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| Indian Head from Platte Clove Road |
Today I would be hiking to Indian Head with my friend Pat. I have wanted to introduce him to a "real hike" for a while. I figure that Indian Head is a perfect introduction to an average trail in the mountains. Some may be longer, some may be steeper, some may require more scrambling and some may have some exposure, but Indian Head has a little of everything.
We parked at the top of Platte Clove Road and walked through the Platte Clove Preserve before reaching the Devil's Path. The Platte Clove Reserve has some signs pointing out the different trees. I should know my trees better.
We started out at a fairly brisk pace. Pat was a real trooper as he kept up with me for quite a while. After stopping for a break, I realized we needed to slow down a bit. Pat is relatively new to hiking, so he does not know just yet what pace is comfortable for certain hikes.
We slowed the pace down and made it to the upper most view point in pretty good time. So many great views along the way. The first view point provides a great look of the Hudson River, Kaaterskill High Peak and the Platte Clove Community. A former NYS Police camp, it's a wonderful setting, right at the base of Kaaterskill. Every once in a while when I've hiked here, I will see men and women dressed in pants and dresses hiking up the trails.
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| Platte Clove and the Hudson River |
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| Kaaterskill High Peak and the Bruderhof Community |
The walk then started to level a bit and we reached the false summit. From here there was a view I do not remember. Views of the Ashokan Resevoir, Cooper Lake and the Central Catskills can be seen. It's one of the few views of Slide I have seen where it's distinct features are not visible.
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| Cooper Lake and the Central Catskills |
From here we went up what I consider the funnest part of the hike. There is a very steep section just before the ledge. For me, this makes Indian Head one of my favorite mountains. Once up this steep section, one is rewarded with some of the greatest views in the Catskills. The Hudson River, Ashokan Resevoir and Overlook are in view. It's a great spot to just relax and have a lunch. A flock of birds flying south were the only ones with a better view than us.
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| Devil's Path 101 |
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| Let the fun begin! |
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| Pat doing some scrambling |
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| Overlook |
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| Ashokan Resevoir |
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| Mohonk in the distance |
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| The Buddhist Temple and Ashokan Resevoir |
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| The scramble down |
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| The walk out |
It was a little tough for me, but I had a nice time doing it. But your confidence that I could do it really helped too. I even scraped up my leg on the rock scramble. We will do it again I hope.
ReplyDeleteThey don't call it the Devil's Path for nothing. That's no joke. Another place I'd probably rather do in winter with lots of snow on the ground. Love ash trees. The HV has some great specimens.
ReplyDelete