DIRECTIONS: GPS Coordinates 41.74261, -74.25440
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| Jenny Lane parking lot - room for about 8 cars. No fee to park here whereas there is a fee to park in the main lots that do not open until 9 AM. |
HIKE DISTANCE: 11.1 miles
THE HIKE:
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| Starting from the parking lot ... |
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| ... the woods road goes a short distance before ... |
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| ... a right turn on the pink Wawarsing Turnpike Footpath. |
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| At the information board, the blue Jenny Lane Footpath comes in from the right. We would be returning that way. For now, straight ahead on pink. |
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| Crossing Sanders Kill. |
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| In 1 mile crossing Route 44/55 ... |
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| ... to a blue path near the boulders on the right ... |
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| ... into the lower parking area. With the main parking lots not yet open, it's a rare opportunity to experience peace and quiet here because it becomes insanely busy once the lots open, especially on weekends. Heading towards the left of the restroom building ... |
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| ... a carriage road that leads to ... |
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| ... the orange Sunset Carriage Road. |
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| View from the Sunset Carriage Road. |
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| We would be making that sharp right turn but first a few steps straight ahead to ... |
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| ... a view of Lake Minnewaska. |
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| Continuing on to the green Upper Awosting Carriage Road. |
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| View of the Catskills from the Upper Awosting Carriage Road. |
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| After 1.6 miles on the Upper Awosting Carriage Road, left on the blue Blueberry Run Footpath. |
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| This trail goes uphill gradually and starts out easy but becomes more rugged towards the end. |
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| Blueberries on the Blueberry Run Footpath. |
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| Coming out on the Castle Point Carriage Road where we would be turning right but first a few steps to the left to ... |
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| ... views at Castle Point. |
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| Continuing on with one view after another of Lake Awosting and the Catskills. |
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| A right turn here on ... |
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| ... the orange Rainbow Falls Footpath. This trail is no joke. There are some wicked scrambles. I had hiked this in the opposite direction with Shawnee 14 years ago and remember one scramble in particular that we would be coming up on shortly. |
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| And here it is. It's about an 7-foot drop down with a narrow ledge about half way. How I ever managed to get 70+ pound Shawnee UP this vertical wall is beyond me but then I was 14 years younger at the time. Now the problem was getting Brodie DOWN. Once I threw my trekking poles and backpack down to the bottom, there was no turning back. I managed to work my way down then with gravity on my side, I pulled Brodie's leash. His spreadeagled attempt at hanging on at the top was to no avail. I pulled until he started sliding downward then he went straight down and I grabbed him before he hit bottom. Whew. |
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| Looking back at that scramble it doesn't look that bad but trust me, it is. I am 5'4" and the top is a good 2 feet over my head. |
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| Lake Awosting |
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| This scramble wasn't so bad. There was another long vertical down scramble that I was able to bypass. |
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| Crossing over Upper Awosting Carriage Road to continue on the Rainbow Falls Footpath. |
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| Rainbow Falls |
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| Just a trickle even after storms during the previous days. |
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| Back in 2012 Backpacker Magazine contacted me asking to use the picture of Rainbow Falls I had taken on the hike in October, 2010. What an honor for my picture to be in the magazine! |
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| Continuing on from the falls ... |
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| ... a steep uphill scramble that would not be so bad if you aren't fighting to get an unwilling dog up. |
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| This used to be the route of the Long Path before it was rerouted to the Mine Hole Footpath so there are still some aqua blazes here and there. |
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| At the end of the Rainbow Falls Footpath, right on the Lower Awosting Carriage Road just to the top of the hill ... |
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| ... then left on the blue Jenny Lane Footpath. |
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| Just as Brodie passed the boulder to his left, I came a few steps closer to see something right under the boulder, just inches from where Brodie had passed. |
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| OH HOLY MOLY! (The cleaned up version of what I said.) I was able to jump off the trail and make a wide circle around and zoom in for the picture. I can see three timber rattlesnakes in there when I enlarge the picture. This is the second time I have encountered timber rattlesnakes on the Jenny Lane Footpath. |
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| Proceeding very carefully but no more rattlesnakes were seen. |
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| Crossing Sanders Kill. |
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| The Jenny Lane Footpath continues on the other side of Route 44/55. |
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| Coming up on that information board, left on pink. |
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| Retracing back to ... |
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| ... the Jenny Lane parking lot. |
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| Just 15 minutes away is my favorite farm stand. I had planned this hike just so I would have enough time to get there before they closed. |
