Mohonk

Our destination.

The Rocket making his way through Giant's Path

Trapps and Gertrude's Nose

Boulder Field

Mohonk Lake Shore

Start of the Labrynth

The Rocket climbing the ladder

The Rocket

Tom below Lemon Squeeze

Rocket wishing he shed more pounds before the lemon squeeze

Above the lemon squeeze eating some gorp

The Central Catskills

Mohonk Hotel with the Devil's Path looming large

The Mohonk Tower

The Tower from opposite side of Lake


It's been over a year that I've been blogging about my hikes throughout the Hudson Valley and then some. The quintessential walk in the Hudson Valley leads to the Mohonk Tower via the lemon squeeze. I've been to the tower numerous times running while in college, but it's been years since I've been here. This is the summer of the Gunks.

The Rocket and I paid a steep $12 to step foot on the Mohonk Preserve. It's quite unique, privately owned with miles of hiking and carriage trails. We headed out from Clove Road and the Old Minnewaska Trail. The Rocket looked like a trooper on this day, so I decided to go off the carriage trails and check out the Giant's Path. It was worth it. Lots of cool scrambling. On another hot day, it was great to be walking through small caves and in the shade.

After Giant's Path we walked along Mohonk Lake and to the "entrance" to The Labrynth. While we were getting ready to get going, we noticed a group which had to be a meetup group. We let them pass by and I recognized a few of the guys I hiked with a couple of weeks ago. This made things interesting during the lemon squeeze. I watched Jose slide down one of the ladders. Eventually he stopped, but it could have turned out very ugly.

The views from the top of the lemon squeeze were incredible. It was not too humid, so the hazy views that I've become so accustomed to were non-existent. It was so nice to see clear blue skies and be able to make out the distant mountains.

We then made our way to the tower. This is truly one of the great spots in all of the Hudson Valley. The view of the Mohonk Mountain House with the Devil's Path is extraordinary. I'd love to check out this place on the inside. It appears to be more castle than hotel. There are also views to the west that include Ashokan High Point. The views to the east include New Paltz and the Hudson Highlands.

Who knows what fall will bring, but the Gunks seem to be the premier destination for autumn colors. Hopefully, I will get to experience the Gunks in all its glory.

Long Path Gunks Style

The Long Path marker and Aaron in background

The new South Gully section of the Long Path

Huckleberry Pickers' shack

Chris on Sam's Point

Making our way down into the Ice Caves

Hopefully that rock stays there

In the cave

Solar powered lights which the solar panels hosted a hornet's nest

The walk from Sam's Point

From left, Lake Awosting, Castle Point, Gertrude's Nose

Very true!

Verkeerder Kill Falls

Jose taking a well earned rest

A little rainbow

The cool rock slabs that we walked on much of the day

Mud Pond

Blueberries were ripe for the picking. They never tasted better!

Looking back toward Sam's Point

Lake Awosting with the Devil's Path in the background

Awosting

Hiking in the Gunks

Chris & Aaron

Mushroom art

On Castle Point with Awosting in background

Gertrude's Nose

Litchfield Ledge

The Catskills rising in the background

Looking toward Litchfield Ledge

Lake Awosting

Rainbow Falls

A good soaking in the falls

Remnants of a fire from 3 years ago


What can I say about this hike? One of the fucking best! I have a weakness for long hikes and this is absolutely one of the best. Blueberries, ice caves, slabs of rock that only the gunks can do, pines, stunning views, some scrambling and a swim in Lake Awosting in the middle of this heat wave.

I would do this hike with the Hudson Valley Hikers and be led by a seasoned veteran, Aaron, who has hiked the 4000 footers of New Hampshire. This section of the Long Path would run from just outside Ellenville to Kerhonkson. Aaron has hiked almost the entire Long Path. I really have to give credit to those that have, because it truly is off the beaten path. The route runs from the George Washington Bridge to Albany on many low use trails and plenty of road walking (Yuk!).

We met up in the morning to spot cars in Kerhonkson off Old Minnewaska Road. The start of the hike would be off Route 52 just outside of Ellenville. What can I say about this parking spot? It seemed like one of those spots where they'll find dead bodies some day.

Originally thinking we would be doing a road walk for a bit (that's what carrying around a map from 1997 will lead you to) I was pleasantly surprised we'd be on a trail. This part of the Long Path up south gully is relatively new, having been completed in the spring of 2010. A mixture of old logging roads and recently cut trails, this was a pleasant walk up to the ice caves, past waterfalls, wild blueberries and old homes of huckleberry pickers.

Aaron led us on a nice detour to the ice caves. This was a real treat, since I hadn't been here since I was 12 and this was a commercial outfit. It was very much as I remembered it, although (not surprisingly) it felt shorter. The cave was a nice break from the early morning heat, like being delivered ice pops after a nice early climb.

We then headed back to the Long Path and proceeded on what I believe to be the hardest part of the days' hike. The walk from Sam's Point to Verkeerder Kill Falls was very rocky and slow going. But amazing. Aaron pointed out Lake Awosting, which I would have never have though it to be. It looked like a rock slab, but as we proceeded on, it obviously was a lake.

Verkeerder Kill Falls was an awesome sight. But, what a shame, with all the rain we've had this year, it was a trickle, due to the lack of rain the past few weeks. A miniature rainbow could be viewed briefly. From here the walk became a bit easier. The walk was over soft pine needle padded surfaces (the best trail surface in my opinion) and slabs of rock through pines. We paced the unassumingly named Mud Pond, which was more a lake and a beautiful one at that. We then made it to Lake Awosting for a nice refreshing swim.

We then ventured back out and up to Castle Point. Along the way we were treated with great views from Margaret Cliff and some nice scrambles just below Castle Point. The views from Castle Point encompassed a wide range of landmarks, from Hamilton Point and Gertrude's Nose up close, to the Central Catskills and the Rondout Resevoir from afar. From Castle Point, some of the best hiking that I've done was done here. The walk along the ledges here was nothing short of spectacular. Aaron noticed at Verkeerder Kill Falls that I was afraid of heights. So, he got a kick out of some of the hops I had to make over the crevasses.

We then made our way down to Rainbow Falls. Unlike Verkeerder Kill Falls, it didn't matter that it was a trickle. Here we were at the bottom of the falls and could get a nice soaking. There was also this very friendly, beautiful BIG BREASTED woman. Unfortunately, she was with her boyfriend, so I couldn't stare for too long. I so wanted to lay my head on those breasts under the waterfall. Oh, well.

The rest of the wayy out was fairly easy going. The last two miles before we hit Jenny Lane were some of the best blueberry picking we had all day. We took plenty opportunity to enjoy the in season berries. I need to think about coming back with a bucket and filling it up. They are that damn good!

Breakneck to Mt Beacon

At the flagpole on Breakneck with Storm King in the background

Johnny Rocket making his way up Breakneck

Grassy ridge on Mt Beacon

Mt Beacon Fire Tower

Taurus, Breakneck and Storm King from Mt Beacon

Looking down Hudson towards NYC

The high grass on Sugarloaf

Johnny Rocket with Mt Beacon in the background

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

Breakneck and Storm King from Sugarloaf


Johnny Rocket requested a hike with some good elevation gain in preparation for his upcoming White Mountains trip. Breakneck to the Beacon Fire Tower immediately came to mind. Especially considering I never ventured further than the flagpole on Breakneck.

The trail up Breakneck ridge is considered to be the most travelled trail in the U.S.A. It is quite possible. How many trails have it's own train station? And this one comes from by far the largest city in the U.S.

On this day, there were quite a few on the trail. Breakneck does live up to its name. It is quite steep and rocky. When the trail is wet it can be quite dangerous. The hands are constantly being used, which made my choice of walking up with a cup of coffee silly. Although the Rocket didn't break his neck, his previous venture to Breakneck resulted in a trip to the E.R. after knocking his head after a fall. If fortunate to not slip and fall there are great views of the Hudson River, Storm King, Sugarloaf and Bannerman's Island.

The crowds thinned out. But, we ran into a couple from Indiana. They were a bit lost, which is rather easy to do considering the numerous logging trails. They were loving their trip out. Dylan was telling me about one of the trails that had a lot of ruins. He seemed to think it was an old village. He walked at a fairly brisk pace and wore a pair of loafers!

The Rocket and I finally ascended Mt Beacon. Great views all around. On a clear day, the skyscrapers of NYC can be seen. On this day there was just a bit too much haze.

The walk from Mt Beacon to Sugarloaf was the best part of the day. A splendid walk through grassy areas was a bit different than the usual. Some nice stream crossings provided relief from the humidity. The summit of Sugarloaf provided some great views down to Bannerman's Island and the Hudson River. Sugarloaf also provided the single best view of the day, Breakneck and Storm King and its steep descents into the Hudson. All in all, a great day and a hike that will have to be repeated.