Devil’s Path

The Devil’s Path is the name of a mountain range and hiking trail in the Greene County portion of New York’s Catskill Mountains. The mountains commonly considered to be part of the Devil’s Path are, from west to east, West Kill, Hunter, Plateau, Sugarloaf, Twin, and Indian Head.

The name comes from early settlers of the region, who believed the range’s craggy cliffs were specially built by the devil so that he alone could climb them and occasionally retreat from the world of men. Today, they are famous for the deep gaps between them, which get lower in elevation as the mountains between them get higher when proceeding westward on the hiking trail.

The mountains and the land around them were acquired by the state as Forest Preserve and made part of the Catskill Park in the 1920s and ’30s. Today the area is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as the Indian Head Wilderness Area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil’s_Path_(hiking_trail)

August 11, 2019 Morning

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Good morning! Happy Sunday. Three weeks to the last Sunset Before 7:30 PM 🌆. Sunny and 63 degrees at the Burnt-Rossman State Forest. 🌞 There is a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Maybe even a bit more breezy here on the mountain 🍃. The dew point is 52 degrees. It’s actually warming up quite quickly this morning and the sun is nice on this mid August morning. Shocking to think how fast though summer is coming to a close.

I kind of slept in this morning as lately I’ve been not getting enough sleep. 😴 It’s such a pleasant morning and by the time I awoke I fell nice and refreshed. I do really love the wild country of the Northern Catskills and Schoharie County and this campsite is nice being a little more open and having cellphone service. Duck Pond is pretty on a nice morning like today and it’s nice to be away from it all for a while.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 72 degrees at 3pm. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 16th. Maximum dew point of 53 at 10am. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, which became light rain by afternoon. It became humid as the day progressed. The high last year was 71 degrees. The record high of 98 was set in 1944.

The sun will set at 8:04 pm with dusk around 8:35 pm, which is one minute and 23 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 65 degrees. The dew point will be 52 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 3 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 26 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 56 degrees at 1am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 3rd. Maximum dew point of 52 at 6pm. Southwest wind around 7 mph. In 2018, we had light drizzle in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It was humid. It got down to 67 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1987.

I should think about taking down camp in a bit. ⛺ So I can get out fishing 🎣 and on with my day. It’s going to be another busy week but at least I hope to try to get to bed at a reasonable hour this week so I don’t get so tired out by the end of the week. It’s nice Schoharie County for a while and see the open country when it seems like the rest of the world is closing in. 🌎 It’s nice to know the whole world isn’t like Albany

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Sunset Before 7:30 PM 🌆 when the sun will be setting at 7:31 pm with dusk at 8:00 pm. On that day in 2018, we had mostly cloudy and temperatures between 79 and 66 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1953.

Sailor's Warning

Siberia forest fires spark potential ‘disaster’ for Arctic

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Siberia forest fires spark potential ‘disaster’ for Arctic

Gigantic forest fires have regularly raged through the vast expanses of Russia's Siberia, but the magnitude of this year's blazes has reached an exceptional level with fears of a long-term impact on the environment.

As fires sweep across millions of hectares enveloping entire cities in black smoke and noxious fumes, environmentalists warn of a disaster threatening to accelerate the melting of the Arctic.

Hunter Fire Tower Cabin

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They’ve done an amazing job restoring the old Rangers cabin at the Hunter Mountain Firetower. Beautiful wooden Adirondack lodge style furniture, and the Firetower Stewart had a fire going and I some nice blue grass music playing in the background. As I guess the stewart stays overnight there sometimes, they even had the kitchen restored and the bedroom. While today was fairly warm – 50s with a bit of a windchill – the small size of the cabin meant it was toasty even with the door open.

I love how those old ranger cabins cram so much into such little space. I wouldn’t mind having a house that size. No room for junk. Either use it or take it out to the burn pile. I also like the nice wooded slat board walls and ceiling that are durable, easy to maintain and clean. Your not going to accidentally put a boot or some heavy object like a dresser through the side of the wall. And if it breaks its relatively simple to repair and you can than use the broken board for heat in the woodstove.

I also really like the idea of wilderness living at a place only accessible by ATV, snowmobile or side by side. You can live with much less of a road that way, which discourages trespass, be farther away from others so your not bothering them with the smell of smoke, livestock or noise from guns. That said, moving livestock on and off the mountain might prove to be a challenge with a truck. Even small livestock like hogs and goats might be challenging to move on a rough road in a four wheeler trailer. Plus most mountains lack decent soil or even grasses for grazing.

At any rate, definitely check out the Hunter Firetower on a day it’s open and staffed by volunteers – namely summer weekends. The hike along the Spruceton Horse Trail is relatively quiet and prestine. Less steep than other ways up the mountain and much less used but it is a few miles longer. I really enjoyed seeing it and it’s very inspirational. I just wish I had taken pictures inside. Maybe next time.