SW,Hunter,Bearpen,Vly 1/14,15

[mudhook]

Went out Saturday morning after the rains subsided to do a quick trip up Rusk, but instead ended up hiking Hunter and its little sister SW. It was 52 degrees at 11:30 in the parking lot so I hiked up to the railbed in a tee shirt and snowshoes after 3200'. Lots of running water, often ankle deep even in snowshoes. I passed the railbed twice before finding it which should have been a clue to what was coming next. It was now raining and heavy fog. My gps quit, as it always does when needed, the only map I had was of the western catskills, I have no sense of direction in the fog, and my dog who can find any canister if someone has eaten there in the last five years would not lead in the heavy slush and water. Needless to say the canister was found. I took a compass bearing so as not to end up in Lanesville, and continued on. No ,it was not easier to follow my tracks back to the railbed. Back on the trail we continued on upstream, following the swimming brook trout until we reached the clearing where the fire tower used to be. The cabin was there, but no tower. I ate a ppj, changed into a dry shirt under the porch roof, it rained a little harder, and the tower either reappeared out of the fog or returned from wherever it was. It was 45 degrees at this time.Heavy rain with sleet on the way down the truck trail. It was already getting dark and snowing when I got back to the truck, 35 degrees, a little after 4:20.
Sunday morning I met Rockysummit in Margaretville and we headed up to Halcot to climb Bearpen and Vly from Johnson Rd. It was 6 degrees, 4-6" fresh snow, windy, and clear. We put on snowshoes and walked up the road to the tarpaper shack as it is known locally.From there we headed up to Bearpen where the views were fantastic, but it was too windy and cold for much picture taking. About 0 if not lower. We decided to eat when we got out of the wind, which turned out to be back at the shack .Passed three hikers on their way up Bearpen who had come from Vly so we knew we had a broken track up. Quick trip up Vly and back down, little bit icy where the snow had blown off but nothing to write home about. Back in Margretville it was 1 degree F.
Two days , two completly different hikes; over a 50 degree change in temperature, slush, water ,rain, ice,snow, fog,wind ,sub zero wind chill, tee shirt to heavy wool mitts. One hike in solitude and quiet, the other with good company and the roar of the wind, no views to great views. This is what makes winter hiking so challenging and enjoyable, you never know whats going to happen next.

[MattC]

Nice reports, Mudhook. I was only out today, but Jay, Carol and Chip got the full experience this weekend, including a frigid Sat. night at Devils Kitchen leanto. Anyhow, we had a whole crew out for Jay's winter 35er hike today on Kaaterskill High Peak. I wrote a TR over at VFTT. We were also following the brookies up the trail!

Tony, I'm glad to hear you were able to grab Bearpen and Vly. Too bad the cold winds drove you off the summits quickly. It was rough where we were and it might have been even worse for you guys. I believe the wind was coming out of the NW, so Bearpen was probably right in the teeth of it. Strangely enough, Hurricane Ledge was actually more calm than the wooded summit of High Peak-I guess because the top of the mountain was blocking some of the wind.

Matt

[rockysummit]

Wow, what an excellent hike. Beautiful super clear skys with views I hadn't seen from Bearpen and Vly in the past, especially this being my first winter climbs of these peaks. Mudhook, great hiking with you, and you really hit the jackpot for "winter" weather extremes this weekend! Matt, I think we were the lucky ones just getting out on the coldest, windyest day this year! Hope there's plenty more to come.

[doldreo]

nice trip post guys, i whimped out this weekend after the whitten-cornell hike was canceled and took solace in front of my new flat screen! An interesting point from the weather people was that last year we had pretty much the same drastic temp swing on the same day! I think the high was only 1 degree different.
Brian

[Jay H]

We put on snowshoes and walked up the road to the tarpaper shack as it is known locally.

I've read Mark Schaefer refer to that hunting shack as the "Ben Dover hunting shack"

I used an umbrella on saturday for the first time to get to WHP. Very nice, I will try that some more in the spring/summer when the temps are warm and a rain parka would be too hot. I really liked it and WHP was a good hike for it as it is relatively open woods. Bearpen would not be the best and Vly would be a bit worse, but for trailed hikes, it's not bad!

Jay

Hi Mudhook,
Nice report,I was wondering if Scott replaced the canister on Vly?

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Jay H

I've read Mark Schaefer refer to that hunting shack as the "Ben Dover hunting shack"

I used an umbrella on saturday for the first time to get to WHP. Very nice, I will try that some more in the spring/summer when the temps are warm and a rain parka would be too hot. I really liked it and WHP was a good hike for it as it is relatively open woods. Bearpen would not be the best and Vly would be a bit worse, but for trailed hikes, it's not bad!

Jay

I thought "Ben Dover" was the one on ski run road and "tarpaper" was the one just below Vly?

[mudhook]

The tarpaper shack is in the col between Vly and Bearpen. This is a private club. The Ben D. Over camp, a play on words by the members, is a leased camp owned by a logging company. On a good weekend its very similar to a Mad Max movie (ATV's, Motorcycles, trucks wheeling around in circles, the humungous have nothing on this bunch).) This is on the ski run road. The owner is supposedly dealing with the state to sell it, and 700 acres including Round Top, which would be real nice.
Ralph, the "canister" is back, I say no more!
Jay, I will be trying an umbrella, it would have been perfect saturday on the Hunter loop. So would a kayak.

[rockysummit]

Oops! I guess the secret's out (canister). Hey Mudhook, I wonder where we would have wound up if we opened umbrellas on Bearpen. Probably would've flown like Mary Poppins over to KHP for Jay's celebration!

[Jay H]

OK, I stand corrected. I have only done bearpen/vly from the "middle road" of the two. Never from the Ski Run Road. You simply walk up the road til you hit the tarpaper shack and then you go left for Bearpen and right for Vly (from the south).

Didn't know there was another hunting shack in the area...

Jay

[Mark Schaefer]

Jay, the cabin I have referenced as the Ben Dover hunting shack or cabin is the one between Bearpen and Roundtop on Ski Run Rd. The peak bagging procedure is similar to the tarpaper shack, but with roads. One direction via a long walk on old roads takes you to Bearpen. The other direction via a somewhat faint ATV track directly opposite the front of the Dover dwelling will take you to the 3440' Roundtop summit. Although Roundtop is privately owned the Catskill Center for Conservation owns a conservation easement so you can climb Roundtop without seeking permission. This ATV track goes through some thick stands of thorny blackberry bushes that are 7' high in some areas. It gives a sensation of swimming though thorns. August through September Roundtop has more blackberries than you could ever imagine eating - perhaps the best blackberry mountain in the Catskills. Bearpen also has mucho blackberries via this route.

The last few years I have noticed that the cabin is labeled with the more formal "Benjamin Dover Hunting Club" perhaps to conceal the bad pun a bit more. Perhaps a variation of Johnny Carson's Dr. Al Bendova, that he often joked about in his monologues.

Mudhook, It is good to hear that Roundtop may become state owned. Perhaps the summits will become quiet again with state ownership. I almost always see bears on Bearpen and Roundtop when I hike mid-week, but never on weekends anymore.