Catskills Bail

[Devin Montgomery]

A few weeks ago, I posted a thread here looking for some partners to join me on a challenging route through the Catskills. As the title suggest, we were unsuccessful. All the same, I enjoyed meeting some fellow BPLers and had a good overnighter in a new range of the Northeast. The trip report can be found on my blog here.

This is what it looks like to give up on a trip.
Notice the mangled wire that failed to fix my snowshoe.

[b s]

Too bad Devin. I was curious about the winter off-trail conditions you'd experience up there ever since I read your plans. Did you get off trail at all? Do you think that if your shoe had held, the off-trail sections would have been doable?

Thanks for the trip report and honest evaluations. Hope you get back sometime to complete your trip.

[Devin Montgomery]

Hi Brad, it's hard to say for sure how things would have gone if I had carried on with an unbroken shoe. I didn't get to the off-trail sections, but once I went above the 3500' markers, there wasn't much distinction between where the trail was and where it wasn't. The tracks I was making at that point were the only ones to be seen, and there was the same 2'-3' of snow on trail as there were off trail. As an indication of its depth, the plastic trail markers that are normally above eye level were at my waist. One benefit is that this likely covered much of the scrubby undergrowth.

In the end, my desire to finish the route wasn't strong enough to endure the change from a group to a solo trek. I find that starting a trip with a group spoils me a bit by establishing the expectation of having the companionship and support. If I had finished alone, it would have left both Chris and I with 20 mile hitches back to our respective cars. This was also unappealing.

So that's a long answer… to be more succinct: yes, I think the route (including off trail sections) is doable in the snow, but don't know for sure.

Oh, and thanks. I hope to get back there, too. :)

[Ryan Linn]

Huge bummer, Devin. I've been in that kind of situation before, and it's never easy to settle with bailing on a trip that you've been planning for so long.

So, when are you planning a rematch?

[Devin Montgomery]

Wait, so there's a trail in the Northeast that you haven't hiked? :)

But seriously, that's a good question. Maybe the first week in March? That's my spring break.

[b s]

Ahhh, good point. From what I remembered, dense undergrowth would make off-trail travel pretty tough in those areas. Not so I guess when you're walking on top of it!

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