Edelweiss
New member
It looks like the trail report falls to me this time, so ........
Dick, Alan, and I took what proved to be a shorter route from Albany area and managed to arrive a few minutes before 8:30 a.m at the Roaring Kill Trailhead. Rob pulled in a seconds later, having left home in New Jersey very early that morning. We left Rob's car at Roaring Kill and drove my car up the roller coaster that is Plattekill to a parking area. Although a bit humid, our 6.8 mile walk was delightful - temps in the high 70's - gentle winds - varied terrain. Rob's choice of route was excellent. The hike begins on a nature trail, complete with plaques detailing info. about trees, plants, history of the area etc. We passed a small bluestone quarry. Some creative people had made several stone chairs - a nice place to pause for a few moments. The path we followed is part of the Long Trail and joins up with the Devil's Path. As we headed up towards Indian Head, our first peak, we encountered rock scrambles interspersed with gentle, wooded flats - cushy pine needles under foot and the aroma of balsam. Dick handled the sometimes challenging cliff ascents gingerly but successfully - he is determined that his hand surgery won't interrupt his hiking. Bookah, our amazing canine companion, needed some assistance but, because she trusts her "father," allowed Alan to hoist her up (and later down) some otherwise impossible boulders. We took several "ledge breaks" so I could take pictures. I brought along my new Rebel for these ledge and summit shots but continued to take snapshots to document the hike with my smaller Nikon Coolpix 4300. There were no views on the top of Indian Head Mt. but we did stop on a ledge shortly before the treed summit. We met three young people from north of NYC who were doing a multi-day backpack. We were taken aback by the weight of their packs - 60#, yikes . One of the three had hiked and backpacked before, but the other two were novices. I hope this first experience doesn't discourage them from getting into the woods again! Our lunch stop was the col between IH and the two Twins. We met a boy and his mother at the col. They had left the third member of their party (dad/husband) who had developed a leg cramp, to hike back out alone while mother and son hiked up Twin. We resumed our climb to the first Twin and reached the true second Twin summit a short time later. More hazy shots of the Hudson River, Ashokan Reservoir, Sugarloaf Mt. and (we think) Peekamoose and Table Mts. Our trip back down was slow partially due to Dick's hand, assistance for Bookah and the general steepness of the rocky trail. We paused to take pics and enjoy the views from a giant bluestone quarry complete with stone chairs near the Roaring Kill TH parking lot. This is a worthwhile destination for anyone who wants a short jaunt in the woods. That was in fact the case for a young family we met on the trail as we headed back to the TH. Rob surprised us with iced tea/Mountain Dew softdrinks when we reached the car. Thanks guys, for a fun day!!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=tdpb2qu.bbtk0skm&Uy=-apmtmn&Ux=0
Dick, Alan, and I took what proved to be a shorter route from Albany area and managed to arrive a few minutes before 8:30 a.m at the Roaring Kill Trailhead. Rob pulled in a seconds later, having left home in New Jersey very early that morning. We left Rob's car at Roaring Kill and drove my car up the roller coaster that is Plattekill to a parking area. Although a bit humid, our 6.8 mile walk was delightful - temps in the high 70's - gentle winds - varied terrain. Rob's choice of route was excellent. The hike begins on a nature trail, complete with plaques detailing info. about trees, plants, history of the area etc. We passed a small bluestone quarry. Some creative people had made several stone chairs - a nice place to pause for a few moments. The path we followed is part of the Long Trail and joins up with the Devil's Path. As we headed up towards Indian Head, our first peak, we encountered rock scrambles interspersed with gentle, wooded flats - cushy pine needles under foot and the aroma of balsam. Dick handled the sometimes challenging cliff ascents gingerly but successfully - he is determined that his hand surgery won't interrupt his hiking. Bookah, our amazing canine companion, needed some assistance but, because she trusts her "father," allowed Alan to hoist her up (and later down) some otherwise impossible boulders. We took several "ledge breaks" so I could take pictures. I brought along my new Rebel for these ledge and summit shots but continued to take snapshots to document the hike with my smaller Nikon Coolpix 4300. There were no views on the top of Indian Head Mt. but we did stop on a ledge shortly before the treed summit. We met three young people from north of NYC who were doing a multi-day backpack. We were taken aback by the weight of their packs - 60#, yikes . One of the three had hiked and backpacked before, but the other two were novices. I hope this first experience doesn't discourage them from getting into the woods again! Our lunch stop was the col between IH and the two Twins. We met a boy and his mother at the col. They had left the third member of their party (dad/husband) who had developed a leg cramp, to hike back out alone while mother and son hiked up Twin. We resumed our climb to the first Twin and reached the true second Twin summit a short time later. More hazy shots of the Hudson River, Ashokan Reservoir, Sugarloaf Mt. and (we think) Peekamoose and Table Mts. Our trip back down was slow partially due to Dick's hand, assistance for Bookah and the general steepness of the rocky trail. We paused to take pics and enjoy the views from a giant bluestone quarry complete with stone chairs near the Roaring Kill TH parking lot. This is a worthwhile destination for anyone who wants a short jaunt in the woods. That was in fact the case for a young family we met on the trail as we headed back to the TH. Rob surprised us with iced tea/Mountain Dew softdrinks when we reached the car. Thanks guys, for a fun day!!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=tdpb2qu.bbtk0skm&Uy=-apmtmn&Ux=0
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