halia and flammeus
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The much discussed, eagerly anticipated ascent of Slide from the Neversink occurred on 9/1! Flammeus and I, with Iske and Lily, hit the trail at 9:00 a.m.
Denning trailhead might be my favorite trailhead in the Catskills – it is such a reward after the long drive. Our first time there we met Mr. Tison (of the Tison Trust – the owners of that gorgeous spot and much of the surrounding woodland). His dog is a Belgian groenendael (same breed as Lily), so of course we have a special fondness for the place! Pulling in at 8:45 a.m., the trail/woods looked amazingly dark. A touch foreboding…
We walked the first 1.2 miles holding hands (aww…), and I was thinking how nice it will be to finish the hike in the same way. The PE trail, from Denning to the intersection with the blue trail is a woods road, and is wide enough and smooth enough to walk easily, swinging your arms and chatting about anything. A very easy and pleasant start to a long hike.
The bridges over the Deer Shanty and Neversink have been improved since our last time out – handrails and everything! Thanks to those that did that work. The dogs had their dip and we headed off in search of the “fisherman’s trail.”
That dang trail played hide and seek with us for the next four or so miles. Now you see it, now you don’t. In some places, it was as well worn and clearly defined as any blazed maintained trail out there. And then, precipitously, it would vanish into hobblebush thickets. I managed to slice open my shin (bruise and cut – I had a lot of forward momentum!) stumbling over a log, and I fell in the river (only once). For those of you into gear – I wore my new Mountain Hardware super duper hiking pants, purchased at the New Paltz salvation army for a buck – they did not rip. And I wore my waterproof hiking boots – hot but my feet stayed dry despite my splash.
We did not see any painted-over blazes (we looked), and we did not see the marker Mudhook pointed out to us. We found that every time we crossed to the north side of the Neversink, we lost the trail, and (I admit it) twice we actually lost the Neversink. I was very focused on not wandering south, following Donovan or some unnamed tributary, so I kept over-correcting. Flammeus was compass bearer, and his work kept us on track. We managed to miss the “fork” in the river – the water level is quite low and there are tons of unnamed, not-on-the-map little streams that come down off Lone or Rocky, so we were never really sure where we were and how far we’d gone. Frequent compass checks and hiking in the nearly dry streambed was our strategy as we got further and further in. Finally, we were in the fully dry streambed, gaining elevation and heading north, when we ran out of streambed. After about 10 steps of pushing through balsams, we found ourselves in a tiny clearing, and I “geared up” (long sleeves, tightened boots laces, etc.). We battened down the hatches on the packs, and got psyched for the formal bushwack part of the hike.
After maybe 10 minutes of extremely moderate balsam abuse, we were in a campsite. Ten steps more, and we were on the WCS trail. I was actually disappointed that the bushwack part wasn’t longer or more difficult! My facial expression must have been precious, standing there on the trail in total amazement that it was over. Sheesh. A piece of cake indeed. The balsams were not much of a challenge at all, and the elevation gain was extremely gradual.
And so we headed west. Flammeus was tired, but I was too exhilarated to be really tired. The dogs were tired. At the spring just east of the ladders/stairs, Iske took a nap, resting her head on a rock. We were low on water, and filtered two more bottles there. Flammeus was beginning to wilt – it was good to stop, and rest a little and have nice cold spring water. I was too summit-focused to mind that I was tired and a tad footsore.
The view from the top of the ladders was spectacular. Just gorgeous. We arrived at the summit a bit before 3 pm, and we were all alone up there. On a holiday weekend, on a gorgeous day… but a couple of folks soon showed up. Flammeus and I lay on our backs on the rocks, just soaking it up. We ate, drank, fed the dogs (yes, I carried dogfood in my pack) and rested. Then we started down.
The views at the open spot just east of the summit are beginning to close in – at my height, I can’t see all that much. Just west of the summit, at the north facing lookout, the views are magnificent. Three firetowers visible. Ravens croaking.
Views at the first lookout on the Curtis Ormsbee trail are also growing in a little – the view of Table is awesome, and then there is Lone, but for me, no view of Rocky. I think someone taller could probably see Rocky and Friday. Second viewspot – there’s Doubletop and Graham, and loads more. Sun was beginning to cast long shadows… we’re all tired now.
At the trail intersection (C/O and PE) we met a group of Princeton University freshmen doing their “orientation.” How cool is that????? We gave their leader some very excited feedback about the hike they were planning.
3 miles back to the car. I actually said “I’m done with all this walking.” After a couple of decent drinks at streams along the way, Iske and Lily revived to the point where they were arguing over sticks and begging to play fetch. Flammeus was mumbling incoherently about ice cream and beer. I was busy finding the next thing to worry about – the daughter left home alone, and what she might have done to the house in our absence. Classic end of the hike stuff. We did get to do the last 1.2 miles holding hands. We arrived at the car at 6 p.m.
Warm thanks to all who gave us information and support. Special mention to Hermit – our chat on Sunday was really helpful, as was all of the input we received from the thread I started. It was a long day, and all that mental effort around following the fisherman’s trail and then following the river tired us out more than I realized. The risk of getting badly lost in that area was ever present for me – unlike my spazz out on Halcott which just meant a long road walk, a navigational error in these parts would mean an unplanned overnight for sure. We always carry the gear to do that relatively safely (warmth, rain protection, 3 different ways to start a fire, headlamps, etc), but we’d be damned uncomfortable, and our kids would be panicked. We were so delighted with how well it went, and so thrilled to not only check off the peak bagging box, but to enjoy such a varied and full day out. This was a hike with a little of everything – easy stroll, tough ascent, bushwack, rock-hopping on a river… it was a great day.
Can’t wait for the next one!
Denning trailhead might be my favorite trailhead in the Catskills – it is such a reward after the long drive. Our first time there we met Mr. Tison (of the Tison Trust – the owners of that gorgeous spot and much of the surrounding woodland). His dog is a Belgian groenendael (same breed as Lily), so of course we have a special fondness for the place! Pulling in at 8:45 a.m., the trail/woods looked amazingly dark. A touch foreboding…
We walked the first 1.2 miles holding hands (aww…), and I was thinking how nice it will be to finish the hike in the same way. The PE trail, from Denning to the intersection with the blue trail is a woods road, and is wide enough and smooth enough to walk easily, swinging your arms and chatting about anything. A very easy and pleasant start to a long hike.
The bridges over the Deer Shanty and Neversink have been improved since our last time out – handrails and everything! Thanks to those that did that work. The dogs had their dip and we headed off in search of the “fisherman’s trail.”
That dang trail played hide and seek with us for the next four or so miles. Now you see it, now you don’t. In some places, it was as well worn and clearly defined as any blazed maintained trail out there. And then, precipitously, it would vanish into hobblebush thickets. I managed to slice open my shin (bruise and cut – I had a lot of forward momentum!) stumbling over a log, and I fell in the river (only once). For those of you into gear – I wore my new Mountain Hardware super duper hiking pants, purchased at the New Paltz salvation army for a buck – they did not rip. And I wore my waterproof hiking boots – hot but my feet stayed dry despite my splash.
We did not see any painted-over blazes (we looked), and we did not see the marker Mudhook pointed out to us. We found that every time we crossed to the north side of the Neversink, we lost the trail, and (I admit it) twice we actually lost the Neversink. I was very focused on not wandering south, following Donovan or some unnamed tributary, so I kept over-correcting. Flammeus was compass bearer, and his work kept us on track. We managed to miss the “fork” in the river – the water level is quite low and there are tons of unnamed, not-on-the-map little streams that come down off Lone or Rocky, so we were never really sure where we were and how far we’d gone. Frequent compass checks and hiking in the nearly dry streambed was our strategy as we got further and further in. Finally, we were in the fully dry streambed, gaining elevation and heading north, when we ran out of streambed. After about 10 steps of pushing through balsams, we found ourselves in a tiny clearing, and I “geared up” (long sleeves, tightened boots laces, etc.). We battened down the hatches on the packs, and got psyched for the formal bushwack part of the hike.
After maybe 10 minutes of extremely moderate balsam abuse, we were in a campsite. Ten steps more, and we were on the WCS trail. I was actually disappointed that the bushwack part wasn’t longer or more difficult! My facial expression must have been precious, standing there on the trail in total amazement that it was over. Sheesh. A piece of cake indeed. The balsams were not much of a challenge at all, and the elevation gain was extremely gradual.
And so we headed west. Flammeus was tired, but I was too exhilarated to be really tired. The dogs were tired. At the spring just east of the ladders/stairs, Iske took a nap, resting her head on a rock. We were low on water, and filtered two more bottles there. Flammeus was beginning to wilt – it was good to stop, and rest a little and have nice cold spring water. I was too summit-focused to mind that I was tired and a tad footsore.
The view from the top of the ladders was spectacular. Just gorgeous. We arrived at the summit a bit before 3 pm, and we were all alone up there. On a holiday weekend, on a gorgeous day… but a couple of folks soon showed up. Flammeus and I lay on our backs on the rocks, just soaking it up. We ate, drank, fed the dogs (yes, I carried dogfood in my pack) and rested. Then we started down.
The views at the open spot just east of the summit are beginning to close in – at my height, I can’t see all that much. Just west of the summit, at the north facing lookout, the views are magnificent. Three firetowers visible. Ravens croaking.
Views at the first lookout on the Curtis Ormsbee trail are also growing in a little – the view of Table is awesome, and then there is Lone, but for me, no view of Rocky. I think someone taller could probably see Rocky and Friday. Second viewspot – there’s Doubletop and Graham, and loads more. Sun was beginning to cast long shadows… we’re all tired now.
At the trail intersection (C/O and PE) we met a group of Princeton University freshmen doing their “orientation.” How cool is that????? We gave their leader some very excited feedback about the hike they were planning.
3 miles back to the car. I actually said “I’m done with all this walking.” After a couple of decent drinks at streams along the way, Iske and Lily revived to the point where they were arguing over sticks and begging to play fetch. Flammeus was mumbling incoherently about ice cream and beer. I was busy finding the next thing to worry about – the daughter left home alone, and what she might have done to the house in our absence. Classic end of the hike stuff. We did get to do the last 1.2 miles holding hands. We arrived at the car at 6 p.m.
Warm thanks to all who gave us information and support. Special mention to Hermit – our chat on Sunday was really helpful, as was all of the input we received from the thread I started. It was a long day, and all that mental effort around following the fisherman’s trail and then following the river tired us out more than I realized. The risk of getting badly lost in that area was ever present for me – unlike my spazz out on Halcott which just meant a long road walk, a navigational error in these parts would mean an unplanned overnight for sure. We always carry the gear to do that relatively safely (warmth, rain protection, 3 different ways to start a fire, headlamps, etc), but we’d be damned uncomfortable, and our kids would be panicked. We were so delighted with how well it went, and so thrilled to not only check off the peak bagging box, but to enjoy such a varied and full day out. This was a hike with a little of everything – easy stroll, tough ascent, bushwack, rock-hopping on a river… it was a great day.
Can’t wait for the next one!
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