N e w s
The week of November 17th begins with sun followed by clouds and mild weather on Sunday with highs in the high 50's. Monday will have times of clouds and sun with gusty winds and highs in the mid 50's. Tuesday will be partly sunny with highs in the low 50's. Wednesday will be mild with times of sun and clouds with highs in the high 50's. Thursday will be breezy in the morning with showers followed by clouds and cooler temperatures highs in the high 40's. Friday will be mostly cloudy with a little rain in the afternoon and highs in the low 40's. On Saturday there will be occasional wet snow in the morning with wind and low clouds and highs in the low 40's. The trails are very dry and many water sources are not flowing. The forest is so dry that there is a burn ban and hikers should be careful to obey it! There are layers of damp leaves and overnight condensation can make some rocks slippery which can ruin a nice trip to the mountains. Daylight will continue to slowly decrease heading toward the winter solstice and the end of daylight savings time means longer hikes should start early as daylight ends earlier. Packing a working headlamp is always a good idea as it may mean the difference between finishing a hike easily and wandering around in the forest. NEVER assume that conditions at the trailhead are the conditions on the mountain. The ticks are still around looking for a warm body during the cooler weather. Packing insect repellant may still be a good idea. When the weather conditions are constantly changing, be sure you have dressed appropriately in clothing that will wick away moisture to prevent it from accumulating in your clothing, which can, at the very least, be uncomfortable. Layering should be with non-cotton materials as cotton tends to hold moisture. Keeping hydrated is essential no matter the temperatures since hydrating properly will allow you to hike longer and in greater comfort. Be sure to carry plenty of water with you as local water sources can be unreliable and may be contaminated. Once you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated! Remember, the weather forecast is only a prediction and always contains percentages. Be prepared and have a plan for the most likely and least likely forecast! Are you prepared to stay out overnight on a trail? Conditions in the morning can change drastically by the afternoon. Conditions at the trailhead do not always reflect the conditions on the peaks! Variable trail and weather conditions are a hallmark of these mountains. BE CAREFUL AND BE PREPARED!
Sheila: September 24, 2011 - July 12, 2024
Sheila was with us for more than 12 years. She was a great friend and a fantastic hiking companion. She went with me on all but a handful of hikes in many diverse places. Her first hike was at Frick Pond in December 27, 2011. Her last hike was July 1, 2024 on the Parksville Rail Trail. After that hike, her health began to deteriorate rapidly. When she could no longer breathe properly we called on the staff of the Jeffersonville Animal Hospital to put an end to her suffering. We cannot express are gratitude for the caring and companionate treatment we received. The end was quick and quiet. Cindy and I stayed with Shiela until it was over. She never seemed in distress. We are heartbroken but knew that what we did was right for our good friend.
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Thursday: September 5th: Round Top Figure 8's
Wednesday: September 11th: Sheena's First Hike
Friday: September 13th: Trim XC Path
Saturday: September 14th: Sheena On Round Top
Friday: September 20th: Sheena Returns to Round Top
Saturday: September 21st: Sheena Leads Me to Round Top
Sunday: September 22nd: Family Hike on Round Top
Thursday: October 3rd: Walnut Mt XC Course
Friday: October 4th: Walnut Mt XC Course Review
Monday: October 7th: Round Top Figure 8
Wednesday: October 9th: Walnut Mt XC Course Review
Saturday: October 12th: Round Top Figure 8
Thursday: October 17th: Round Top Figure 8
Sunday: October 20th: Around Frick and Mongaup Falls
Tuesday: October 22nd: Round Top Figure 8
Thursday: October 24th: Parksville Rail Trail
Monday: October 28th: Round Top Figure 8
Wednesday: October 30th: Round Top Redoux
Saturday: November 2nd: At Least There's Round Top
Monday: November 4th: Two Figure 8's for Sheena
Thursday: November 7th: Parksville Falls
Saturday: November 9th: Two Full Figure 8's
Wednesday: November 13th: Two Full Figure 8's
Saturday: November 16th: Two Full Figure 8's
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- + Hiking Picture Books
The Best of Five Years
I take hundreds and sometimes thousands of pictures each year. It is hard for me to "throw out" pictures so most of them end up in my online albums. Some of these pictures are better than others and I am trying to be more selective. For several years I looked at ALL of the pictures for the year and selected some to publish in print. Lately I have grown lazy and will have to do some work to catch up! Various websites such as Winkflash, Blurb and Zazzle provide this service. I always wait until there is a sale of 50% off or more! Below are links to the PDF copies of these books.
Hiking 2009
Hiking 2010
Hiking 2011
Hiking 2012
Hiking 2013
Hiking 2014
- + Sullivan County Hiker
Website has most popular county hikes!
Sullivan County and the areas bordering it have many different trails for visitors to hike. Some trail are hiking trails that can be difficult for beginners. Over trails can be found in local parks and offer a much more relaxed experience. There area also some rail trails for walkers to explore. I have created a website called
Sullivan County Hiker to highlight some of the trails available. The site has a list of all the trails on the home page. There are also pictures of different areas. In each area there are:
- Trail descriptions for an easy, moderate and difficult hikes
- Trail maps for the area
- Distances for the hikes
- Latitude and longitude for each trailhead and parking area
- The reason the hike was given its difficulty rating
The site will be updated with new hikes. I will also be adding downloadable maps in PDF format which can be printed or used in the Avenza app on your cell phone
- + Trail Maintenance Equipment
Axes and Saws: Which one is best?
I often use Silky saws to clear blowdowns from trails and they work very well. Recently I have been trying out various premium axes to see how well they perform in removing some larger blowdowns. I have concentrated mostly on higher end premium axes both those made in America and those produced abroad in Sweden, Germany. Austria, New Zealand and Latvia. These axes when used properly are a good choice for felling and sectioning most large blowdowns and some smaller ones.
I also collect vintage axes which are some of the best designed axes. There are different patterns and different steels used in these older axes.
To see my "collection" of axes and knives click
here.
- + Hiking Poles
Essential or luxury?
When I first began seriously hiking in the Catskills around 2005, I was 53 years old and was puzzled by the number of people who were walking on the trails with sticks. I soon found out that many people considered hiking poles an essential part of their gear and I began to us them on every hike. I found that the poles enhanced my stability, provided support on all types of terrain, gave me an upper body workout and prevented "sausage fingers". Click
here for a complete explanation.
- + Trailkeeper.org
Trails around Sullivan County and Beyond
The Trailkeeper project has been around for some time. The original site was a mess of trails without any real hikes. The site was slow to update because the development was based on grants. I volunteered to update the site and spent more than 50 hours collecting GPS data and updating the site. I heard that the site was being updated and the update was being supervised by an arm of the county government. I was not consulted or given credit for my work. I was locked out of the site and no one in charge will answer my emails. This is sad since there are still many trails and parts of the site that need updating and editing. I hope to make contact soon and get permission to continue to work on the site. If you would like to take a look at the site, you can do so at Trailkeeper.org. For a better site try
Sullivan County Hiker or you can find more information on this site.
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