2016-09-03 - Catskills Trip
I stopped, stood still. Wind-washed leaves whispered secrets to my beating heart. I smiled, walked forward, feet rustling the long grass and poles crashing into rocks. Two friends were with me - Tom and Neil. Tom and I had finished the one-day 50-mile Freewalkers Big Walk in May. Neil, I had met on the Shorewalkers walk from the George Washington Bridge to Nyack. We all loved hiking and I had invited them to join me for three days of doing what we love in the Catskills.
The first two mornings we set off before sunrise, hiking out of darkness into the dawn. During that first expedition, we were bested by Devil's Path, giving up halfway after 13.8 miles of rugged terrain and four peaks above 3500 feet. It was the hardest hike any of us had done and love at first sight.
The Escarpment Trail on Day 2 of our Catskills trip was beautiful. Neil, Tom, and I hiked through scenes immortalized by painters of the Hudson River School. With sunlight streaming like water amongst trees clinging to the cliffside, I joked that this was what motivational posters are made of. Twelve miles in though, we were disappointed to discover that a dry water source and cut the hike short to be safe. We successfully asked some friendly hikers for water and at eighteen miles, it was still the longest day hike any of us had ever done up to that point. On a bright note, that night we saw one of the tallest waterfalls in the United States: a narrow stream of water tumbling 280 feet over two sheer drop-offs into depths far below.
We enjoyed the Escarpment Trail so much, we decided to finish it on the third day, and even added a new section. We saw our campground in morning light for the first and only time that last morning. The trail was, of course, still gorgeous. Tom speeded down the gentle downhill slope at the end while I slowed down to take photos, not wanting the journey to end. Neil remarked that he had not found his limit yet. I hoped that we might discover it together one day. We didn’t cover as many miles as hoped and returned with some minor injuries but I can’t complain. This is the good life.
The first two mornings we set off before sunrise, hiking out of darkness into the dawn. During that first expedition, we were bested by Devil's Path, giving up halfway after 13.8 miles of rugged terrain and four peaks above 3500 feet. It was the hardest hike any of us had done and love at first sight.
The Escarpment Trail on Day 2 of our Catskills trip was beautiful. Neil, Tom, and I hiked through scenes immortalized by painters of the Hudson River School. With sunlight streaming like water amongst trees clinging to the cliffside, I joked that this was what motivational posters are made of. Twelve miles in though, we were disappointed to discover that a dry water source and cut the hike short to be safe. We successfully asked some friendly hikers for water and at eighteen miles, it was still the longest day hike any of us had ever done up to that point. On a bright note, that night we saw one of the tallest waterfalls in the United States: a narrow stream of water tumbling 280 feet over two sheer drop-offs into depths far below.
We enjoyed the Escarpment Trail so much, we decided to finish it on the third day, and even added a new section. We saw our campground in morning light for the first and only time that last morning. The trail was, of course, still gorgeous. Tom speeded down the gentle downhill slope at the end while I slowed down to take photos, not wanting the journey to end. Neil remarked that he had not found his limit yet. I hoped that we might discover it together one day. We didn’t cover as many miles as hoped and returned with some minor injuries but I can’t complain. This is the good life.