Black Head Mountain

Black Head

Here's another for my quest to do the Catskill 3500 Club peaks in a year.  Black Head is one of the most visible of the 3500 foot peaks.  Kaaterskill High Peak may be the only other that's more widely visible.  Black Head looms large above the towns of Catskill and Cairo.  The Black Head Range may be the most visible range in the Catskills.  The tri peaks (Black Head, Black Dome and Thomas Cole) are clearly visible from the north including Albany.

Today I'd approach Black Head from the south.  This would be a first.  I have always ascended Black Head from the north at the end of Big Hollow Road.  While looking at the maps to plan a trip, I noticed a trailhead in Rountop, near Cairo.  This is less than 15 miles from home, easily the closest trailhead.  Not sure how I ever overlooked this fact.

I also decided to make this a scouting trip for the Escarpment Trail Run.  From Dutcher Notch I would ascend Stoppel Point first, before heading over to Black Head.  Stoppel is the last major climb of the run, so I figure it's good to get to know it better.  Today I would walk, but I plan to use this route for training later on.

The Climb up to Stoppel from Dutcher Notch

The trailhead for Dutcher Notch is located about 4 miles south of Cairo.  For its close proximity to a town, Dutcher Notch does to appear to get much traffic.  The parking lot is suited for 4 to 5 cars.  The trail starts off by walking through someone's front yard.  I felt creepy walking past.  Fortunately, there were people outside taking advantage of the day, so I said hello and confirmed that this was the trail.

The trail to Dutcher Notch

The trail up to Dutcher Notch is 2 miles of uphill.  Though it never gets incredibly steep, it is relentless.  If it were hotter, there at least were frequent spots to dip your hands and face in cold water.  Just below the notch there is an excellent water source.  I took advantage of this.  After about an hour of climbing, I reached Dutcher Notch.

Now the walk up to Stoppel looms.  There are three climbs up to Stoppel that total about 1,000 feet.  With fresh legs its not so bad.  In the heat and humidity with some mileage, it's a painful ascent.  I met a couple of backpackers along the way.  I envy them.  It's a reminder of where I was exactly ten years ago, hiking along the A.T. sleeping outside every day.  I love the smell of the evergreens.

The climb up to Stoppel provided the hiker with some rewarding views.  There's Milt's lookout (I'm not sure who Milt is) with commanding views of the Hudson Valley.  The Hudson River, the towns of Catskill and Hudson are all in view.  The Rip Van Winkle and Olana can be made out if one looks closely enough.  Near the summit there is an old plane wreck that claimed a life Memorial Day weekend in 1983.  Also near the summit is a great view north of Black Head.

Stoppel Point from Milt's Lookout

Hudson River

Cairo Roundtop

Flowers line the trail

Spring

One of many plane wrecks in the Catskills

Black Head Range

On the descent back down to Dutcher Notch, I noticed how steep the trail is to Stoppel.  Sometimes the descents are more strenuous than the ascents.  From Dutcher Notch I made my way up the long ascent to the summit of Black Head.  It's almost 3 miles to the summit from the notch.  Just like Stoppel, Black Head rewards the hiker with some amazing views.  Early on, there are great views to the south of Kaaterskill High Peak and the Devil's Path.

A fun spot to poke through

It does get steep

A great view from the "Arizona"

Kaaterskill High Peak

Hunter & Lake Capra

Here are the same views a couple hours later:

High Peak

KHP & the Devil's Path

Hunter

KHP, Devil's Path & Hunter

After some more climbing, there are some nice flat areas that a few backpackers were taking advantage of.  From these areas, the summit of Black Head peaks out.  It looks so far.  But at least there are some nice views to the east along the way.  After some more climbing, the summit is achieved.  Many mountains in the Catskills, the summit is not obvious.  Black Head is an exception. There is a huge summit rock and the Escarpment Trail intersects with the Black Dome Trail here.

Black Head

Nice, flat, grassy area

Different flowers found along the way

Taking up root right in the middle of the trail.  The audacity!

Steep and Rocky

More flowers

Before heading back to the car, I made my way down the Black Dome trail to the view point just below Black Head's summit.  I was sure glad I did.  The best view of the day.  The sun was beginning to set, so the light was just right.  The Devil's Path, Hunter, Westkill and Rusk were all in view.  Amazingly, there was still some snow on Hunter's slopes.  The walk out was incident free and I made it back to the car before dark.    

Summit Rock

Rusk Mt

Devil's Path

Hunter, Westkill and Rusk

Hunter