outdoors | Page 7 | Andy Arthur.org

Hiking to Rossman Hill Lean-To

Andy | April 4, 2010

I’ve camped up at Burnt-Rossman State Forest a couple of dozen times. It’s one of my favorite places to go out truck camping, with it’s remote and quiet nature, and while I had known from maps that there was a lean-to up there, that one could hike to, I had never actually visited it. I had spent the previous night tent camping, and being up early, decided to check out the lean-to.

The lean-to is located on the section of the Long Path that crosses Morey Road, just south of Rossman Hill Road, right next to the old cemetary. Alternatively, you can access the lean-to from Burnt Hill Road, just up the hill from where Duck Pond Road splits off. The lean-to is located about a 1/2 mile from either road. Regardless of which way you choose to go, it’s a nice level hike through marshes and old timber stands.

And old woods roads…

As you past by the headwaters of the Cole Brook, which ultimately helps feed the Schoharie Creek.

And the lean-to is really nice looking and only used occassionally, mostly by the locals.

And it’s nearby a spring, or at least a marshy area that never gets wet.

It’s definately some place I would like to stay some day.

Here is a map:

View Rossman Hill Lean-To in a larger map

Mount Utsayathana in Early Spring

Andy | April 3, 2010

Two weekends ago I was planning to go hiking up Huntersfield Mountain, but when the trail conditions and time remaining wouldn’t cooperate, I decided to head over to Mount Utsayathana in Stamford.

I fully expected to have to hike up the mountain because the steep and narrow truck trail would be unplowed, very muddy, and possibility icy. With the truck trail hanging right along the shoulder of the mountain without guard rail, you don’t want to fool around.

Quite to my surprise, it was only a little muddy up top, but the rest of the trail was dry. The top of the mountain had some snow drifts, but it had been plowed throughout the winter.

It was a beautiful early spring day out there, looking down at Stamford from the porch of the Utsayathana Mountain House. Things are starting to green up down there, and signs of spring are in the air.

Walked over to the fire tower, and climbed on up.

View out of the Firetower windows.

Looking East towards Huntersfield Mountain and the low lands towards Grand George.

And the western mountains of the Catskills, and the deep agricultural valleys within in them.

Towards the North the ridge continues on a little ways to Bald Mountain, then you get into the standard ridged landscape that covers most of Upstate New York.

Here is a map.

View Larger Map

Do make sure to check out the same great views from when I was up there six months ago in peak folliage of October.

Middleburgh Cliff

Andy | March 21, 2010

Directly to the East of Middleburgh there is a long narrow landform known as “The Cliff”. It’s a 500 foot high hill, with about 40 feet high cliffs, overlooking Middleburgh and Schoharie to the west. Cotton Hill sits above it to the east. While privately owned by the owners of the dairy farms in the valley below, the Long Path crosses it and you can use it to explore the cliffs.

As you climb the hill on the Long Path, looking backyards there are broken views.

When your almost to the top of the Cliffs, there is a quick scramble over this ridge. This is a section that is very much hand and knees, you’ll probably toss your pack up and then climb up to retrieve it.

After you get to the top, you have some views to the south, including Vromans Nose.

Further along the trail you get some broken and then improving views of the Schoharie Valley just north of the Middleburgh. In the background is Middleburgh Roundtop Valley, and where NY 145 climbs the ridge to get over to East Cobelskill.

The agricultural flat lands south of Middleburgh.

The new more suburban section of Middleburgh, with the older village in the background. I never understood why people would live out in the sticks, but also live in a suburban subdivision in a classic small village.

A dairy farm along NY 30 north of Middleburgh.

All and all, this hike doesn’t provide amazing remote lands, but still has some interesting agricultural views of the fertile Schoharie Valley. Taking no longer then a total of a 45 minutes round trip, it’s a nice hike to do with Vromans Nose or take the trail farther west to Cotton Hill Lean-To.

View Cliff of Middleburgh in a larger map

Cotton Hill Lean-To in Late Winter

Andy | March 21, 2010

For the first day of spring it was around 65 degrees and sunny. The forecast promised only to get down into the upper 50s. The snow was gone in Albany, but in the mountains there was several feet. A top Cotton Hill, there was about two feet of snow.

Amazingly enough when I got up there, I was the only person who had been up to the lean-to since the last snow storm, probably two weeks ago now. It was very quiet except for the sounds of nature, from the snowy owl to the churbing robins.

Reaching the lean-to, with gear all set up for the the night.

My backpack, and flannel shirts.

Sitting in the lean-to, looking at the setting sun. At the front of the lean-to, snow had melted off the roof, and was piling up in the front, creating a snow berm, keeping cool drafts away. Ironically, at this point due to the warm weather, I was sitting in a t-shirt and no jacket on.

As I enjoy a nice a fire.

And night rapidly approaches.

At times it was a bit smokey in the lean-to, as I played on my cellphone, jotted down some notes, read some books, and just enjoyed the first night of spring.

It was a nice night. When I woke up, it was a gray cloudy morning and I made up some breakfast and got cleaned up.

And I packed my bags…

Burned my garbage from the past night…

And off I went, down to the truck, then off to Middleburgh Cliff. Here is a map of where the lean-to is.

View Cotton Hill Lean To in a larger map

Black Mountain Snowmobile Trail

Andy | March 7, 2010

Black Mountain is the tallest peak between Lake George and Lake Champlain and contains an old fire tower that is currently used by the DEC Forest Rangers for communications equipment. It’s elevation is 2,640 feet, however accessing it from Pike Brook Road Parking area, your already at over 1,700 feet after driving up the very scenic Huletts Landing Road from NY 22.

In the winter, the old woods road up Black Mountain is also a low-speed and narrow snowmobile trail that has occassional snowmobiles on it. At 3 miles, it’s a relatively short hike with an elevation gain of about 900 feet.

The first 1.2 miles up the mountain the trail is relatively flat. After the split between the valley trail to Black Mountain Pond and other lakes running down towards Lake George, and the trail up Black Mountain Fire Tower. The next 1.6 miles is much steeper, as the trail winds up the mountain following a Jeep Trail with many switchbacks.

As you start climbing, you get a broken view of the fire tower on top of Black Mountain.

The snowmobile / old woods trail is narrow and steep as it winds up to the top of the mountain.

Reaching the top of the mountain, you can see the DEC Forest Ranger Communication Tower, with wind turbine, solar panel, and fire tower converted to communications tower. It’s disappointing that they had to convert the tower to a communications tower, because it would have otherwise provided nice views to the south.

Looking across Lake George towards Five Mile Mountain and the Adirondack Mountain in the distance.

North on Lake George. In the foreground is Hague, farther in the distance is Elphant Mountain, the end of Lake George and the La Chute River down pass Ticonderoga.

Looking to the North-West off Black Mountain. In the foreground is Sugar Loaf Mountain, and just beyond that is the “Drowned Lands”, the marshy farm lands surrounding the southern portion of Lake Champlain. Even further beyond that is the Green Mountains in Vermont.

Elephant Mountain, near Ticonderoga.

Here is a map of the hike.

View Black Mountain Hike in a larger map

The Evening Walk

Andy | March 2, 2010

One of my favorite activities is the evening walk. I go out almost every night for a 2.5 mile walk, to spend about 45 minutes clearing my mind, looking at the stars, and just observing nature. It’s a chance for my legs to get out and stretch, and to enjoy some fresh air after a day stuck in a stuffy office.

I go out nearly every night regardless of the weather. Sometimes it’s hot out. Other times it’s frigid and the cold winds are blowing snow in my face. Sometimes it’s raining. Other nights, it’s totally pleasant, and I see half a dozen different people walking dogs or going down to the local convenience mart.

I really dislike missing my evening walk. I’ve been doing it for almost 6-years every night, and when I miss it I feel as though I am missing something important. My legs don’t feel right just heading home. I think something important is missing in my day if I miss the evening walk.

Hunter Mountain via Spruceton Horse Trail

Andy | February 21, 2010

On Sunday, February 21, 2010 I got up at 5 AM and started out on the Spruceton Horse Trail to Hunter Mountain around 8 AM. Previously I went up Hunter Mountain using the much steeper Mink Hollow Trail, which in a couple of parts would be challenging to snowshoe for a novice like myself. The Spruceton Trail is 3.5 miles and an accent of 1,900 feet versus Mink Hollow Trail at 2.1 miles and 2,200 feet accent.

Here I am starting up the mountain, with trail-less high peak Rusk Mountain in the distance.

The Old Hunter Road (abandoned 1937) is straight, wide, and modest ascent. With the sun rising, I had issues with snow blindness, but it offered some interesting broken views of West Kill Mountain in the background.

About half-way up the Mountain, you reach the “saddle” between Rusk and Hunter Mountain. After snowshoeing for a little over an hour, with this sign telling you there is 1.7 miles to go, an accent of 1,100 feet is a bit discouraging, but so be it.

After about 2 hours of snowshoeing I reached the spring. The past half hour of hiking, from the saddle up to the spring, may not be a long distance at 1/2 mile, it is a vigrous but not not steep 500 foot ascent by an old but wide abandoned truck trail.

The AMC’s Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley suggests that one has to be careful with drinking out of this spring, because thirsty horseback riders sometimes bring their horses back to give them a drink too, ignoring the sign.

Going a little bit farther past the spring, you come across the trail down to the John Robb Lean To. About 1/4 mile and 100 feet below the Spruceton Trail, after going a narrow little rock crevice, there is the Spruceton Leanto.

From the Lean To, it’s approximately 1 mile to the Hunter Fire Tower. The next mile is either flat or a slight ascent, until you reach the last 1/4 mile of the trail where is ascent quickly with switchbacks, but again, not steeply.

Finally after about 4 1/2 hours of snowshoeing (including breaks and taking photos), I reached the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower. By now it had clouded up, and it reminds one of a picture out of a movie.

It felt good to get the snowshoes off, stop, and have some lunch for an extended break.

Looking North off the Fire Tower towards the Catskills famous TriMount-range aka Thomas Cole, Black Dome, and Black Head Mountains.

To the due east one can see Catskill’s Sunset Point, the upper Hudson Valley near Catskill, and in the distance, the Taconics, including the other Sunset Point in the Taconic State Park.

It was frigid on the fire tower with the winds blowing. Off the tower it wasn’t quite so bad. After spending a little time relaxing at the picnic table, and putting another layer of clothes on, I headed south along the blue trail to the Hunter Mountain Overlook which overlooks the South-Western Catskills.

Reaching the Hunter Mountain Overlook, the views where quite amazing, showing mountains from Mount Tremper to the east to West Kill Mountain in the West.

The saddle between Hunter and West Kill Mountain. It was amazingly beautiful.

After taking half a dozen photos at the Overlook, I headed back to the Fire Tower, and went up it once again. Here I am looking to the North West towards Blenheim Mountain and Schoharie County. The former Hunter Mountain Ranger’s cabin is in the foreground, with a snowboarder who snowshoed with board on back from Hunter Mountain Ski Resort on the balcony.

Here is South Hunter Mountain, looking due South.

Heading back down the trail, looking at Rusk Mountain.

I arrived back to my truck around 4 PM. I was tired, as snowshoeing is a lot more work then hiking. Snowshoes kind of drag on the snow, and the cold just makes everything a bit more tiresome. Yet, the beauty was amazing even at a balmy 22 degrees.

Make sure to browse all of the amazing photos from the hike up there. Also, see my April 12, 2009 trip up to Hunter Mountain via Mink Hollow.

Here is the map of the Spruceton Horse Trail up Hunter Mountain.

View Hike to Hunter Mountain via Spruceton Trail in a larger map