This ended up being the most deceiving climb of the trip so far. Being two of the lower mo
untains in elevation, you get lured into the false sense of security that you can hit both of them in the same day with no problem. The maps did tell a different story when I studied them, but I don't think that I took them seriously enough. The other problem is that bushwhacks are always a "wild card." First off, I'm sure that they are called a bushwhack, because every bush snaps back and whacks you in the face. Some that I have done had well used unmaintained trails or herd paths that lead you right to the summit. Some have gone through open forest without much under growth to slow you down. Some have been steep climbs with rock scrambles, but this one seemed to incorporate all of the worst parts of every other one.
untains in elevation, you get lured into the false sense of security that you can hit both of them in the same day with no problem. The maps did tell a different story when I studied them, but I don't think that I took them seriously enough. The other problem is that bushwhacks are always a "wild card." First off, I'm sure that they are called a bushwhack, because every bush snaps back and whacks you in the face. Some that I have done had well used unmaintained trails or herd paths that lead you right to the summit. Some have gone through open forest without much under growth to slow you down. Some have been steep climbs with rock scrambles, but this one seemed to incorporate all of the worst parts of every other one. First, it was a long climb to the first mountain and the elevation gain from the parking area coming out of the valley was one of my highest. The climb to Sherrill started out following a wood road, but once that phased out, I had to make my own way. Even with the GPS, staying on the ridge you want can be difficult because the terrain forces you to follow it where it wants you to go sometimes. The ascent to Sherrill is about two miles "as the crow flies" but who knows how much you actually go when you have to cross through hollows and avoid obstacles in your path. It ended up being another one of those mountains that you start to see light up ahead of you and think the summit is coming up only to find out that there was another steep climb over huge rock ridges beyond that.
This was a pick up hike and my mother was going to be at the West Kill Mountain trail head (Devil's Path) where I had planned to bushwhack my way down to at 1:00 pm (my normal 2 MPH estimate for this mileage) By the time I made the summit of Sherrill, I was already close to a hour behind. Cell phones are mostly useless in the Catskill Mountains except at most summits and unfortunately this one was remote enough that it didn't count.
This gives me a chance to make my next complaint about bushwhacks... you lose things. (not the mountain's fault, just poor planning) I almost lost my camera a couple of weeks ago because coming down the backside of one mountain a tree branch grabbed the strap and pulled it out of my camera case. Luckily not long after, I actually went to take a picture of Sandy and noticed it wasn't there. A quick back track (although up hill) found it hanging from the branch. Yesterday app
arently some low growth grabbed my Spiderco knife. The low growth finds a way to get under the clip and snatch it away without you noticing. Today, Sarge (who is lower to the ground and constantly burrowing through the brush) lost his pack. There was only a leash and a collapsible bowl in it, but the pack did cost 40 bucks. I didn't have the time or energy to go look for it, so I just called it a loss. Luckily a little later when a tree actually grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket, I felt it happen and was able to recover it from the branch where it was hanging neatly by carrier clip. I have had both my sun glasses and presciption glasses snatched off my head and thrown a long ways by the whipping motion of the branch...
arently some low growth grabbed my Spiderco knife. The low growth finds a way to get under the clip and snatch it away without you noticing. Today, Sarge (who is lower to the ground and constantly burrowing through the brush) lost his pack. There was only a leash and a collapsible bowl in it, but the pack did cost 40 bucks. I didn't have the time or energy to go look for it, so I just called it a loss. Luckily a little later when a tree actually grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket, I felt it happen and was able to recover it from the branch where it was hanging neatly by carrier clip. I have had both my sun glasses and presciption glasses snatched off my head and thrown a long ways by the whipping motion of the branch...The next pain in the ass about walking through low growth... it unties your shoes. It only took me a couple of times to realize that I had to double tie them, but after about an hour, the vegetation manages to untie those too. All this was just after one mountain and I still had another one to go and a long walk out. I signed in at the canister and had the best orange that I have ever eaten in my life and once again had the thought "WTF was I thinking?"
The push on to the second mountain required a steep descent down (and several Sarge carries) to a very narrow col. At maybe a hundred feet wide, missing it would have required a thousand foot descent into the valley on either side and that much of a climb back up. This would be another one of the times that I appreciated my investment in a good GPS and I hit it e
xactly. This made the difference in dropping only to 3000 ft. instead of 2000 ft. The climbs back up to North Dome were a little more gradual with several easier humps over less challenging ridges. My first discernible herd path of the day finally led me to the canister after a long walk on a mostly flat summit. It was the first canister that if I hadn't thought to look back every once in a while, I might have missed it.
xactly. This made the difference in dropping only to 3000 ft. instead of 2000 ft. The climbs back up to North Dome were a little more gradual with several easier humps over less challenging ridges. My first discernible herd path of the day finally led me to the canister after a long walk on a mostly flat summit. It was the first canister that if I hadn't thought to look back every once in a while, I might have missed it. Since I was so far behind in time, I took the "teenage girl type self portrait" to the right without my trusty gorilla tripod and one picture of a geological survey stamp and pressed on.
Trust me, "all down hill from here" are famous last words. You can't go off the back side of North Dome from the summit because it is a shear cliff, so you have to negotiate a drop that 
takes you down along a ridge that I wanted to take me to the Devil's Path and back to the Mink Hollow pick up point another two miles away. Walking sideways down a mountain is tough on the ankles. In my 25 days of climbing, I can honestly say that I only fallen where my butt actually hit the ground three times. Today, I busted my ass, six times. I couldn't get over the ridge to where I needed to be to meet the marked trail out, so when I ran out of water and my legs were starting to cramp up, I heard the sound of a road and took the first wood road that I could find down to private property ( I do apologize to all the land owners) but at this point I just needed some level ground. I came out about a half mile from the parking area but the asphalt was such a better walking surface. My father's Toyota pick up was a great sight in the lot, but I had to go find my mother about a hundred yards up the trail where I think she was either going to look for us since we where late or call in the search and rescue.
takes you down along a ridge that I wanted to take me to the Devil's Path and back to the Mink Hollow pick up point another two miles away. Walking sideways down a mountain is tough on the ankles. In my 25 days of climbing, I can honestly say that I only fallen where my butt actually hit the ground three times. Today, I busted my ass, six times. I couldn't get over the ridge to where I needed to be to meet the marked trail out, so when I ran out of water and my legs were starting to cramp up, I heard the sound of a road and took the first wood road that I could find down to private property ( I do apologize to all the land owners) but at this point I just needed some level ground. I came out about a half mile from the parking area but the asphalt was such a better walking surface. My father's Toyota pick up was a great sight in the lot, but I had to go find my mother about a hundred yards up the trail where I think she was either going to look for us since we where late or call in the search and rescue.Long day, toughest hike of the trip and quite possibly the toughest thing that I've ever had to do in my life. I think that I've gone on long enough to start a book here, but a short blog can't fully explain this day. I got off the mountain and downed a Diet Pepsi (and I hate Diet Pepsi) and then about two gallons of water and a quart of Gatorade. Oh... and three beers right after I finished at the Middlebrook Inn while having lunch with my mother for picking me up...
Mountains #30 & #31. Enough said...
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