Catskills: Blackhead Mountain, 3/18/24

 For a number of years, through 2019, Carol and I spent a few days each spring in the Catskill Mountains, usually in late April. In the spring these beautiful mountains, with their open forests of hardwoods and hemlocks (replaced by spruce and fir only on the highest peaks), are often mostly snow-free - this year much earlier than usual. Though there are no open summits with 360-degree views, the Catskills offer numerous and dramatic 180-degree vistas from flat sandstone ledges. The elevations are modest, but there are some rugged trails here where you'll be scrambling with hands as well as feet.

For those unfamiliar with the Catskills, there is a list of 33 peaks (formerly 35, two were removed three years ago due to private land issues) - the 3500-footers - that one may climb to attain membership in the Catskill 3500 Club. To earn the patch, you must climb four specific peaks again in winter. I climbed my first Catskill peaks - Wittenberg, Cornell and Slide - on a Boy Scout backpacking trip in 1966. (Though 90% of my hiking since then has been in the White Mountains, these are, in a sense, my home mountains.) I finished my all-season 3500 peaks in 2019, but kept putting off winter trips to re-climb the four required peaks: Balsam, Blackhead, Panther and Slide. After a five-year absence from the Catskills, our mid-March trip to New Jersey provided an opportunity to at least get started on those winter peaks.

Monday, March 18, our first full day in the Catskills, looked the most promising for partial sun and good views. I opted for a climb of Blackhead Mountain just a 15-minute drive from our rented condo. At 3940 ft., Blackhead is the fourth highest peak in the Cats, and there are two excellent viewpoints, one down off each side of the summit. The three-peak Blackhead Range has long been one of my favorite Catskill haunts, and I had climbed Blackhead twice via bushwhack routes from the south. This time I would ascend by trail from the north, with the option to do some bushwhacking to additional viewpoints on the south side. After a scenic drive up Big Hollow Road (with their many open fields, Catskill back roads are stunningly beautiful), I set off on the red-marked trail leading up to Lockwood Gap, the col between Blackhead and Black Dome.

It was chilly and windy, and an overnight dusting of snow made it feel more like a winter hike compared to the recent balmy stretch that had melted out the winter's snowpack at all but the highest elevations.

Blackhead looms ahead as the trail ascends by switchbacks towards Lockwood Gap.

A more wintry look above 3000 ft.

Weather-beaten hardwoods in Lockwood Gap (3430 ft.).

Guardians of the Gap.

A steep climb to the west-facing view ledge on Blackhead.

From the ledge, a fine view across the Gap to Black Dome, third highest in the Catskills. With a Lidar elevation of 3994 ft., it just misses 4000-footer status.

A wide SW view to a number of Catskill high peaks. It turned out to be a spectacular day!

In the distance on the left: Balsam Cap, Friday, Wittenburg, Cornell, Table and Slide, highest in the Catskills at 4185 ft. To the right of Slide is the broad mass of Hunter, the other 4000-footer. Then West Kill, Graham, a slice of Balsam, and Rusk.

These two guys had started about the same time as me and had looped over the summit of Blackhead via the very steep and notoriously icy NE approach via the Escarpment Trail. They were continuing on to Black Dome and Thomas Cole - a full day on the Blackhead Range.

Heading across the long, nearly level crest of Blackhead.

Junction with the Escarpment Trail at the summit.

This inscribed ledge is a longtime landmark a short distance SE of the summit. The former view here is fully overgrown.

I continued 0.2 mile SE down the Escarpment Trail, with several little down-scrambles.

Here the trail passes by a ledge with a tremendous sweeping view east over the Hudson Valley and out to distant ridges in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. The nearby peak known as Arizona is seen in the center of the photo. Rounded Mount Everett in Massachusetts is prominent on the horizon to the left of Arizona. The dropoff to the valley below is more than 3000 ft., and to the Hudson it is 3900 ft.!

To the north is nearby Acra Point with peaks in the southern Adirondacks in the distance.

There was virtually no wind here, nice spot to hang out for a while.

From here I made a bushwhack loop to two viewpoints on the south side of Blackhead. Had some nice open woods at the start.

On two bushwhack ascents of Blackhead - one solo and one with Mike Dickerman - I had traversed the long south ridge of the mountain. The upper ridge bears several meadow-like  areas surrounded by scrubby trees.

Another distant view beyond Arizona.

From an open clifftop, a vista across the broad, remote East Kill valley to Stoppel Point, Kaaterskill High Peak, Round Top, Indian Head and Twin. Lake Capra is seen below.

A classic view of the Devil's Path peaks beyond Blackhead's south ridge. Colgate Lake is seen under Plateau Mountain. In the distance on the right is the Burroughs Range, including Slide Mountain.

From here I traversed NW across the steep south face of the mountain, soon gaining a peek towards Lockwood Gap.

It was slow going through dense, clinging deciduous scrub.

Rugged terrain with interesting rock formations.

Careful foot placement required.

I eventually made my way to one of several exposed rocks I had spotted on Google Earth.

As I had hoped, there was a beautiful view down the trailless valley between the southern ridges of Blackhead and Black Dome. Mike Dickerman and I whacked up this valley in 2015, summiting Blackhead and then descending via the south ridge.

From the view spot the climb back to the summit of Blackhead was steep and thick, and I was happy to reach the trail. Below Lockwood Gap, the overnight snow had mostly melted, making for a pleasant descent. On the way down I paused to admire this cascade on the Batavia Kill. Winter peak #1 was in the books.