Catskills Fire Tower Challenge Completion, December 11 to 13, 2015

Catskills, New York hiking 5 fire Towers weekend of December 11-13, 2015

The Adirondacks and Catskills Fire Tower Challenge is one of many hiking challenges for young and old and any time throughout the year.  The rules are to climb and document the ascents of at least 23 fire tower summits: 18 of 25 Adirondack Park summits and all 5 Catskill Park summits.  I had already climbed many of these mountains over the years, so in hearing about this, I was drawn to completing the challenge. 

Cathy and I were invited to join a couple who wanted to complete the Fire Towers in the Catskills.  The four of us decided to travel together and rent a cottage for the weekend down in the Catskills.  Being December, we expected snow but there was barely any snow which made the hiking fairly easy.  I plotted out a route to the different trailheads so that our driving time could be a bit more efficient. 

Our departure date to the Catskills brought a disappointing call from one friend who was feeling poorly that morning, sneezing and running a fever.  She wanted so much to go but knew she would not last the day; however, she encouraged the remaining three of us to go ahead.  The drive took a little over five hours to arrive at our first trailhead.  As we approached the Catskills, our plan was to hike Balsam Lake first, then head down to complete Red Hill, then afterwards check in to the cabin in Phoenicia.  The next day we headed to Tremper and finished with Overlook and did not see any snakes, to our good fortune, as Overlook Mountain was known for.  It was a beautiful hot and successful day hiking.  We settled back into the cabin to shower, relax, have a celebration drink and eat.  The next day as we headed home, we were able to hike the last fire tower at Hunter Mountain.  The length of the hikes made it possible to complete two per day which enabled us to complete the challenge and enjoy the weekend.  The weather was bonus.

PERU, hiking the Inca Trail to Macchu Piccu, September 8th to 17th, 2015

Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru, September 8th to 17th, 2015

Four of us flew down to Peru to  hike the Inca Trail.  The weather was great for us, rain only one night which never affected our trek.  It was four nights and five days on the trail that would take us to Macchu Piccu, the ancient civilization which was dug up from being buried.  There is still more excavating to do it is told.  It was a remarkable route that the Incas created to get from village to village.  Lots of steep steps up and down the landscape, along the mountains, up and over.  Our highest point was about 14,000 feet at Dead Woman's Pass.  Beautiful scenery.  Our guide Washi and his assistant Lucy took great care in seeing all of our group make it to the end.  All we carried was our day pack with our day's snacks and bit of clothing and water for the journey.  Our porters carried everything else, the tents, the gear, the propane tanks.  They would watch us leave for the day, then pass us along the way to arrive ahead of us at the next camp.  As we came to the camp, they stood in line applauding us as we entered.  The dining tent, our sleeping tents, mats, bowls for washing up, hot beverage, meal, everything was ready and waiting for us.  Each morning we would be awoken by a tap on the tent and a voice telling us to get up, then we were handed a cup of tea and a wash basin with warm water was sitting outside our tents.  The porters were remarkable, friendly and of good cheer, always ready to help. 

When we arrived at Macchu Piccu, it was the morning so we could see the sun rise over the mountain and down upon the village.  That morning was cloudy, however, it created a mystical effect where the clouds would open and we could see the landscape and the village.  As  we descended, the clouds parted and we could see more. Here we had the opportunity to explore the village before descending down the mountain by bus to the village below where we would have lunch and shortly after depart by train back to our starting point of the trek.

Two of us, while in Macchu Piccu, were able to climb the mountain next to the village and enjoy the view from there.  This was truly spectacular.  The cliffs, steep and narrow steps without railings, the narrow steep paths that had a rope alongside and iron bars to assist in the ascent and descent from the mountain were amazing.

BACKPACKING the COLVIN RANGE and SAWTEETH, August 2015

The Colvin Range and Sawteeth traverse, August 14th to 16, 2015.

This was a solo 2-night trek across the Colvin Range the weekend of August 14 to 16, 2015.  This would be my second solo backpacking this year, this time for two nights.  I had wanted to do the Pinnacle for a while now and thought I could do another loop, over the Colvin Range and down to the Warden's Camp and up over the Great Range back to the Lake Road.  It was a very ambitious trek but I was also able to alter this route as I went along and paced myself.  I parked at the St. Hubert's hiker's parking lot just near the Ausable Club, donned my pack and hiked down the Lake Road to my entry point to my first designated campsite near Gill Brook.  When I was signing in just before the gate, next to the guard's office, the attendant came out and warned me of the nuisance bear that has been wandering about the area, particularly near the campsites.  I thanked him and thought I had my bear barrel, bears are out there anyway, and I know I'll keep a clean campsite and will only eat away from my sleeping area.  I arrived in good time at the first campsite and then decided to keep moving to the campsite closer to Mount Colvin at Elk Pass.  I went in and checked around and saw tents set up.  I thought with a nuisance bear, that bear will be more interested in lots of smells where a group is located, so I decided to carrying on further to another small site that I read about off the shoulder of Colvin.  I met up with a group of students out for a week hiking the High Peaks.  The told me about the bear and that they had seen it and gave it a nick-name.  They were making their way back to camp after hiking Mount Colvin.  I arrived at my campsite and set up my bivy and tarp between two trees.  I ate supper further away and then hid my bear barrel in a creek bed wedged among some rocks.  The night passed quietly and morning came.  This morning, I would do the Pinnacle but as I made my way there, passing over the summit of Blake, I realized the mileage will take me a lot longer than I planned on, so after a short distance past Blake, I turned around and made my way back to my campsite.  I packed up my pack and headed down the mountain towards the Warden's Station where I would hike up the backside of Sawteeth.  This area was very beautiful, well groomed, nice path along a shallow river.  The Warden's Station had lots of log buildings and cabins, a cozy place to visit but only for guests as I was on private land with a right of way for hikers to pass through only.  I continued on and stopped to have an early supper before making my way up Sawteeth.  I met up with a man coming back from hiking Sawteeth and shared with me that it was a beautiful trail, all pine needles all the way up to the summit and indeed it was; however, as I started my climb it started to rain and continued to downpour.  I was drenched and since it was still raining, I continued to hike up as I didn't want to stop as everywhere was wet.  Finally, the rain stopped and the sun came back out.  Things started to dry out and I was now looking for a good place for my bivy to set up for the night.  I found a nice little divet in the side of the mountain big enough for my bivy and tarp where I would not role down the mountain.  I then found another creek bed to wedge my bear barrel in and off to bed I went.  The next morning, I packed up and headed for the summit of Sawteeth where I would make my breakfast.  I enjoyed the views from there and decided I would drop my pack at the junction of Sawteeth and Gothics and hike up to the Pyramid and come down the Weld Trail to the Lake Road and out.  I made it up Pyramid and enjoyed the views from there, a place I had wanted to see and finally arrived at.  The views were amazing all around of the High Peaks and down to Ausable Lake. I could see my route from when I started.  Once I was back on the Lake Road, I really felt the load on my back and the road seemed to be endless.  I finally made it to the gate, signed myself out and was back at the car by mid-afternoon.  Another great journey that really challenged my abilities and I was grateful to be back home to share it.