Escarpment Trail

The start of the trail.


Taking pictures of.......taking pictures.


Blackhead Range from Windham.


Black Dome Valley.


Windham from Burnt Knob


Great section of trail.


A nice woods walk.


Looking back towards Blackhead.


Can it remain this flat?


The Devil's Path.


Lake Capra.


Tight squeeze.


Our leader doing the limbo.


Plane wreck on Stoppel.


Blackhead Range.


The Hudson Valley.


North Lake.


The march down North Mountain.


Slow going.


Bad Man's Cave.


Trail was rugged despite its close proximity to North Lake and the influx of jean wearing hikers.


A nice spot for a break.


It took all I could to not hold onto that tree.


Great spot to hang glide from.


North Lake. And telephone poles.


Tivoli Bays in the distance.


Time out for some bouldering.





Having done the R-D and the SBM, it was time to finally do the Escarpment trail. All three trails are similar in mileage and elevation gain. The AMC would be leading a hike on this day, so it was a perfect opportunity. This would be my first hike with the AMC, hopefully it will not be my last.

Starting from route 23, we had to negotiate the washed out trail a little bit. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most of the climbing would be done in the first ten miles, which was nice. The walk from Windham to the ascent of Blackhead was a pleasant surprise with many views along the ridge.

I spent most of the day behind the group, but enjoyed the company when taking a rest. I spent a good amount of time talking football and about the National Parks with Michael, who I later found out thru hiked the A.T. the same year I attempted it.

We were very efficient, using all the sunlight that was available and some of us got to see a bear. I think it was the longest time I watched a bear. And I didn't get a single photo. Oh, well. The 24 mile trail with over 6,000 feet elevation gain took 12 hours. Maybe next spring, some of us will tackle the Devil's Path.