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Here is the link to the state web site for Mount Greylock:

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/mtGreylock/

and here is the link to our photos:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31014541&l=470b95f1ee&id=1423884380

I will add a full page of planning details for this trip and hope you have as succesful a trip as did we!  Check out our Facebook group page (father daughter backpacking). Lots of pictures there! Have a great hike!

The Long Path travels through the Catskill Mountains.

This summer I took my daughter to the Catskill mountains in eastern New York.  People who live in Manhattan call this “up state New York”, but to me this is still down state!!  We hiked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and exited the trail on Monday.  It was August, and the heat and humidity were way up! All the springs were dried out, so be very careful planning your water refills!

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We hiked a grueling 14 miles the first day!  She has really gotten tougher as she has grown up!  We ate Mountain House freeze dried granola for breakfast and freeze dried dinners.    This helps weight and clean up (you eat right out of the package!) For lunch we still enjoy block cheese, summer sausage, and apples.  I haven’t quite gotten organized enough to dehydrate my own apple slices, but that would be a nice way to save money and weight! The views on top of Mount Wittenburg are great!!

The view on a clear day from the top of Wittenberg mountain!

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Here is the trip planner: We started out Friday and hiked south to the Fox Hollow lean-to from the Parking area on Fox Hollow road.  This comes off of route 28 just west of Phoenicia, NY.  This is a short 1/4 mile hike so it’s easy to do before dark and arriving after work on Friday.

Here is the topo map picutre of the Fox Hollow lean-to which is just west of Phoenecia on route 28 (in New York of course)

From here we hiked south over panther mountain (3500 feet!) and then to Woodland Valley campground (total about 10 miles).  You could stay here over night (fee and showers!! make a reservation first) then counquer Wittenberg Mountain the next day.  My daughter is 18 now and in very good shape so we kept going on Saturday: over Wittenberg  (tremendous views) and over Cornell mountain.  This was a total of 14 miles for Saturday; we started at 05:30 to get a jump on the heat and on the trail distance!!  We camped in the low point between Cornell and Slide mountain; true “wilderness camping”.  There are several springs here, but they run dry in the summer so be careful about water!  On Sunday we then climbed (literally) over Slide mountain

Jenette and I on top of Slide Mountain in the Catskill mountains: 4260 feet!

, the hightest peak in the Catskill mountains.  This is very exciting, hand-over-hand stuff at points with a rough ladder to finish the summit!  The vistas are much better on Wittenberg, but the climb is still worth it!  We then hiked down and south (although you could shorten this trip by hiking north to the Slide Mountain parking area; requires 2 cars) via the Curtis/Ormsbee trail (blue) to the Phoenicia east branch trail to “Neversank branch creek”.  Plenty of water here and undeveloped camp sites too!  Our last day out was over Table mountain and Peekamoose mountain!  2700 feet up and 2700 feet back down! ugh! But a great work out!  Our second car was parked at the Peekamoose road parking area.  This is  a tough hike, but a grreat one!  Travel light. Bring a camera!  Have fun!  Let me know how it goes! Dave.

This picture APPEARS to be flat stairs, but I am crouching on the ground and the ladder runs nearly verticle to to the summit of Slide mountain!

A nice way to see these mountains, but NOT kill yourself, is to camp at the Woodland Valley campground and do day hikes with snacks, water, and a rain coat (just incase).

Here I am ready for the second portion of our Saturday: 4 miles up 2600 feet to our campsite. You could stay here and do day hikes up the big mountains if you'd prefer NOT carrying all of your gear up the mountain! (NO SHAME in this at all!!!)

Red trail marker for the Long Path

All that is needed for a beginner to start backpacking is an interest, alittle imagination, and the willingness to try out something new.  If you have any questions or worries that you don’t know how to do something, you can always ask at the local camping store.  The other very nice way to “work the kinks out” is to set up in your back yard for a Saturday night, try out the tent,  the stove and the sleeping bags.  Camping out in the back yard gets the girls ready for the “real thing”!  (it gets you ready too!).  The other nice way to break yourself in slowly is to take your gear and your daughter out for a “day hike” somewhere; load up your packs with your gear and just go for a 3-5 mile hike t0 test out your boots, your snacks and your stamina!  And don’t forget to have fun!  Once you’ve tried out your gear in the back yard, you’ve gone out for a “test hike” you are ready for the real thing!  For your first weekend trip go easy on yourself! Don’t plan on a 7ooo foot summit!  You will have a much more enjoyable time if you (and the kids) aren’t stressed out!