Shes Always Happy in the Sun

Vly and Bearpen Mountains

2009-01-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Roger and his friend James hiked Vly and Bearpen Mountains in the Catskills. He is going to write about it at some point. Were both busy with our first week of school right now. In other news, Go Obama! I just watched the inauguration on campus at the Student Union Building. I got a little teary eyed. P.S. How come no one else is causing a ruckus over how pricey text books are? It's ridiculous! But there is not choice but to buy them, or you will more than likely fail your class. Major BS!

Photos

Mohonk Mountain House

2009-01-17T15:59:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, January 14th, we visited the Mohonk Mountain house and went cross country skiing. The historic hotel has been in the Smiley family since its construction in 1879 by Albert and Alfred Smiley. The 2,200 acres is conjoined with the 6,400 acres of the Mohonk Preserve. The hotel is located along the Shawangunk Ridge; The Skytop Tower, which sits at the highest point, is visible from main street in New Paltz. There are many trails throughout the preserve, and we took some that led up to the tower, which was constructed in memory of Albert Smiley in 1921. There is also a popular rock scramble called the Lemon Squeeze, that leads up to the tower. Mostly anyone living in New Paltz for over a year has climbed the Lemon Squeeze. You get really beautiful views of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley from the tower. The day we went was very beautiful. It is a very relaxing and easy trail up to the top, although it did get very cold and windy. We got some really nice pictures. While taking a rest inside on of the parlors, we were hoping to get some snacks from tea time, but that didn't happen. We'll have to try again.

Photos

Signs marking different trails

View from across the lake

Follow the rules!

Views of the Catskills

Roger waxing our skis

Mountain House

View of New Paltz

New Paltz

Inside Sky Top Tower

<-------------- evil box

Snowboarding at Hunter

2009-01-17T15:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (January 16), Roger and I met up with some friends and went snowboarding at Hunter Mountain. It was supposedly one of the coldest days (the car thermometer read 4 degrees when we got to the mountain). I could only imagine how cold it was at the top. We were wearing a lot of layers so I was actually sweating the whole time. The cold weather kept most people at home, and we didn't have to wait at all for the ski lift. I wouldn't recommend going on a weekend however; I hate waiting on line for the lift. The sky was perfectly clear, and we had some great views of the Catskills (and some of the peaks we had climbed!) I had not been on a snowboard in two years! Horrible, I know. Needless to say my legs were hurting! I only stuck to the few blue square runs they had, not wanting to hurt myself the first time out. Roger, who looked very adorable in his snowboarding gear, went on his way down Hunter's diamond trails. At the end of the day when I was ready to take on one, it was getting very icy so I decided to hit my last run on the Belt Parkway. Of course, I hit some ice and went down on my tail bone. I'm a bit sore this morning, but partying later that night probably didn't help. All in all it was a good day. Roger took some really beautiful pictures on the way home driving past the Ashokan Reservoir.

Photos

The Peak in the background is Ashokan High Point

Both me and Roger have Burton snowboards

Bundled all the way up!

Conditions were pretty awesome

The peaks in the distance are Blackhead, Blackdome, and Thomas Cole Mountains

Kaaterskill High Peak (my first climb!)

Roger's "snow angel" :)

I love the way the cloud's shadows look on the mountains

Braving the cold for a smile

Yeah, we were those people

Ashokan High Point Mountain

Slide Mountain area of the Catskills from Ashokan Reservoir

North Dome

2009-01-13T19:41:00.000-05:00

On Saturday January 10th, Roger and I hiked North Dome Mt. in the Catskills. It was my second peak and Roger's 30th. North Dome is part of the West Kill-North Dome Wilderness area, and is 3610 ft. above elevation at the summit. We parked in the DEC lot off of Spruceton Rd. and bushwhacked (which was slightly obnoxious; a lot of twigs and branches whipping back into faces). We were going to continue on to Mt. Sherrill, but time restraints (having to be at work by 5:00 p.m.) cut the trip short.
I was very excited about this trip, not only because I had been itching to go since Kaaterskill, but because I just purchased some new gear from Rock and Snow. I was torn between two boots but finally decided on La Sportiva's Halite GTX. I am very happy with them so far, but my feet were definitely hurting, not being broken in yet. My first time use of cramp-ons probably also added to the pain in my feet (Grivel G14 Cramp-O-Matic Binding rented from the shop). After the first hour, I was starting to get the hang of them (or my feet were going numb), and I am anxious to get out there and try them again. We had snowshoes on our packs, but didn't bother using them.
I am really happy with the pants I purchased, Mountain Hardwear Castlewood. They are lightweight, and are a perfect waterproof layer over my spandex. I was very comfortable on bottom. They also fit very well (and according to someone, makes my butt look good). I got a rip in them with the cramp-ons(!) but Roger assured me that he can fix them with seamgrip. I was also wearing some Icebreaker baselayers, which I may be obsessed with (thanks to Mr. Ennis).
Even though I felt like a zombie upon arriving at work, the snowfall that we got that night allowed me to leave early! It was a great day, spent with a great person :)

Photos

Driving on Rt. 42 (?)

Getting up there

Almost to the summit

"Next year's Christmas card"

Writing our names in the log in the canister

The snow was deep at the top

Coming back down

Legs were a bit sore

Drive home

Information taken from Catskill Trails 3rd Edition, Carol and David White

Biking In New Paltz

2009-01-13T01:34:00.000-05:00

This past fall, I bought a used rental bike from The Bicycle Depot in New Paltz. It's a Specialized 2008 Rockhopper, and in good condition. I was only able to use it a couple times before the weather turned cold, but I am looking forward to using it alot in the Spring. I rode on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, which runs from Gardiner at the Shawangunk town line, through New Paltz, and ends in Rosendale. The trail is part of the Hudson River Valley Greenway System, and is about 15 miles. One two different days I headed from New Paltz to Rosendale, about 12 miles, and from New Paltz to Gardiner, riding back along Rt. 209.

Historical background of the Rail Trail

Photos

Bridge in Rosendale

View of the Wallkill River

Rosendale

Rail Trail

Farms along trail going towards Gardiner

Apple orchard along Rt. 2o9

Skiing at Lake Minnewaska

2009-01-12T13:26:00.000-05:00

Roger, Tony, and I went cross country skiing at Lake Minnewaska this morning. Minnewaska State Park Preserve has been called the "crown jewel" of New York State Parks (according to Roger and Tony). They both voiced their surprise that there weren't any other cars parked in the lot, but it was nice to have the place to ourselves (at least for a little while; we ran into people heading out as we were leaving).
The Preserve is located along the Shawankgunk Ridge, and is home to three sky lakes; Lake Minnewaska, Lake Awosting, and Mud Pond. The area right in front of the parking lot, where we started, overlooks Lake Minnewaska, which was covered with snow, which looked awesome. I went swimming there two summers ago, and have made a mental note to go a lot more this year. We took the 3 mile trail out to Lake Awosting for some nice pictures, then took the same trail back to the car. It would be a huge understatement to say that I am exhausted by now.

Photos

View of Catskills from the parking lot

Lake Minnewaska

Lake Minnewaska with someone's ski tracks

Blow down from snow storm

"Act like you don't know what you're doing"

"Ski Instructor Roger"

"Rainbow Falls"

Rainbow Falls

Some ice Roger wants to climb

Pretty sky

Roger and I

Tony hanging out

Lake Awosting

Cross Country Falling

2009-01-12T02:23:00.001-05:00

One day, the week after we hiked Kaaterskill High Peak (it is hard to keep the days straight when you are technically on vacation), Roger took me cross country skiing for the first time. I was a little apprehensive, since the last time I was on skis at a young age, I ended up running into people and off the side of the mountain at Camelback, PA. We had a nice breakfast/lunch from the Mountain Bistro Store, which is located on Route 44 55 in Gardiner. We then headed into town to get some gear from Rock and Snow, then we were off towards the Mohonk Preserve. It took a little bit to get used to the feel of the skis (not crossing them and falling on my face), but soon I got into a groove. It was a pretty crowded day, and we passed many people, including some younger kids on a ski team practicing. We did a loop that went around the base of the Mohonk tower. It was a quick trip, but I felt great afterward nonetheless. The next day I could really feel the burn in my thighs. It was a really great workout.

Checking out the view

Hello handsome

All smiles

I found out that the sound of Roger "encouraging" me from behind
made me lose my concentration, and balance.

"Oh no baby, I'm not taking any pictures of you falling down"

I'm a trooper

Right after someone went face first into a snow bank

Happy at the end of the day

Kaaterskill High Peak

2009-01-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

On December 13, 2008, I did my first ever peak. That also fell under the same category as my first winter climb, and my first trail-less peak. Needless to say, I didn't know what I was getting into. I accompanied my boyfriend, Roger, and his friend Doug Ferguson, owner of Mountain Skills Climbing Guides. The day turned out to be beautiful, not to chilly and snowing lightly. We started at 11:30 pm and got back to the car just as it was getting dark, at 4:45.

Kaaterskill High Peak, located in Greene County, is the Catskill's 21st highest peak. The peak is located at 3650 ft above elevation. Explorers thought that Kaaterskill High Peak was the highest peak in the Catskills because it was the first one they saw when traveling along the Hudson River. We drove through the towns of Tanserville and Pohnecia, past interesting look antique shops and old barn houses. Doug, Roger, and I started our climb on Long Path, a 347 mile trail running from George Washington Bridge to Altamount, Albany. We then hit a snowmobile trail where we came upon one of two plane crashes that Roger had been hoping to find. The accident occurred June 25th, 1987, the year I was born. When we paused to stop and take some pictures, I noticed a small rock carin, hence making our decision to start bushwhacking to the summit. We finally made it to a small clearing with a small rock carin. There wasn't a canister at this peak but the elevation was 3655 ft. We started our decent down the southern escarpment towards a beautiful view, overlooking the Devil's Path. We got some nice shots of the Hudson River from Hurricane ledge, then continued down the mountain until we came to a huge rock carin. We then got back on Long Path and headed back to the car.

The whole trip was amazing to me, being a first time hiker. It was very beautiful and physically straining, but I felt awesome by the end of the day, if not exhausted. We had trekking poles, but didn't use cramp-ons, although afterward Doug commented we could have possibly used them. After we got back to the car, I asked Doug and Roger how I did, being it was my first hike. They told me it was pretty crazy what we just did. I was happy with that.

Photos

Doug and I, checking out a waterfall

There was a lot of blow down from an ice storm
that hit the region the night before, in which my housemates
car was totaled when a frozen tree branch fell on her windshield
(No one was hurt)

I commented more then once, in amazement and wonder,
that I felt like I was in Narnia (C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia)

Ice was covering everything. The "chandeliers" made
bushwhacking easier, as the branches just slid past you

Me standing by some trail markers

Frozen Pine Cones

Bushwhacking

Plane crash circa 1987

Reached the top. Cold, but happy (with food in mouth)

Rock carin at peak, 3655 ft.

Beautiful View

Devil's Path

Overlooking the Hudson River

The climb down was icy

Rock carin marking the snowmobile trail coming back

Information about Kaaterskill High Peak taken from Catskill Trails - A Ranger's Guide to the High Peaks (book one) by Edward G. Henry.
"A one-time destination of the new world's social elite, Kaaterskill High Peak is now a destination almost forgotten. It is a unique natural area, even among its neighbors. It has awesome vistas, plentiful wildlife, and offers quiet relaxation. Although often overlooked by recent history, Kaaterskill High Peak is a mountain worth a day's exploration."