ABOUT THE PARK:
Slide Mountain Wilderness - New York DEC
Trail Conference to Open New Catskills Trail - NYNJ Trail Conference
Woodland Valley Campground - New York State DEC
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 42.03638, -74.35802
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| Woodland Valley Parking - already filling up at 9 AM |
TRAIL MAP:
Northeastern Catskill Trails Map 143 - New York New Jersey Trail Conference
Long Path Relocation - NYNJ Trail Conference (free map)
HIKE DISTANCE: 11.3 miles (5.15 miles each way plus Terrace Mountain Overlook)
THE HIKE:
I had hiked
the other end of this section in August.
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| Brodie started the 2.5 hour drive all decked out in his hiking harness attached to a seat belt. |
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| As you can see, there was some sort of mishap along the way resulting in a hiking harness/seat belt malfunction. Just to explain why the hiking harness is missing in the pictures. |
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| Walking back out of the parking lot, veer left on Woodland Valley Road then right on the red trail. |
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| Straight through a campsite area ... |
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| ... to the trail behind this boulder. |
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| A bridge over Woodland Creek. |
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| Woodland Creek |
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| No mention of the new trail but this is the way. |
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| After a steep ascent, the trail register. |
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| Day hikers all go to Wittenberg. Except me. I dare to be different. The second page was to also be full of Wittenberg hikers that came after me. Don't expect any solitude on that hike but I did get my solitude later on my hike. |
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| We took a detour to the overlook on Terrace Mountain. |
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| This was the least rugged part of the hike. |
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| You have to watch for a pretty obscure footpath to the right that leads to a huge rock slap area. Make note of the cairn so you know how to get back to the trail after exploring. |
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| Rock furniture with fireplace. |
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| A view to the right. |
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| Heading the other way, views to the left. |
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| He likes to take power naps when we stop for a break. |
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| A little more exploring ... |
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| ... before heading back. |
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| Now continuing on towards Wittenberg for .2 miles. |
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| Lots of hikers heading to Wittenberg and lots of associated chatter and noise. |
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| At this sign the Wittenberg hikers continue straight on red/Long Path. |
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| I however, turned left on blue/Long Path, the new rerouted section, and left all of the chatter and noise behind. |
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| Getting pretty good at scaling downed trees. |
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| I happened to be hiking while The Cats Tail Marathon was in taking place. The runners go by so fast, you don't hear constant conversation like with groups of hikers, they were all very friendly and thanked us for stepping off trail to let them by and it was great SIT/STAY practice for Brodie stepping off to let them pass. Wasn't annoying in the least. One trail runner even commented how nice it was to see a hiker using this new section of trail. Yes, if you want solitude in the Catskills, this is the place to be. |
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| Looks like we might be coming up on some views. |
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| Just a preview to the right before ... |
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| WOW! Incredible views at the top of the Grand Staircase. |
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| Going down for... |
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| ... that power nap. |
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| Back on the trail descending the Grand Staircase. Picture going back up will show it better. |
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| At the Ashokan Reservoir overlook where I turned around the last time doing the opposite end. |
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| Ashokan Reservoir |
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| A month ago he was a stray running the streets of Jersey City, NJ. Today he hiked the Catskills. I think he likes his new life. |
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| Heading back. |
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| Going up the Grand Staircase. It sort of spirals up to the top. |
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| Back at the overlook for another break. |
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| Continuing on. |
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| Meeting back up with all of the hikers returning from Wittenburg. |
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| It's steep going all the way back down to the bridge. |
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| It was about 6 PM and most cars in the lot had left but there were lots of late comers parked along Woodland Valley Road. |
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| Somebody slept all the way home. |
