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| Sunset on Overlook |
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| You can also meditate at the Buddhist Monastery before or after |
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| Lots of ice on the way up |
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| The old hotel |
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| Spooky |
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| A pretty walk |
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| Echo Lake and Overlook |
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| Somewhere in those trees a stream drains out |
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| Echo Lake Lean-To |
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| The Fire Tower |
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| Stabilicers! |
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| Ice |
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| Sunset over Cooper Lake |
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| Indian Head caked in the clouds |
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| The hotel ruins and the trail up can be seen in the foreground |
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| Ashokan Resevoir with some of the sunset's reflection |
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| The colors change every moment |
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| Echo Lake |
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| Even if it's just Cooper Lake, sunsets are better over water |
For the first time in 18 years, I get to watch my 49ers in the Super Bowl. I never thought I'd see the day ever again. So I figure today would be the time to start a ChrisHiker tradition. A Super Bowl Hike.
Since I haven't been to Overlook this winter, I thought that would be a great destination. Then I thought why not also go to Echo Lake. Deciding to go to Echo Lake brought back some memories. The only time I have been there, I missed a middle aged couple having sex. When my friend and I arrived, I could tell we spooked them. The woman had to put her top back on.
I also thought about the first time I attempted to go to Echo Lake. This was before I had ever hiked in the Catskills and I had no idea there were trails all over the place. For whatever reason, I was looking at the state map and I spotted Echo Lake. I thought, "that'd be cool to go there." I saw there was a stream that flowed from it. So I drove to the closest point of the stream. I followed an old woods road for a bit. Soon it petered out and it also seemed a bit too private. Not wanting to get chased off the land, I turned around and headed back. While driving back, I passed the parking lot for Overlook. To my surprise, there was a trail to Echo Lake. About 2 years later, I would traverse much of the Catskills. And also to my surprise, I wouldn't need the NYS Road Atlas (there are trail maps!).
Today would be a little less memorable. Despite it being quite frigid, there were quite a few other hardy souls out here. I made up to the hotel pretty quick despite the ice (yeah, Stabilicers). There were a couple of people inside taking lots of fotos. I'd like to really roam around in there some time. The sun started to come out, so I thought about heading to the fire tower first. But since it was already after 3, I went to Echo Lake first.
The trail was not as steep as I remember. I only had to negotiate a handful of icy sections. After a half hour of walking, I met the trail junction to Echo Lake. This half mile trail was almost exclusively ice. This would have really have been fun without Stabilicers. On the way back up, I met a solo female going down to the Lean-to to camp out for the night. She did not have any traction device. Fortunately, there is not much ice off trail.
On the way down, I envisioned walking across the lake. To my surprise, there was some water along the edge. There was no way I'd chance it. Still it was a great place to stroll around and hangout and admire the scenery. I also thought about Simon Beck. He's an artist that creates patterns by walking in the snow. Echo Lake would be a perfect spot. Then people from the Overlook Fire Tower could admire the designs.
While walking back up, I thought about skipping Overlook and heading straight down. One look at the sunset quickly changed my mind. Although overcast, there were some marvelous colors shining through. By the time I reached the summit, some of the colors had vanished. Despite that, this happened to be one of the better sunsets I've seen in a while.
