The Catskills Blog

Hunter: The Season Opens in NY

Posted on by Sayville Steve

After the 2019-20 ski season ended with a whimper on the wind, I was determined to ski every chance I got this year and be thankful for it. So when Hunter Mountain — one of three hills that I can day trip from Long Island — announced Opening Day 2020, I made a reservation.

Alan Belsky
photo by Gabrielle Feilen, Hunter Mountain

I pulled into the muddy lot to the right of the main building a little after 9:30. Everyone was funneled into one entrance greeted by three or four Hunter employees with scanners. I breezed past the ticket windows serving a handful of customers and through the underpass without going into the lodge. A ribbon of beautiful white snow and a mass of maybe fifty people were in line or milling around the base, all wearing masks.

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Tagged: Catskills, Hunter11 Comments

Pecoy Notch Trail: Had I But a Sceptre

Posted on by Peter Minde

Sometimes, you don’t get the big day you want, but you get the day that you need.

At 10 AM on Saturday morning, I slipped the clutch on Rheinhardt, my faithful shooting brake, in what may be my latest start ever. The pandemic has cratered the personal training business, so I’ve been loading trailers for a package delivery company. One isn’t supposed to blog about one’s job, so I won’t name the company with the ubiquitous brown trucks.

view of Thomas Cole
maybe Thomas Cole

The money is acceptable, but the job is the hardest physical labor job I’ve ever had. It’s played havoc with my training regimen. You’re constantly fatigued, and after two days off, when you’re sort of recovered, it’s time to get back at it.

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Tagged: Catskills, Hiking4 Comments

Plateau and Sugarloaf Hike

Posted on by Peter Minde

On the last Sunday in June, I returned to the Catskills for another dose of torture. After mulling various options, I parked the shooting brake at Notch Inn Road, off Route 214 north of Phoenicia, and set out for Plateau and Sugarloaf.

Trail along Warner Creek

In the northeast that weekend, the weather was sketchy. On Saturday, I threw down a hard rollerski workout and beat the rain. With a 50% chance of thunderstorms and a chance for hail Sunday afternoon, I was cautiously optimistic.

I kitted up and set out. Notch Inn Road is a private road, with property owners granting an easement for access to the state forest preserve. At the end of the road, in an unmarked gap in the trees, was the trail head.

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Tagged: Catskills, Hiking5 Comments