Hudson NY

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mcphats
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Hudson NY

Post by mcphats »

I'm going to a wedding in Hudson NY the first weekend in October, and I'd like to do a hike while I'm out there. Anyone know the area? Recommendations?

Staying in Downtown Hudson.

Thanks in advance.
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by ChrisinAZ »

Depending how much time you have...the Catskills are right in your backyard there. You can climb the highest peak in the range, Slide Mtn, by a relatively short hike of a few hours; views might be limited. Hunter Mountain is another short but sweet one--you'll have to climb the stairs of the summit tower to get the views, though. If you want a butt-kicker of a Catskill climb, I'd strongly recommend the 17-mile, 5000'-gain loop over Wittenberg/Cornell/Slide/Giant Ledge and back, from Woodland Valley. Downsides include the 2 miles of road-walking after Slide; upsides include some class 3 scrambling, superlative views from Wittenberg, and the option to climb Panther Mtn if you're feeling especially masochistic.

If state highpoints are on your radar, there are three or four within striking distance. Connecticut's is in the extreme NW corner of the state, and is a nice hike with a bit of scrambling, along with a few other summits in the area you may want to check out (Brace Mtn, Bear Mtn, Everett up in MA). Greylock, the highpoint of Massachusetts, is a nice hike with excellent views from the summit--the road to the summit may or may not be open that time of year. If it's not, the shortest approach is the Thunderbolt Trail from the east. New York's highpoint is Mt. Marcy, and is definitely a more involved climb--15 miles roundtrip. It's also more driving than any of these others--probably 3 hours or so. If you can spare the time to climb it though, it's very much worth it!

PM me if you want more info on any of these, and enjoy the area!
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jrbren_vt
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by jrbren_vt »

If you are willing to drive the 3+ hours each way to Mt Marcy that opens up a plethora of possibilities. So the obvious questions are what do you want in a hike and how far are you willing to drive each way ? Catskills sound like a great idea (I have never hiked there). Also consider lake George region, especially Tongue Mt Range and and NW Bay loop. In the Adirondacks if wanting to maximize time on the trail and minimize drive time you want to consider the eastern high peaks such as Dix Range or Rocky Pk Ridge & Giant Mt.
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gwmorris
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by gwmorris »

If you can take a few extra days, head to the Presidential Range of The White Mountains in New Hampshire. Not very far from Hudson. No four wheel drive required. Stay in Gorham, New Hampshire. Check in with the Appalachian Mountain Club online and on arrival at the Pinkham Notch visitor center just south of Gorham. If the weather is good, do a partial Presidential Traverse. You'll be above treeline the whole time, albeit about 10,000 feet lower than what you would fine in the Rockies. If time is short, maybe just do Mount Madison and Mount Adams. The AMC has a great "hut" in the saddle between the two summits.
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by ChrisinAZ »

gwmorris wrote:If you can take a few extra days, head to the Presidential Range of The White Mountains in New Hampshire. Not very far from Hudson. No four wheel drive required. Stay in Gorham, New Hampshire. Check in with the Appalachian Mountain Club online and on arrival at the Pinkham Notch visitor center just south of Gorham. If the weather is good, do a partial Presidential Traverse. You'll be above treeline the whole time, albeit about 10,000 feet lower than what you would fine in the Rockies. If time is short, maybe just do Mount Madison and Mount Adams. The AMC has a great "hut" in the saddle between the two summits.
If you end up going for the Whites, and want the quickest way to the top of a Presi range peak (short of driving the road up Mt. Washington) go for Caps Ridge on Jefferson. It's a nice, fun, direct class 2+ route up a ridgeline that'll get you to the summit in 2700'. You can reach Mt. Washington or Mt. Adams from there with an additional 90-120 minutes of hiking, probably.

Two other Whites hikes I'd strongly recommend are Flume and Liberty via a loop up the Flume Slide trail (slabby class 3) or the classic, but usually-crowded Franconia Ridge loop over Lafayette and Lincoln. The latter is still a viable option with some snow, if you've had winter experience before. If you haven't, something lower would be preferable--I did my first winter climb on Lafayette and almost ended up making what would've been a fatal mistake.

Oh, and in Vermont--Camels Hump from the east is a nice climb (I've done it in fall and winter). On a clear day, you can see clear from Mt. Washington to Mt. Marcy, and the views are some of the best in New England...

All of these are probably a good 2-4 hours of driving from you though, so keep that in mind.
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d_baker
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by d_baker »

ChrisinAZ wrote: Oh, and in Vermont--Camels Hump from the east is a nice climb (I've done it in fall and winter). On a clear day, you can see clear from Mt. Washington to Mt. Marcy, and the views are some of the best in New England...
Camels Hump is a favorite of mine.
Southern VT has some decent stuff too though, and would be closer.
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nyker
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by nyker »

Hey Mcphats,

I'd support all of the suggestions here and reiterate them all, just depends how much you want to drive and what sort of trip
you're after: i.e. forest hike, summit climb, rock climb, etc..

Early October should see some fine autumn foliage color also. (see my Autumn Adirondack trip reports).

As Chrisin Az mentioned, Catskill Park is close and probably the most convenient.
I'd add in Black Dome and Blackhead Mountains, right near to Windham and
they both make a nice hike with some good gain. Hunter Mountain also is a good climb.

Pick up the maps by the NY-NJ Trail Conference of the area. They're fairly cheap and spot on for the area.
http://www.nynjtc.org/catalog/15/maps" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The site also has some good information on the area hikes.
http://www.nynjtc.org/view/hike_ny" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For technical rock climbing, the renowned "Gunks" are nearby near New Paltz which have 1,200+ routes on mid to high class 5 rock.

Further south along and in the Hudson Highlands,you can find many more trails including Breakneck Ridge, a nice class2+/3 scramble
along the river which tops out in a nice hike out and could be 5-15 miles depending on how much time you want to spend there.
Harriman state Park is there as is Bear Mountain, but you'll find more people here as well.
Storm King Mountain, Mount Beacon, Bull Hill, Anthonys Nose are all nearby. This option is good if you were planning on heading south to the Manhattan
also.

Late Sept/early October is my favorite time to be in the Adirondacks, so look into some of the 46ers to climb if you don't mind
driving ~3 hours to get there, better if you have a day to stay overnight.
Mt Marcy, Algonqin, Haystack, Whiteface are just a few of the favorites.

When in town, try and stop in an Eastern Mountain Sports store ("EMS") for some local and recent beta.
Check out their site to see if there is one nearby where you'll be flying into. There is one in Albany off Route 87 right near the University.
(there isn't one in Hudson)

http://www.ems.com/storeLocator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck and have fun!
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by mcphats »

Thanks for all the response. I should have been more specific. This will be a very short trip and so I'm looking for something out of downtown Hudson, or very close by. 2-3 hours, as we'll have to get back to get ready for the wedding. I've found some info online, but a lot of it they want you to buy. Any further info would be great.

Thanks again!
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nyker
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by nyker »

With that timeframe, I'd stick with something in the Catskills then.
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BeastoftheEast
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by BeastoftheEast »

All excellent suggestions. Camel's Hump and Breakneck Ridge are favorites, and climbing in both the Gunks and the Adirondacks is first-rate.

Here are my 2 cents:

The town of Hudson sits on the east side of the river, just across from the Windham-Blackhead Range, which forms the northern escarpment of the Catskills. If you can carve out a total of 4-5 hours, I suggest a clockwise loop of Blackhead, which is a 5.4-mile lollipop with about 2,000' of total elevation gain. It's only a 40-minute drive or so from downtown Hudson to the trailhead at the end of Big Hollow Road.

Here's a SummitPost link with directions, which are right on the mark: http://tinyurl.com/d6nlqvy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here are tracks for the loop, done clockwise in winter after heavy snowfall: http://tinyurl.com/92vjlrc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There are five junctions on this loop—left at the first; right at the second, third and fourth; then left back at the first/last junction to return to your vehicle.

Here's a map, although there are better ones out there, like from the NYNJTC.

Image

Here's a photo, taken 9/21/09, of Blackhead's neighbor, Black Dome, as seen from the trail along the western slope of Blackhead:

Image

It's a far cry from Colorado, but it's still nice. The colors should really be popping the first weekend of October. If you choose this loop, take a left at the first junction onto the Batavia Kill Trail and do it clockwise. You'll see a lean-to on your left, and then you'll do a fairly steep ascent of Blackhead; the final 0.9-mile stretch to the summit features about 1,300' elevation gain. The summit is bearded, but shortly thereafter, as you descend the west slope, you'll get those views. Also, at the fourth junction, you'll be down in Lockwood Gap, which is cool because it's a perfect example of the often tight, narrow cols between Catskill hills. (Our euphemism for "small" is "intimate." :wink:)

Another decent option in this area would be to do a simple out-and-back of Windham High Peak on the Escarpment Trail. The large parking area sits along Rt. 23, which you'll pass if you go to Blackhead. Windham is 6.8 miles R/T with about 1,800' ele. There's also a lean-to on this route, as well as some decent views from near the summit, though you're looking north at the flatlands south of Albany.

The only other option I would recommend, based on your time constraints, is checking out Kaaterskill Falls. The town of Hudson sits near Exit 21 on the New York State Thruway, so you'd want to get on the Thruway, drive south about 10 miles to Exit 20, then head west on Rt. 23A for about 12 miles into Kaaterskill Clove. The road winds sharply through the notch, and at the hairpin turn you'll see the trailhead on your right (north). Keep driving up the hill and park at the pullout on your left, then walk back down the hill a quarter-mile to the trailhead. The trail up to the base of the falls is just under a half-mile with about 450' ele. Watch your step here, though, both on the road and near the falls.

Best of luck. I hope you (and the wedding couple) have great weather. 8)
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LetsGoMets
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by LetsGoMets »

I'd highly recommend getting up to the Adirondacks. The Catskills are nice, don't get my wrong - but if you can do a 3 hour drive into the High Peaks region, and there are just a ton of beautiful hikes.

Some popular ones:

The Macintyre range (Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois): http://www.summitpost.org/macintyre-range/218676" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mount Colden: http://www.summitpost.org/mount-colden/150556" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mount Marcy (state highpoint): http://www.summitpost.org/mount-marcy/150394" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


There are so many others. Feel free to message me if you want suggestions or information around the area.

Also, active user forum about hiking in the Northeast: http://www.vftt.org/forums/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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TCUTED
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Re: Hudson NY

Post by TCUTED »

+1 on the ADKs (high peaks region) vs the Catskills. You could significantly shorten your drive as well if you stick to the Eastern High Peaks. Coming up from Hudson on the northway, it's probably about a 2 hour 15 minute drive up to the Eastern High Peaks (Giant, Gothics, The Dixes, Nippletop) as opposed to nearly 3 hours if you drive out to the popular loj (Marcy, Macintyres, Colden).


If the weather looks good, my personal recommendation for this time of year would be the Zander Scott ridge trail up to the summit of Giant Mountain. This is mostly an open ridge with unobstructed views (something often taken for granted out here) of the greater high peaks region, which at this time of year will be flooded with color. Plus this trail is steep on solid rock, which makes the hike a little more interesting than a lot of the other hikes in the area. As I recall it's short ~3 miles each way? But with a lot of solid elevation gain, ~3000 feet.

This hike / the ADKs in general are well worth the extra 1.5-2 hour drive over the Catskills.

Gothics is also a fantastic hike.

PM me if you want more info!
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