Belleayre Mt from Lost Clove

[billandjudy]

The day started out great--9:30--nice and cool--low 60's. The LC Trail looks to be very lightly used. There is no TR and it starts to climb steeply immediately, it gains 1900 feet in less than 2 miles. It's a continuous and steady climb all the way to the Eastern Summit. The trail alternates between loose cobble and soft grass and is lined w/White Wood Aster, and Orange and Yellow Jewelweed in many spots--looks to be a old road. Hit the summit at 11:00 and made my way along the Ridge Trail, passing several ski runs and coming to the new High Speed Quad, still under construction. Caught some close-up views of Rose Mt. Farther behind were Balsam(not the 35er) Sherrill and North Dome w/ Hunter's and Westkill's tippy tops just visible. I explored around some and had lunch on the Sunset Lodge's deck. You can see Balsam and Haynes from there. It got warm in a hurry and really got hazy too so it was off to the car. Heading back down you can see Panther and Wittenberg (I think) off to the South. It's a fast walk down, 1 hour exactly from summit to A/C.as back to the car at 1:15. 7.7 Miles 2300 vertical. Lots of birds, got a couple nice pics of a Thrush that sat still for me, a soaring hawk at the summit, and lots of little guys eating blackberries which are starting to ripen.
Mark--The Cathedral Glen Trail is almost completely grown over at the jct w/ the Ridge Trail--very tough to seewhere it went!

Pics http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=553140433&security=yHcuVr

[Jay H]

yes, the upper sections of the Cathedral Glen trail is VERY overgrown and very poorly marked, faded and lots of blowdown. Fortunately, you do have the option of simply hiking down the steep of grassy Cathedral Run (double black diamond) ski trail too. Eventually the Cathedral Glen trail merges with the ski run and then goes down the side til you get to a gate and it goes back into the woods. At this point, the trail is very nice and shaded. If you want a nice hike to do in the shade, the Glen trail is it. Except til you get to the north facing ski trail at least.

going to look at your photos....

Jay

[Mark Schaefer]

I always wondered what was lost in Lost Clove and whether they ever found it again. I think it is too far west for the Dutch Shultz treasure.

I first climbed the Lost Clove trail in 1975 during a mild snow storm. The trail is an old log skid road. Michael Kudish mentions it probably was used for logging out charcoal which was produced on Garretson Ridge, the ridge to the north. There are a couple of intersecting log roads (on private land) that head up to that ridge.

Nice pictures, Bill. I see you saw those "Hiking trail to Belleayre Beach" markers. That trail is perhaps even more neglected that the "Train Station" trail -- at least that opened and was in use. I don't think the Belleayre Beach trail was ever completed, although it is mentioned on the ski center website. I tried to follow the route last year (http://viewsfromthetop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7206). Parts were marked profusely, others not at all, and in places the trail appeared nonexistent. I never got a response from the Belleayre website's webmaster about its status.

As Jay mentioned that top section of the Cathedral Glen trail gets very little use. I always feel guilty when I bypass it for the views on the ski trail. It needs every set of feet it can get.

Belleayre is always a neat mountain with views whatever way it is climbed. The autumn foliage is also nice up to about 3000'. Above that it is a bit too scrappy which is characteristic of the 3000-3500' transition forest zone in the Catskills.