My wife and I climbed Lone and Rocky, becoming Catskill 35ers. The day was near perfect with sunny skies and a temperature near 60 degrees.
This was a difficult hike. About 90% of the distance involved continuous snow cover, from just a few inches along the trails leading to the bridges, to a foot along most of the Fisherman's Path, to 3'+ in the spruce traps on the east side of Lone. Only the upper slopes of Lone, before the flat summit ridge, were snow-free. Although this slowed us down at times, it did make for pretty easy navigation along the Fisherman's Path by following boot marks.
Once down the steep east face of Lone, we entered a relatively flat, more open area -- the average distance between the trees increased from several centimeters to about 2'. It was actually a very pretty place. Once we had descended about 200' down Rocky, the forest became quite open and the rest of the hike down to the Neversink was very nice through relatively open woods. At times, it seemed like we were following a trail, but the snow was too deep to tell. Total hike time was 8 1/4 hrs.
This was a difficult hike. About 90% of the distance involved continuous snow cover, from just a few inches along the trails leading to the bridges, to a foot along most of the Fisherman's Path, to 3'+ in the spruce traps on the east side of Lone. Only the upper slopes of Lone, before the flat summit ridge, were snow-free. Although this slowed us down at times, it did make for pretty easy navigation along the Fisherman's Path by following boot marks.
Once down the steep east face of Lone, we entered a relatively flat, more open area -- the average distance between the trees increased from several centimeters to about 2'. It was actually a very pretty place. Once we had descended about 200' down Rocky, the forest became quite open and the rest of the hike down to the Neversink was very nice through relatively open woods. At times, it seemed like we were following a trail, but the snow was too deep to tell. Total hike time was 8 1/4 hrs.
