Off to the Catskills

In about 20 minutes my friend Chris will show up in a rental car and we'll be getting the hell out of Dodge for a couple of days. Dodge really gets on my nerves sometimes with its constant lacking in the Lakes & Mountains Department. So, we're headed up into the Catskills to hike the Borroughs Range Trail. The entire trail is 9.7 miles one way. Not only is the hike long, but it is pretty demanding. It takes you over 3 peaks, all of which are over 3500 feet: Slide Mountain, Cornell Mountain and Wittenberg Mountain. Slide's summit sits at 4,180 ft above sea level and is the tallest peak in the Catskills. We will be hiking from the west side of Slide tackling the tallest peak first, although from what I've read the climb is gradual and not too demanding with only a few ladders and scrambles. After Slide we will continue on to Cornell which is a tougher climb involving more use of the arms (this sounds great to me). I think at Cornell's summit, we will most likely turn back as we will be racing against day light. To continue on to Wittenberg could mean hiking out in the middle of the night. One for adventure; I've packed a flashlight, though it would be freezing (literally) if this ends up happening. We'll just have to see. Chris and I are in pretty good shape and we do a lot of climbing together...

I'll be sure to report back on Monday with a trip report full of pictures. Till then I'll leave you with an excerpt from a favorite Robert Frost poem of mine: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.