This gorgeous hike and challenging backpacking adventure will take
us to the Hunter Mountain Wild Forest between Hunter and Phonecia,
NY. Our destination is the State Fire Tower atop Hunter Mountain at
4040'!
At this popular hiking destination you can find some of the best
views in the Catskills but it's getting there that's half the
fun!
There are six ways up to the fire tower of varying difficulty
but the one I've chosen to utilize for this hike provides the
greatest vistas but is also the most challenging! We will begin our
hike at the end of Diamond Notch Rd on the Diamond Notch Trail
which intersects with the infamous Devils Path which will take us
up the south side of Hunter Mountain. We will then take the Hunter
Mountain Trail to the Spruceton Trail to finish our journey to the
fire tower.
We can enjoy some lunch and the views at the top and then make
our way down to the leanto to camp for the night. There is space in
the vicinity for tent camping for those who prefer not to use the
leanto.
In the morning depending on troop morale, we can enjoy a short
easy hike out the Hunter Mountain trail or make our decent on the
Devils Path to the parking area on rt 214.
There is very limited parking on the old jeep trail at the end
of Diamond Notch Rd so there will be a need to carpool from parking
areas at the other trailheads located on rt 214.
We will be passing geocaches on our adventure but this trip will
focus more on blowing off the winter dust and having some fun in
the beautiful spring wilderness!
Although the weather will be a bit more mild, it is suggested
that you come prepared for the eventuality of cold moutain weather
in the evenings. It's usually wise to pack for weather worst than
what is expected. We will, of course, know more about conditions as
the date of the event gets closer.
At a minimum, participants should be equiped with:
-Comfortable Backpack sizable enough for a trip of this
type.
-A sleeping bag rated for 15-20 degrees
-A backpacking tent(if not using leanto)
-Backpacking stove and cookware
-Water storage and purification(like a pump or filter)
-Comfortable Boots
A set of trail maps published by the NY-NJ Trail Conference is
available for $16. The trails used for this hike are on map #41.
Trails DN(Blue Blaze), DP(Red blaze), HU(Yellow Blaze) and SP(Blue
Blaze)
At this time I'm open to suggestions if this trip itinerary doean't
work for you. The point is just getting together with good friends
and having an awesome hike. Hope to see you there!