Plateau Mountain Veterans Day Hike

Plateau's flat summit

This is the sixth trip as part of my repeats of all the 3500 foot mountains in the Catskills.  Plateau lies on the famed Devil's Path.  It's just west of Sugarloaf and just east of Hunter Mountain.  If one is walking the entire Devil's Path, it's about half way.

Kaaterskill High Peak in the distance

There is no mistaking the reason behind it's name.  From a distance and while walking its summit, Plateau is very flat.  At 3,880 feet, it's one of the higher mountains in the Catskills.  Although the one mile plus walk on its summit is very gentle, its approach from Diamond Notch is one of the steepest in the Catskills.  If one is approaching from Sugarloaf and Pecoy Notch, it's not much easier and a bit longer.

Today I would approach Plateau from the south along the Long Path.  I'm not certain when this trail opened (within the past 5 years I guess) but it did not exist when I first climbed these mountains.  When the opportunity strikes, I plan to do these mountains by taking different routes.  Both times in the past, I did Plateau as part of a longer walk along the Devil's Path.  They were both point to point hikes.  Today one can summit Plateau as part of a loop.

Devil's Tombstone

I parked my car at Devil's Tombstone Campground.  I walked for about a half mile south on Route 214 until I came to Notch Inn Road.  I ascended up this road until I reached the trail.  I passed a house that had a POW flag.  I cannot help but think, how much it must suck being a prisoner of war.  Happy Veterans Day.  The trail here appears to be a new trail. Its marked with yellow blazes and connects the Long Path with Route 214.  It's relentlessly steep, but fortunately just over a mile long.  It appears this trail is mostly an old logging road, so it did not require much work to open.

The trail leading to the Long Path

After a little more than a half hour of walking, I made it to the Long Path.  I was quite interested to see what this trail would be like, since it's fairly new and I'm guessing it's not very popular.  The trail ascended steeply for the first mile.  It then flattened out for a bit before the final 300 feet of climbing.  The trail map indicates 5 view points, but there was only one that I found that was unobstructed and would exist year round.  The views were south and I could make out most of the Central Catskills.  Slide, Wittenburgh, Panther, Balsam and Bellayre were all in view.  Though it did take me a while to figure things out.

Balsam and Bellayre

The Long Path on route to Plateau

Olderbark and the Central Catskills

I enjoyed the walk along the Long Path.  The route was easy to follow and well marked.  There were even trail markers for the view points.  Pretty cool.  The trail did not have the feel of a well worn path.  It felt more in between a herd path and a regular marked trail.  Still, having said that, the trail was very easy to follow.

The Long Path

Some ice...

...and snow.

Final ascent to the summit

Along the way, I spotted some footprints in the snow.  The footprints were going the other way.  I thought to myself, "Maybe I should have done this loop the other way."  This thought would be repeated often on the steep descent into Diamond Notch.

After the last short and steep ascent, I made it to the Devil's Path in about an hour and a half on the Long Path.  I decided to walk for about a half mile east to the actual summit where there is also a view point.  The view point is not what I remembered, but it still had an excellent view of Kaaterskill High Peak.  Along the way, I spotted some tracks.  I'm not sure if they were bear, Bigfoot's or something else.  I should learn my tracks.

Bigfoot?

Kaaterskill High Peak

The pleasant walk on the summit

The western end of Plateau has some of the best views in the Catskills.  The first view point I came to (heading from the east) is similar to the view that is found near the summit.  A great view of Kaaterskill High Peak, though this time North Lake is visible.  The next view point provides a much more expansive view.  Kaaterskill High Peak, North Lake, Stoppel and the Blackhead Range are all visible.  There is also a view through Platte Clove and to the Hudson River.

The Blackhead Range

Kaaterskill High Peak and North Lake to the left

Platte Clove and the Hudson River

Tannersville and Stoppel Point

I then walked the rest of the Plateau west to the last view point (coming from Diamond Notch it would be the first view).  This may be the best on this mountain and one of the best in the Catskills.  There is an up close view of SW Hunter and Hunter, the fire tower is easily distinguishable.  The view south and west provides views of most of the south and central Catskills.  Slide, Wittenburgh, Ashokan High Point are all in view.  Looking further west, Bellayre, Balsam and Panther can be made out.  When looking out from here, almost all one can see are mountains with barely any signs of civilization.

No sign of civilization

Hunter Mountain

Looking out towards Bellayre

The route down would be a bit frustrating and I did slip and fall a couple times.  So wishing I had done this loop the other way crossed my mind several times.  But considering I expected there to be more snow than there was, I considered myself very lucky.    

The descent to Diamond Notch

One of the few flat but rocky sections

The Devil's Path