ready to leave, we noticed that the fog had rolled in. We made sure we used the map and compass to get back to the false summit and back down the steeps to the old road. By this point it wasn't raining, but we were feeling cold and wet. We decided to see where the road went for a little while. Not wanting to meet the maintainer of the road, we turned off a little before the end and found the stream, which lead us back to the road. On the way back down the road, a large truck was parked in the middle of nowhere. There was no one in it, and no obvious place where anyone could have gone.
We got back to the car, executed about a 15 point turn with the car, and got turned around. The whole trip took about 5 hours.
