Mud-Hikers

[mommabear]

It's been a while since I've posted here and it's good to see familiar names still here. After finishing the 46, I focused on finishing my PhD and now this Spring and Summer, I'm free . Since Spring is not the usual time for me to hike in the Adirondacks, I'm wondering when a good time is to start hiking. I don't want to add to trail erosion and was wondering what guidelines people have. Do you follow a certain calendar time or wait for ENCON postings?

Either way, I'd appreciate your feedback. And before I forget, it's worth a reminder that Spring starts March 20th at 7:33 am (EST) - less than a month away.

 

[Barbarossa]

Vermont is close, isn't it?

Vermont has some 'mud season' guidelines.

http://www.greenmountainclub.org/mudseason.htm

Found 'em.

 

[TCD]

NYS DEC also posts guidelines each spring, with specific trails to avoid and suggestions of alternate destinations. Here's a link to last year's press release regarding this:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/press/pressrel/2004/200439.html

 

[1ADAM12]

It's been a while since I've posted here and it's good to see familiar names still here. After finishing the 46, I focused on finishing my PhD and now this Spring and Summer, I'm free . Since Spring is not the usual time for me to hike in the Adirondacks, I'm wondering when a good time is to start hiking. I don't want to add to trail erosion and was wondering what guidelines people have. Do you follow a certain calendar time or wait for ENCON postings?

Either way, I'd appreciate your feedback. And before I forget, it's worth a reminder that Spring starts March 20th at 7:33 am (EST) - less than a month away.

Mommabear,

I tend to stay away from spring hiking once the thaw has occured for reasons you mentioned. My first trip is usually Memorial Weekend or the first weekend in June. The black flies seem to be minimal unless we have a warm spring of course. Then I usually dont get back up until the end of July because them damn blood suckers will eat you alive.

 

[dr_wu002]

Catskills?

Does anyone know when the Mudseason in the Catskills is? I was hoping to do some hiking in the Catskills during the VT/NH/ADK mudseasons.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Rik]

The catskills don't seem nearly as muddy to me as other places in general. The rock in the catskills seem to let water drain better. In the ADKs it feels like the water sits on bedrock with no where to drain. Just my experience I'm no geologist.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Catskills are mostly mud free

I am not a geologist either, but I agree with Rik's assessment. The Catskill bedrock is primarily sandstone which is very porous. When it erodes it creates sand. Sand is often used to harden muddy trails, so that process happens naturally in the Catskills. Another factor is that the Catskill soils are very thin compared to the Adirondacks and other northern mountains. The thin Catskill soils are partly the result of heavy logging and agricultural use in the 19th century, but it is also just the natural state of the Catskill slopes.

The net is that the Catskills are a very good hiking locale during the time when the northern mountains are mired in mud.

 

[dr_wu002]

The net is that the Catskills are a very good hiking locale during the time when the northern mountains are mired in mud.

Thanks for the info! The Catskills are just good in general. Can't wait to get back there -- looking forward to a good solid chunk of hiking during April and May. Still planning -- mud or no -- for a Presi Traverse in Late April to celebrate my 30th.

-Dr. Wu

 

[mommabear]

Thanks for your replies. Since the ADKs don't seem to be the best option until June, does anybody know about the Lake George area for hiking in the Spring?

The Catskill bedrock is primarily sandstone which is very porous. When it erodes it creates sand. Sand is often used to harden muddy trails, so that process happens naturally in the Catskills. Another factor is that the Catskill soils are very thin compared to the Adirondacks and other northern mountains. The thin Catskill soils are partly the result of heavy logging and agricultural use in the 19th century, but it is also just the natural state of the Catskill slopes.

Also, this is interesting. I know the soil is really different in the Catskills becase it seems to have a reddish tint. I was always curious what that was and just assumed it was more clay. I also thought the ADKs were stripped down from logging. I wasn't aware that the Catskills were too and I've heard that the soil level in the ADKs is shallow - that the bedrock is pretty high. If I'm right, that could contribute to the muddiness too.

 

[Rik]

Lake George area is still the Adirondacks but does dry out well before the High Peaks. There is less snow to melt and warmer temps earlier to melt snow and dry the ground. And most of the water ends up in the Lake!

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Catskill Soils (or lack thereof)

I know the soil is really different in the Catskills becase it seems to have a reddish tint. I was always curious what that was and just assumed it was more clay. I also thought the ADKs were stripped down from logging. I wasn't aware that the Catskills were too and I've heard that the soil level in the ADKs is shallow - that the bedrock is pretty high. If I'm right, that could contribute to the muddiness too.

The Catskills were logged more heavily in the 19th century than the Adirondacks, due their closer proximity to populated areas. Many mountains were logged all the way to the summit which was generally not true of the Adirondacks. After the Catskills were logged there was more of an attempt at agriculture which resulted in more soil erosion than in the Adirondacks.

The Catskill sandstones are a mix of sand and some clay. There is red sandstone at lower elevations and gray/green/blue sandstones at higher elevations. The elevation of the change from red to gray/green/blue varies in different locations. The color is the result of environmental differences at the time the sandstone shale layers were deposited. The red contains more iron rust and indicates the deposits were laid down in more shallow water, while the gay/green/blue indicates deposits were laid down in deeper water.

The Catskill bedrock is much newer, softer, and has not been compressed nor folded. The harder Adirondack bedrock (much of it gneiss) has been compressed and folded under much pressure. The Catskill bedrock erodes relatively fast rendering the soil sandier and less muddy than the Adirondacks. The predominant soil in the Catskills is a sandy loam which is 60% sand, 30% silt, and 10% clay. The kind of black organic mud that exists near the Santanonis, Sewards, and other areas of the Adirondacks is not found in the Catskills except in the broad valleys and a relatively few Catskill bogs.

There is an old expression that the Catskills are "two stones for every dirt". That is probably true of many mountain regions. In the Catskills it may well be an understatement.

 

[MattC]

Shawangunks

As usual, Mark's comments are interesting and informative. I'll just add another area-the Shawangunks, which are in the shadow of the Catskills, and are also relatively mud free, at least along the ridgetops. They are primarily made up of an extremely hard, white conglomerate, basically a natural concrete. The tops of the Shawangunk Ridge drain rapidly and remain very dry. It's a different story down in the cloves, particularly in places along the Coxing Kill.

Matt