Saturday I wanted to do something a bit more challenging that my recent local hikes but not too technical. On days like these I tend to revisit a favorite hike so I decided to hike Hunter Mountain from Sprucetown Road. I’ve done this hike dozens of time so I told myself I’ll just walk up until I feel like turning around. I don’t need yet another picture of the fire tower on top of the mountain.
There was some snow on the trail but it had been heavily trafficked recently so snowshoes were not needed. I slipped on my spikes to ensure some good traction and headed out. I did strap the snowshoes to my pack in case I needed them higher up.
It wasn’t too cold but most importantly the sun finally made an appearance.
Can’t recall the last hike I was able to see my shadow.
I walked the old road/horse trail towards the tower at a steady pace, relaxed that I had no real goal other than to just be out in the woods for the afternoon.
After a few miles of walking I reached the spring just below the John Robb lean-to and as usual it was still pumping out water into the old barrel. This must be one of the most reliable springs in the Catskills. I ventured past the former site of the lean-to and the trail to the newer one. The new one is in a far better spot a few yards of the trail but there are still some views looking back towards Rusk Mountain from the old lean-to site.
I’m now at the age where I’be been hiking these mountains so long I can remember back when there were views in many spots that are now blocked from tree growth.
I reached the turn off to the Colonels Chair, a trail I have never bothered to hike and after today I can still say I’ve never hiked that trail. Normally when I head out to Hunter I want to get to the top or complete the full loop and I don’t want to invest the 2 plus miles out and back to visit the ski slopes that launch from Colonels Chair.
I did start out briefly on the spur to the slopes but after it descended a few hundred feet I decided I really didn’t want to climb the amount that would be required on the return trip. I can now say I’ve hiked about a quarter mile of that trail and one day I’ll finish it in my quest to fill in the map.
After the quick aborted trip down the spur I decided it would be ok to just head down to the car, so I did.
It’s always surprising how steadily this trail climbs often taking more out of you than you recall from the last visit. In that case the way down is always far quicker and I was back to the car in about an hour covering over 3 miles. Not as quick as a few of the backcountry skiers I encountered but respectable for foot travel.
A around 6 miles covered with 1,500+ feet of climbing. But most importantly I saw the sun.
