DSettahr
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2005
- Messages
- 981
- Reaction score
- 142
Climbed West Kill from Spruceton via Diamond Notch on Monday, to finally finish climbing all the peaks along the Devil's Path (still need to do them all in one shot though! 
) It was a fairly easy day, only took us about 3 or 4 hours up and back. I hiked with my friend Sarah, as well as Dixie and Gracie, a black lab and golden retriever that belong to my sisters.
Overall, the trails were in very good shape, with little blowdown. Some mud at the summit, but not too bad. The rock overhang on the way up looked like someone had slept in it recently; there were fresh cut balsam boughs spread along the floor.
We unfortunately didn't get any views due to the clouds. I've heard that West Kill has some very nice views from the Buck Ridge Lookout though. No rain at least, but the moisture in the trees was dripping on us at the summit. No sign of any snow or ice on the ground, with the exception of a few small icicles on some rocks.
Once on the ridge, we came to a nub that we thought might be the summit, but continued on anyways just to be sure. Good thing we did, because it turned out the summit was farther west. The true summit of West Kill has a sign and a large cairn, as well as a very prominent lookout facing south (Buck Ridge Lookout) a few hundred feet to the east that also has a sign.
There was 1 other car in the parking lot at the trailhead, as well as 1 car in the parking lot on the west side of West Kill where the Devil's Path ends, but we didn't see any other hikers (or hunters). I heard a gun shot at one point, but it sounded like it was a ways off towards the north (in the vicinity of Hunter Brook and the Spruceton Trail on the other side of the valley).
Pictures Here
) It was a fairly easy day, only took us about 3 or 4 hours up and back. I hiked with my friend Sarah, as well as Dixie and Gracie, a black lab and golden retriever that belong to my sisters.Overall, the trails were in very good shape, with little blowdown. Some mud at the summit, but not too bad. The rock overhang on the way up looked like someone had slept in it recently; there were fresh cut balsam boughs spread along the floor.
We unfortunately didn't get any views due to the clouds. I've heard that West Kill has some very nice views from the Buck Ridge Lookout though. No rain at least, but the moisture in the trees was dripping on us at the summit. No sign of any snow or ice on the ground, with the exception of a few small icicles on some rocks.
Once on the ridge, we came to a nub that we thought might be the summit, but continued on anyways just to be sure. Good thing we did, because it turned out the summit was farther west. The true summit of West Kill has a sign and a large cairn, as well as a very prominent lookout facing south (Buck Ridge Lookout) a few hundred feet to the east that also has a sign.
There was 1 other car in the parking lot at the trailhead, as well as 1 car in the parking lot on the west side of West Kill where the Devil's Path ends, but we didn't see any other hikers (or hunters). I heard a gun shot at one point, but it sounded like it was a ways off towards the north (in the vicinity of Hunter Brook and the Spruceton Trail on the other side of the valley).
Pictures Here
