BLACK MOUNTAIN LEDGES & BLACK MOUNTAIN POND: 5/4/17

On a fine spring day Mark Klim and I headed out in late morning to the Sandwich Notch area for a 6-mile loop to a big open ledge area on a shoulder of Sandwich Dome's Black Mountain, followed by a descent to beautiful Black Mountain Pond. Our route started off Sandwich Notch Road and was a combination of bushwhack, old woods roads, and an obscure path, with short sections on the Algonquin and Black Mountain Pond Trails.

There's no better time than a sunny spring day in the hardwoods.

Stone wall along the historic Old North Road, dating back to the early 1800s.

Beaver meadow along the Algonquin Trail.

A big yellow birch beside an old woods road.

Cascade on a branch of Algonquin Brook.

Hemlock forest.

Bushwhacking up a hardwood slope towards the ledges.

Pileateds at work.

Bear nests in beeches.

Bear claw marks.

Approaching the top of the hardwoods, darker woods ahead.

The first ledge, with a limited view.

In the Sandwich spruce forest.

View south from the second ledge.

Mark emerges through gateway trees.

Arriving at the main ledges by an impressive rock wall, elevation 2575 ft.

Mark atop the main ledges.

A fine view towards Black Mountain Pond, the SE ridge of Sandwich Dome, and distant horizons.

Black Mountain Pond, with conical little Young Mountain beyond.

Snooze time!

Looking towards Mount Israel and Dinsmore Mountain.

South to Kiah Pond and the Squam Range.

Southwest to the Campton Range, with a bit of Lower Hall Pond visible.

Peering west towards Carr Mountain.

Nearby to the north looms the ledgy mass of the higher Black Mountain (3500 ft.)

A rock face with some rough edges.

Parting shot of a great spot. From here we bushwhacked across to the Black Mountain Pond Trail.

There was plenty of moose sign up here.

Descending a rock chimney on this steep, rugged section of Black Mountain Pond Trail.

Looking up at the chimney, which has adequate footholds and cracks for a careful descent.

Beaver meadow at the base of the steep slope.

The moss-grown beaver dam.

Somber spruce woods.

On the SW shore of Black Mountain Pond.

Across the water to the rugged slope of Black Mountain. The perch we visited can be seen as a little bump on the flat shoulder on the L.

Mark explores the rocky shore of the pond.

Homeward bound through the hardwoods.

CATSKILLS: KAATERSKILL HIGH PEAK, 4/27/17

On Thursday, fog moved in over the eastern Catskills and persisted until noontime. Nevertheless, I headed 2.3 miles up the wet and rocky Long Path from Platte Clove towards Kaaterskill High Peak, hopeful that the sun would eventually break through.

A herd path shortcut off the Long Path leads past a clearing that was supposedly once a Mohawk Indian campsite. When I arrived here the sun had finally burned through the persistent fog.

The shortcut leads to a snowmobile trail that makes a long, high-elevation loop around the base of Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top. Many sections of this trail are swampy in spring.

The path reaches the snowmobile trail near the site of a 1987 small plane crash.

There is also some good walking on the snowmobile trail, as shown here.

The first-growth hardwood forest on this south-facing slope is magnificent.

A glimpse of the steep profile of Kaaterskill High Peak.

Spring is such a great time in the Catskill forest.

Spectacular hardwoods!

A large cairn marks the junction with the unofficial but well-beaten path that traverses Kaaterskill High Peak from south to north. Both sides are steep, but the south is steeper.

Heading up through rocky terrain.

The south approach is one of the steepest bits of climbing in the Catskills.

Approaching the first of several ledge scrambles.

Above that scramble, the path tightropes along the edge of a steep slope.

Cool sandstone formations on a little shelf between ledge bands.

Looking back.

The final pitch up to the viewpoint known as Hurricane Ledge is rather hair-raising, especially if you carry a  bulky, heavy day pack like mine.

The traverse at the top of this pitch is quite tricky.

To emerge from the chimney seen here from above, I had to take my pack off and hoist it onto a ledge overhead.

When I arrived, breathless, atop Hurricane Ledge, I saw that the eastern Devil's Path peaks were still socked in.

I sought out a lower, more western ledge that has the best view of all in this very scenic place.

What a perch!

Time to kick back for a while and savor the view across to Plateau and Hunter Mountains.

To the east, the Hudson Valley was still shrouded in fog.

There is a long view west beyond nearby Round Top Mountain to Vly and Bearpen Mountains on the horizon.

Rugged terrain up here.

The fog rolled back in after having been pushed away by the sun for three hours.

With the view disappearing, I climbed back to the main Hurricane Ledge viewspot.

Peering down at the steep path I had ascended.

The path continues another 1/4 mile up to the wooded 3655-ft. summit of KHP. This was long thought to be the highest summit in the Catskills due to its prominence as seen from the Hudson Valley. But later surveys showed that 21 Catskill peaks were higher, though the nearby hotel owners were loath to admit it.

A USGS reference marker at the summit.

A herd path leads down to a dramatic NE view perch, but the fog precluded any views.

From the summit I partly bushwhacked, partly followed a herd path down to the KHP-Round Top col. After weaving through conifers down to 3500 ft., I emerged in the first of a series of gorgeous open birch glades on this moderately inclined NW shoulder.

Delightful whacking!

Along the way I passed "The Creature from Kaaterskill."

It reminded me of the fine ridge leading up to Lone Mountain.

Approaching the col, I slithered down a little gully and found myself at the entrance to a natural stone fort.

Just above the col is what is sometimes called the "Hanging Ledge."

Front view.

Down in the col I looked for a mossy spot that is described on the interesting "Catskill Mountaineer" website as the site of the "Tory Fort," supposedly used by Tories during the Revolutionary War to hold deserters. There is another site known as the Joseph Brant Fort down on the south slope well below the snowmobile trail.

From the col I bushwhacked south back down to the snowmobile trail, passing this nicely-formed sandstone ledge.

Mossy ledges gleaming in the fog.

More fine open hardwoods.

Classic Catskill woods scenery. Once back on the snowmobile trail, I slogged four miles back to the trailhead, making it out just before dark.