Table Mountain > Cornell Mountain Bushwhack (Catskills)

[DSettahr]

What is the Bushwhack like between Table Mountain and Cornell Mountain in the Slide Mountain Wilderness in the Catskills? (The route following the ridge that includes Lone Mountain, Rocky Mountain, Balsam Cap, and Friday Mountain)

Is there a Herd Path along this ridge? Are there any cliffs that I would need to avoid? Is there a preferred direction to hike this ridge? Would it be better to just primitive camp along herd path up the Neversink River and hike each mountain individually?

I'm thinking about doing a 3 day trip in this area with the following itinerary:

• Day 1: Hike into Terrace Mountain lean-to from Woodland Valley and spend the night there
  
• Day 2: Hike the Burroughs Range Trail over Wittenburg, Cornell, and Slide Mountains, head south to the Table Mountain Lean-to, spend the night there
  
• Day 3: Summit Table Mountain, drop pack and run down to Peekamoose Mountain and back, then head north over Lone Mountain, Rocky Mountain, Balsam Cap, Friday Mountain, Cornell Mountain, Wittenburg Mountain, and back down to Woodland Valley Campground (possibly spend a third night at Terrace Mountain)

Has anyone ever done this route (or portions of it) who would like to comment on this itinerary? Thanks in advance.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I believe you have a good and very doable plan. A backpack has many advantages. And your plan for 2-3 nights is a good one. No doubt it also minimizes your driving miles and time.

There are no continuous herd paths for the entire route. You will find bits of paths between Table and Lone. You may be able to spot the start of a path near the Table / Peekamoose col, just a bit up on the Table side of the col. Lone - Rocky - Balsam Cap is nearly all true bushwhack with just bits of paths near the canisters. The ridge top has some thick areas which can be bypassed by dropping to either side, but as always YMMV and probably will.

From Balsam Cap to Friday there is a fairly reliable herd path (the joint routes from Moonhaw Hollow). It drops to the east side of the ridge. If you lose it don't fret as it will probably reappear. This is the area of the most ledges, but you will find a variety of ways up and down through the ledges.

Friday to Cornell (over or around the false summit of Cornell known derisively as Dink) is the greatest challenge as the conifer forest is very thick. As thick as anything I have seen in the Adirondacks. Have everything tied well down on your pack. Anything loosely attached will likely be stolen by the confiscating conifers. Some have claimed there is easy going on the east side of Dink. I have never found it and have usually gone around the west side or over the top of Dink. I have never found a good way through. I have always just put my head down and plowed. Perhaps that is why I have gone bald. There are also occasional ledges to negotiate. An eventual way through the ledges will always appear in time.

I once did a similar day hike in April 1975 of the 8 peaks (without Wittenberg) starting and ending at Winnisook Lake. My route would have been much easier from the Denning trailhead. I also had to fight through the rotten snow. Many hikers have done a loop of 6 - 9 peaks from Denning. And during the summer months it is a very doable day hike. Starting and ending at Denning also provides easy bailouts at any point of the loop.

Have fun.

 

[John H Swanson]

I agree with all that was said and it is good advice. Also note, just to be perfectly clear, the third day that you propose is VERY difficult. While some herd paths exist, unless you are very lucky or all knowing, this hike will require traversing sections where you must push through dense spruce at a rate as slow as 1/4mph but an effort as if you were hiking at 3mph. I describe it as planting xmas trees on 2 ft centers and having the branches intertwined. It will suck the energy out of you. Especially if you have a large pack. Do not have a large pack. You will need to have sufficient calories, water, and mental toughness to continue. Of course you will need to always look to select the best route while navigating. It is not a hike, it is an multi-mile obstacle course. Personal Protective Equipment (gloves, long pants and sleeves, and eyewear) is highly recommended. Injury in this area would compound self rescue. Solo travel is not really recommended.

There are a few tricks. Notably, from Lone to Rocky, the direct route is the worst. Lone/Rocky col to Rocky, going to the right (SE) avoids some of the cliffs. On Friday, when you climb the summit cone (the last 100-200 ft), it is best to circle around to the east side and climb it heading west. The dominant route leads directly to the canister. In comparison, from the west, the canister is hard to find. Friday to Cornell - DO NOT drop far off the ridge on the west side.

As a greenhorn, I did the 9 peak Denning circular as my first Catskill dayhike with 3 expereinced bushwhackers who brought me under their wings. It opened the door to a world of off trail adventure.

 

[deanmacg]

Do yourself a favor and drop off of Friday to the the head of the Neversink and shoot for the col between Cornell and Slide. It took us 3 hrs to blast through that ridge line to Cornell. Way more of a hassle then we were into at that point of our hike from the Peekamoose Rd trailhead and over 6 peaks already.

 

[mtnbound]

I just did the Friday to Peekamoose traverse on Saturday and only found faint evidence of herd paths along the way. I went old school with the map and compass so I was following a bearing and didn't have a choice to take a path of least resistance. There were some pretty tough sections to push through and climb over and around and think this would be tough with a pack. With a GPS and maybe some coordinates from other folks on potential herd path locations or easier routes, maybe it's doable a backpack?

 

[John H Swanson]

I just did the Friday to Peekamoose traverse on Saturday and only found faint evidence of herd paths along the way. I went old school with the map and compass so I was following a bearing and didn't have a choice to take a path of least resistance. There were some pretty tough sections to push through and climb over and around and think this would be tough with a pack. With a GPS and maybe some coordinates from other folks on potential herd path locations or easier routes, maybe it's doable a backpack?

One does not need to hold a specific bearing all the time to navigate with map and compass. It is possible with a map and compass to wander to the left and right of the bearing sometimes as far off bearing as 90 degrees and still hold a course. Variations from a specific bearing can be as formal as dividing the large objective into smaller sections or simply tracking your variation in degrees and the duriation of that variation. This is a skillset and once learned it alows you to wander and pick the best route from the flora presented in your visual range.

 

[mtnbound]

yeah, I did do a bit of straying off the original bearing and also once I was confident I was across the cols, I would just head upslope and around obstacles to the summits but probably would have wandered more if I had a GPS to point me in the right direction. I guess everyone's comfort zone is different based on skills/experience.

 

[Umsaskis]

I did a day hike from Denning over Table, Peekamoose, Lone, Rocky, Balsam Cap, Friday and Slide a few years back and found that the going was not bad between Friday and the Cornell/Slide col. You can move around to find enough less-dense patches and as long as you stay on the west-facing slope you won't go wrong. For your route this would require more climbing back up to Cornell than if you stuck higher on the ridge, but after that bushwhack, easy going is of the essence! I agree that you should not have a heavy pack - I was ever so glad to only have a day pack. Finding Rocky's summit was the thickest stuff I went through and the most annoying as I actually found myself going down the mountain at one point instead of up.