Slide, Cornell, Wittenburg 7/11/09

[Snickers]

Algonquin Bob was visiting the Catskills this weekend and I came up to hike with him. I put an email out to some friends of our plans to see if we had any other takers for the traverse.

My friend Jimmy D just happened to email to see what I was up to for the weekend, so he and Phil joined us too.

After breakfast Sat morning we headed over to Woodland Valley to leave a car or two. We left my car and Bob's as I wanted Jimmy's car at Slide in case he didn't want to do the whole traverse. Jimmy is more of a camper then a hiker, as he said, it looked good on paper. :)

I had a new way I wanted to take up Slide and the guys trusted me enough to follow along. I promised it would be a beautiful and interesting trail, well and adventure at the very least. The guys were great, as I was teasing that we may never see the top of Slide and may end up on some mountain without a name. The trail up Slide was absolutely beautiful and we found three great viewpoints, beautiful ledges and caves, great mossy covered rocks. I think I have a new favorite trail. After a nice gentle stroll up Slide we popped out on the Slide trail for the short hike up to the summit. The trail around the big rock and memorial plaque has been rerouted to the left side through the Balsam. (??) Down to the ladders we headed for a snack and some views. As we sat there admiring the mountains and col in front of us Jimmy decided he was heading back to the Slide parking area and Phil accompanied him.

Bob and I were off for the rest of the traverse. Bob seemed to really enjoy the ladders and ledges going down Slide. I know he was sure fun to watch and he got the hang of throwing the poles down really quick. Over to Cornell we kept a steady pace. Clouds looked to be getting stormy and I wanted to make it to Witt before a storm rolled in.

We went to the summit so Bob could claim his peak and off we headed to the famous Cornell Crack. When who to my surprise would appear, but Bill Schrimer. Me: OMG, did I miss your email telling me you were going to meet us? I called you on my way up last night. Bill: I didn't get your message. Me: I never leave a message, hate leaving messages, figure you will see my missed call and call back. Bill: Oh, that was that strange number. :rolleyes: Bill was running around the mountains, well he can tell that story. Thanks for the laughs Bill. With a little arm twisting we now had three for the rest of the traverse.

Trail was in pretty good shape, a few muddy spots, but nothing worth giving thought to. We only ran into a father, daughter and dog from Slide to Cornell. BTW, we found your dog lesh and something else. If you read this pm me and identify the other item we found and we will get them back to you.

After Cornell's summit we started to run into gaggles of hikers. We had a nice break on Wittenberg, views were hazy, but still pretty. Soon we were off for what seems like a long walk down to Woodland Valley. Some fun conversation, Bob is a big canoe/kayak guy and Bill is planning a canoe trip so the guys had a great time sharing information. I got Bob to check some holes in the ledges and let us know what he found, just acorns. Must be the chipmunk and squirrel restaurant with a view.

Very nice day with some good company.

Thanks for being brave enough to follow me when I had no idea where I was going. :)

Happy Trails - Cindy

[ALGonquin Bob]

"Bob seemed to really enjoy the ladders and ledges going down Slide. I know he was sure fun to watch and he got the hang of throwing the poles down really quick. Over to Cornell we kept a steady pace. Clouds looked to be getting stormy and I wanted to make it to Witt before a storm rolled in. "

Been throwing poles up and down trails in the Adirondacks for a few years now. I HAD to keep a steady pace all weekend because Ms Snickers here would poke me with a sharp stick every time I stopped to talk or catch my breath! :whip: Ask Cindy about the M&Ms! We also hiked on Sunday, walking up Red Hill and Overlook as my official finish of the FT Quest, but still have 3 FTs calling me in the Adirondacks. :tup:

[rockysummit]

Hey Snickers excellent report. Glad you found the pretty trail on the way up. I guess you made it out before any crazy weather... And that's a good thing!
-Tony

[TFR]

Here are some old pics of the summit of Slide, c. 1958:

Summit with Cornell in the distance

http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/deer1.jpg

Summit with Devil's Path in the distance

http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/deer2.jpg

Summit from old Observing Tower (removed) looking towards the Ashokan Reservoir.

http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/slide3.jpg

[rockysummit]

Great photos Tom. I have a video that I took in 1987 when I placed the camera on the summit rock and got in the frame. You could see Cornell, the reservoir, etc with the camera on the ground. Great views even just 22 years ago.
-Tony

[Jay H]

In 1987 I was about 16 and probably more interested in a slide rule than Slide mtn. :D

Nice pictures Tom, I saw them when you posted it on VFTT... Looks like there is a bug on the first picture's lens (upper right) and the depth is kind of odd. Wonder what are on the rocks in the first picture in relationship to the deer.... Either the deer is really tiny or that is one GIANT bottle of ketchup!

Jay

[ALGonquin Bob]

Looks like there is a bug on the first picture's lens (upper right) and the depth is kind of odd. Wonder what are on the rocks in the first picture in relationship to the deer.... Either the deer is really tiny or that is one GIANT bottle of ketchup!

Jay

Looks like dirt on a slide that was scanned.

[Rockledge]

Gas to the Slide PA: $7.95
Apple on Slide summit: $.49
Gatorade on Cornell: $1.29

The look on Cindy's face when she thought she forgot me: PRICELESS

Slide, Cornell, Wittneberg, Cornell, Wittenberg...am I repeating myself?

I'm always late so I tried extra hard to be on time. Pulled into Woodland Valley at 8:20 for the 8:30 meeting to find a deserted Jeep Hilton and no familiar faces. (They didn't know I was coming) Deliberated for a brief moment about doing the loop from Woodland Valley and thought, "not today." So I headed off to the Slide PA to see if anyone signed in ahead of me. Sure enough Snickers had signed in with a group of four. There were two entries in the register after her so I figured the group was way ahead of me. I ran, damn near literally, to the summit via the direct boring route. I knew they were headed a different way so I figured I'd catch them near the summit. Sat on the top of Slide on a Saturday morning for almost half an hour and saw not another person. My plan was to head back out the CO trail but after the rest I figured, "I'm not working on any list...but...I do need Cornell in the summer." So I'm thinking, group of four vs. me solo, I can still catch them. Off I go to Cornell full steam ahead. Catch a group along the way, but not the one I'm looking for. Brief snack at the Cornell summit and I'm about to reverse course when I think, "well I do need Wittenberg in the summer and it would be a real shame to skip it when I'm so close." Over to Wittenberg, rest for a minute and take a few photos. Clouds are moving in so I figure I better get my butt back over to Route 47. Back up the Cornell Crack and almost to the summit when I hear a familiar "hee, hee, hee" coming down the trail. There is Cindy with one companion. She's thinking she forgot me and I'm wondering what the hell she did with the rest of her group. Introduction to Algonquin Bob and they convince me to turn around again and head for Woodland Valley. Bob says, "don't you want to go to the summit?" NOPE, already been there. Had they found me on the other side of Cornell they would have never convinced me to turn around.

So I spent the first half of my day chasing a group that was behind me and the second half watching Snickers practice responsible LNT principals by retrieving wayward M&M's off the trail, much to the dismay of the chipmunks and squirrels.

It was a pleasure meeting Bob. Too bad you where getting prodded all weekend. :D Thanks for the paddling info. :tup: Hope to see you in the Catskills again soon. Give me a shout when you come back. You had a beautiful day Sunday for your towers. Congrats.

Always fun hiking with Cindy...but leave a damn message next time! :razz:

PS Thanks again for the ride back to the Slide PA.