Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Sat 2/12

[daxs]

Several of us, at least myself, ADK46r4487 and JayH will be doing this traverse on Saturday. Our plan is to spot car(s) at the Slide trailhead and start this hike from Woodland Valley and returning to retrieve the car(s) left at Woodland Valley. We will be starting about 9. We will be camping at the Phoenicia Campground on Friday night if anyone cares to join us there before the hike. I am the limiting factor is this hike, ie I am a slow but steady hiker, so the pace will not be too fast. Dinner Saturday night after the hike, possibly Brios or the Inn at Woodland Valley.

 

[MattC]

I'm in for this one. "Slow but steady" might not be a bad idea for this anyway. I often act like a jackrabbit for the first peak of a multi-peak hike, but become fatigued later.
I look forward to meeting and hiking w/ you all. Is 9 when you'll meet at the Slide trailhead, before the car-spot, or is 9 when you hope to be leaving from Woodland Valley?

Matt

 

[daxs]

I am shooting for 9-930 at the Woodland Valley trailhead. If there are only 4 of us, leaving one car at Slide would be fine. Its about a 30-40 minute drive from Slide back to Woodland Valley. If you want to leave you car at the Slide trailhead so you can leave from there after the hike, I would plan for 8:30 at that trailhead. Now for the big question, is it snowing or raining today on the Catskills...

 

[Mark Schaefer]

To answer the rain/snow question. It has been generally all rain. Temperatures remained above freezing Wednesday night. Only the Slide Mt weather station (just under 3000') reported a trace of new snow with the snow base down to 5". So the summits may have gotten a bit of snow. The rain pulled out of the Catskills early Thursday. The weather forecasts are still stubbornly predicting a coating to 2" of snow Thursday night as the temperatures fall below freezing. That is possible as the moist air mass is still in place. Friday is calling for sun, wind, and above freezing. So any snow that does fall will probably melt or evaporate away before Saturday. You'll probably have a carry the snowshoe hike, although crampons may be useful at times. Have a fun hike.

 

[MattC]

Dax- Okay, I'll be @ Woodland Valley @ 9. I got the pm, so I have your # just in case. This should be a fun hike, even though we're having the sorriest excuse for a winter ever.

Mark-Thanks for the resource-sharing. I have little doubt that there will be even less snow than last week. This will almost certainly be a snowshoe-schlep. Oh well, we all need the workout that the extra weigh on the pack provides, right? (He ducks as the slush-balls come flying at him...)

Matt