The Backcountry Blog

The Raymond Brook Ski Trail

Posted on by Harvey

The Raymond Brook Ski Trail is one of the oldest ski trails at Gore Mountain. Today it’s on state land, but it is still important part of the trail network around North Creek, NY.

Raymond Brook Ski Trail

The Raymond Brook Trail has been through several phases of use. In the “ride and slide” days, it was a major route. The ski from the top of Gore down to the river was long. The need to “sweep” Raymond Brook was one factor behind the creation of New York’s First Ski Patrol at Gore.

At some point in time the Raymond Brook Trail went unmaintained and it stayed that way for many years. When I first learned of the route, I didn’t know it by name.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry, Gore Mountain, Hiking, Nordic Skiing, Ski History5 Comments

The Botheration Pond Trail

Posted on by Harvey

Since I first started skiing at Garnet Hill in the 1980s, Botheration Pond has captivated my imagination. I’d see it on the map, so close, yet tucked away. It symbolized all the remote spots in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness that were out of my reach.

bridge over the East Branch of the Sacandaga

Together The Vly and Botheration Pond form the headwaters of the East Branch of the Sacandaga. When I studied the map, it seemed that the waterway would offer a long stretch of easy, beautiful and remote marsh skiing. With an intriguing name and no trail accessing it from state land, I was very curious about that pond.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry, Hiking, Siamese Ponds Wilderness12 Comments

Spuyten the Duyvil’s Path

Posted on by ml242

A dissected plateau. That’s the official term for the Catskills in the unpoetic language of the geologists who coined the phrase. It makes sense when you stand on their summits and note the similar heights of the various peaks.

Devil's Path View

Still, the designation was clearly given by a scholar at a desk.  On the other hand, our hike, The Devil’s Path Traverse, was clearly named by those with boots on the ground.

I had the rough pleasure of hiking the traverse, which is also known as The Hardest Day Hiking Trail in America. At 25 miles and 17,000 vertical feet, it’s a sprawling journey of soaring views of the Hudson Valley and Catskills Park, replete with opportunities to scramble the climbs and cruise long downhills.

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Tagged: Backcountry, Catskills, Hiking, Hunter6 Comments