Скачать или смотреть Hiking the Blackheads - Three of the Catskill 3,500 Footers in One Epic Traverse

Come along as Moe (of ‪@HikerTrashHusbands‬) and I hike the beautiful Blackhead Range in the Catskills of upstate New York. The hike takes you over 5 peaks - Blackhead (3,950'), Black Dome (3,990'), Thomas Cole (3,950'), Camel's Hump (3,540'), and Caudal (3,320').

We started our hike from Big Hollow Road just east of the community of Maplecrest. From there we ascended the Batavia Kill Trail to the lean-to of the same name. Deciduous trees and ferns flank either side of this part of the trail. Before we left the area of the kill, we filtered water as there is no water beyond this point.

Beyond the lean-to we followed the Escarpment Trail briefly up to the summit of Blackhead Mountain. There is very little view from the actual summit, but a short walk to the east took us to a massive view of the Hudson Valley to the east. From there we retraced our steps to the summit and headed down the west side of Blackhead to Lockwood Gap via the Black Dome Range Trail, which we follow for the rest of the hike.

The ascent up Black Dome wasn't quite as tough as the ascent up Blackhead but nearly so. There are a couple of vistas, one just to the east and one just to the west of the summit. The eastern vista was my favorite as the western one is a bit grown in.

The hike to Thomas Cole isn't bad at all, and there's a nice view of it behind you when you are nearing Camel's Hump. On the hump there is a lone coniferous tree which must be a real sight when leaf off is happening.

There's nothing much to say about Caudal save of the steep descent on the western side. It's a bit feisty, but at that point you are in the home stretch. Moe and I did see two red efts on Caudal which was a highlight for me as I hadn't ever seen one before. Watch your step!

Our hike ended at Elmer Barnum Road. The other Hiker trash Husband, Jeff, met us on Caudal after a hard day at work to kindly shuttle Moe and me back to the car on Big Hollow Road.

Have you done this hike? If so, tell me all about it in the comments. If you haven't and have questions, leave those, too. Thank you for stopping by!