I finally broke into double digits this weekend, bagging West Kill Mountain, #10 on my Catskill 3500 list.
There was call for a lot of rain this weekend but I managed to have luck on my side. It was pouring in Manhattan early Saturday morning when I woke up. I packed up and then waited. I didn’t want to ride up in the rain and then have to pack away my riding gear wet. Around 9:00am the storm passed, I packed up the bike, and headed north, arriving at the Spruceton DEC parking lot around 12:00 noon. This trip took a bit longer because I had to travel down backroads quite a bit to get to the lot.
I arrived to an empty lot, switched clothes, and saddled up the backpack, which by the way, was a brand new ZPacks Arc Blast. I love my Osprey Exos but I’ve been reading about the Arc Blast (and the cutting edge ultralight products of Joe Valesko) for over a year now and have been wanting to try it out for myself. I was not disappointed and will post a side by side review of the Exos vs Arc Blast when I’ve spent a few more trips with it.
This trip was also the maiden voyage for a Zpacks Duplex tent which blew me away far more than the backpack. I’ve been backpacking with a Hilleberg Unna tent for over a year now but its strength isn’t as a lightweight, hot weather tent. These two new ZPacks additions have taken my base weight down almost five pounds. More to come on these two products in later posts.
The weather was gorgeous the entire day in West Kill. The hike started off on the fairly flat blue blazed Diamond Notch trail that runs along West Kill (kill being a dutch word that means creek), then veered onto the red blazed Devil’s Path which was a consistent steep climb up until a bit past the 3,500 ft marker, and then eased off for most of the rest of the way to the summit (though there were a few steep portions) with a mandatory rest stop at Buck Ridge Lookout for spectacular vistas.
Heading back down, I found some perfect forest floor at 2,400 ft to pitch tent for the night (however, the bear bagging experience was fraught with inordinate amounts of bad luck). The timing was perfect as it began to rain approximately an hour later and rained all through the night and early morning – a great test for the ZPacks Duplex tent which performed swimmingly (and I don’t mean this literally, I stayed completely dry). The rain finally stopped around 7:00am. I packed up and hiked out dry, back to the bike.
Anyway, enjoy the following photos. See you on #11.
Arriving on my BMW R1200GS at the Spruceton DEC overnight lot for the trip up West Kill Mountain.The West Kill Mountain trailhead. I could not find the register box.Diamond Notch Falls of West Kill being enjoyed by numerous hikers and backpackers.Once past the Diamond Notch Falls and now on the red blazed Devil’s Path, the hike is a steady uphill climb.Hitting the 3,500 ft elevation marker, always a natural high.Once past the 3,500 ft marker the climb decreases in intensity.The “Rock Overhang,” not the most original of names. It reminds me of one of those traps hunters set to catch their dinner, except this one is human sized.Just playing with some eye-level macro photography.Yours truly, completely soaking in the majestic view at Buck Ridge Lookout. BTW, you’ll notice that I’m sporting my new ZPacks Arc Blast.A panorama of the Hunter / West Kill Mountain Range and beyond. Stunning and breathtaking, to say the least. This is from Buck Ridge Lookout, only a short distance from the summit.A panorama of the Hunter / West Kill Mountain Range and beyond. Stunning and breathtaking, to say the least. This is from Buck Ridge Lookout, only a short distance from the summit.The summit of West Kill Mountain. No views here, they’re all at Buck Ridge.Heading back down. It always seems steeper going downhill. Here, I’ve tossed down my poles to free up my hands.Refilling my water bottles at a water source around 3,100 ft. OMG, this water was amazing and incredibly cold. You can see the cold sweat on the plastic bottle I just filled. You’ll never understand drinking Dasani ever again.Setting up camp for the night. I just finished hanging the bear bag. The Zpacks Duplex tent was a breeze to set up, though not pitch perfect on my part this first time. I’m using my Hilleberg Unna groundsheet to avoid packing up a muddy-bottomed tent the next morning.Here’s a nice photo of Sunday morning, after having slept solidly all night throughout the rain storm. The ZPacks Duplex was a palace.The elevation graph from my Garmin Montana GPS showing the ascent of West Kill Mountain. I don’t know what all of those little spikes signify.Google Earth mapping of the trek to the summit and back of West Kill Mountain.On the bike and heading back to Manhattan. A horse enjoying some time in the sun, watching passers-by.West Kill Church with a sign by the cemetery that reads, “So Long”. Not sure they realize what they’ve done. Either that, or they have a macabre sense of humour.Margo’s Hungarian German Restaurant. This must have been the place to go many, many moons ago.
