Kaaterskill high peak and hurricane ledge is a very challenging hike. What makes this challenging is the fact that you have to take an unmarked trail to get to the the top and to the viewpoints. The unmarked trail is rather strenuous and I don’t recommend this for beginners at all. I recommend having a GPS or map so that people lower their chances of getting lost.
Kaaterskill High Peak And Hurricane Ledge Important Information
Trail Map: Trail Map 1, Trail Map 2
Suggested Phone GPS Apps: Alltrails.com, Avenza Maps, Google Maps
Difficulty: Strenuous
Distance: 8 Miles
Elevation Gained: 2000 ft
Portable Toilet At Parking: None
Trail Breakdown
Blue Trail To Intersection – 1 mile
Blue Trail To Second Intersection – 2.3 miles
Blue Trail To Unmarked Trail – 0.5 miles
Unmarked Trail – 1 miles
Going Back – 4 miles
https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3221907529
Note: The information is just an approximation. In my stats, I went to Huckleberry Point also.
Parking
Start Of The Hike
The cold passed by reluctantly as it lingered itself to the leaves, ground, and the air that surrounded me. A cold morning where you want to stay in your warm bed and enjoy the comfort of your comforter but here I am in the middle of another adventure. Always looking for new trails to explore and new obstacles to conquer. This day was no different, just another day where my blood was boiling, keeping me warm and comfy against the coldness of the wilderness.
Blue Trail
The sun wasn’t out yet, and a thin fog blanketed the trail. I was the only one hiking as it was too early and too dark for most people. I had my headlamp on and slowly but steadily moved up the gentle incline filled with wet brown dead leaves that were scattered everywhere. The air was cold, almost freezing as I zipped my jacket up to keep my body warm and comfortable. This was a big hike that I wanted to do today, and it was best to be prepared right from the get go.
Blue Trail
The trail was well marked, and well maintained but there was a sea of dead leaves blanketing the trail, making it hard for me to increase my speed or hike faster which I wanted to. But the trail was easy to traverse even in the dark, I just needed to take it slow and not rush as the trail had frozen water in some parts of it as well. The frozen water combined with the dead leaves made some parts slippery, and running over them could prove disastrous so I hiked slower and waited for the sun to come out before increasing my speed.
Intersection
The narrow path on the left leads to Hurricane Ledge and Kaaterskill High Peak while the wider right path leads to Huckleberry Point.
Blue Trail
*I went to Huckleberry point before heading to Kaaterskill High Peak so the sun was way up in the sky already.
The sun illuminated my surroundings as the green leaves shimmered underneath its light. I walked softly on the gentle incline filled with black worm like roots sprouting from the ground. I took wider steps and hugged the side of the trail to avoid the roots as my hiking backpack was heavy with camera equipment. I didn’t want to trip nor be caught off guard by roots that were covering the trail.
Blue Trail
An ocean of dead brown leaves greeted me on the trail. The area seemed more tranquil here as the trees were very wide apart. It seemed like a great place to set up camp and sleep for the night as the wide open space would give people more freedom and a lot more room to maneuver. The area was well lit up due to the sun’s rays having less obstruction which should give people more peace of mind as they could see bears and other wild animals coming from afar.
Blue Trail
The ground was soft and muddy on this part of the trail which could lead to injuries and accidents. Luckily, the trail was well maintained with wooden planks that were well setup to give hikers an easier time to cross.
Blue Trail
The footpath became tougher with steep ascents and high elevation gains but I kept moving on. There was no time to rest as I spent too much time on Huckleberry Point, I have to catch up to the sun now or I may end up hiking in the dark. My body sweating profusely but I still kept hiking upwards without resting nor stopping as I had to do it due to fear of hiking at dusk already clouding my mind.
Blue Trail
The footpath became narrower as I got closer and closer to the top. The wide open space that I enjoyed before disappeared and I was left with a very tight trail surrounded by skinny trees that have low hanging sharp branches on all of their sides.
Blue Trail
At the top of the blue trail, the footpath became watery and muddy. It was as if a river was flowing down from the mountain and the water accumulated in the trail due to erosion. I tried to hug the sides to avoid the mud but it was of no use. There was mud and water everywhere. A good pair of waterproof hiking boots would have been ideal in this scenario and I would have been able to cross without spending too much energy
Blue Trail
The red trail was another steep ascent but it was short and was no problem.
Getting To The Unmarked Path
After the red trail, I went to the right.
Getting To The Unmarked Path
After 2-3 minute, I saw two trees with a couple of cairns in the middle.
Getting To The Unmarked Path
One of the trees had an arrow indicating where the unmarked path was.
Unmarked Trail
The unmarked trail was hard to follow and I got confused a couple of times but there were a lot of hints and signs where the trail was and where it leads. There were stones that looked as if they were manually placed there by human beings, blue markers that faded to white, patches of ground that were not covered by brown leaves, and so on.
Unmarked Trail
I stepped sluggishly into the steep footpath with my body sweating profusely and breathing heavily as I was dead tired at this point in time. Steep and arduous, the unmarked trail proved to be very difficult to hike through with roots, boulders, mud, leaves and other annoying obstacles on the way. I kept moving one step at a time in a very slow manner, trying not to get confused or lost as that would mean that I would waste more energy.
Unmarked Trail
There was a blue marker on a tree which allowed me to find the trail but such markers were very few. The unmarked path was not a trail that I would recommend to beginners. People can get lost and they may end up hiking in the dark because of it. Most beginners do not bring any flashlight nor headlamps and they would just use their cell phones which may ran out of battery after hiking for an hour or more.
Unmarked Trail
Dead leaves and logs were everywhere as the footpath was not maintained at all. It was hard to discern which way to go to as the dead leaves often hide the trail and there was often no marker to tell me which way to go. I had to rely on my instincts and sudden changes in the terrain to see which direction I would go next.
Unmarked Trail
It seemed that this was once a well maintained and established trail judging by the footpath and the color-faded trail markers that could be seen once in a while. However, as time goes on, this faded in popularity and as such, it was no longer maintained. Maybe the area is now used for snowmobiles rather than for hikers and maintaining such trails would only hurt their business.
Kaaterskill High Peak
It was a wide empty area without any views or anything interesting but the ground was flat and there were no tree trunks or leaves obstructing the view of the sky. Perhaps people used this as a camping area or a place to rest. I explored a little bit as the map indicated a plane that crashed here but I was always bad at finding stuff as such I didn’t see any plane nor any crash landing site.
I sat down on the cold hard ground and took a rest. The relaxing view of the clouds and the cool gentle wind that comes and goes was lulling my body to sleep. My eyes shut closed and found myself sleeping underneath the gray sky, only to be woken up by a few hikers passing by.
Hurricane Ledge
Further along the trail was a series of ledges where people could sit and enjoy the view. There were most likely around 2-3 ledges that can accommodate a small group of people.
I sat at one of the edges of the cliff and admired the beautiful fall foliage that was happening right in front of me. The valley was beaming in beautiful hints of gold, green, yellow, red and brown as far as my eyes could see. There was something amazing with the way the trees seemed to die before the winter. Each tree would create a fabulous show of dazzling colors to commemorate its temporary death as if death was something to be celebrated, look forward to and not feared. Nature does it very elegantly which is the transition from one dimension to another.
Hurricane Ledge
The mesmerizing sea of trees greeted all the hikers with open arms, inviting us to watch, admire and to spend time with nature even for just a little while. The sky looked like dark boulders of different sizes that was slowly dissipating and giving way to the clear blue sky. I just stood in awe at how amazing the world could be. Even without technology or gadgets, I felt good, entertained, and most of all at peace or one with nature.
Hurricane Ledge
Every time I was at a viewpoint, I just wanted to let go. Let go of everything, let go of my desires, let go of my ambitions, let go of my worries, let go of all the burdens I was carrying and just enjoy this moment for all of eternity. I just wanted to let everything be, stay in stillness forever where nothing changes and everything is the same. Where I could enjoy myself and have no worries till the end of time.
Hurricane Ledge
I took one last look at the fall foliage that I know will be gone in a few days. I was lucky that I came here at the right time. I wasn’t early nor late, I was here at the perfect time to enjoy the changing of colors of the trees. They were beautiful, words could hardly describe how beautiful nature could be. Here I am just admiring nature and hoping such a moment would last forever.
Going Back
Going back down the unmarked trail was even more confusing as it was easy to just keep moving downward. I would often see the trail at the right side, a couple of feet away from me and had to move aside bushes, dead trees, pointy branches and other obstacles blocking my way just get back to the footpath. This part was most likely the most dangerous as I would often stray away from the intended path as such there was a chance I could encounter dips, holes, snakes, sharp branches and other things that were treacherous to my health.
Going Back
The afternoon light was slowly losing its strength, a clear sign that dusk was approaching. I quicken my pace even more, trying to get back to the parking lot before darkness covets the forest. I started before the sun was up and yet the hike still took the whole day. I enjoyed myself too much that I forgot what time it was. Such was always the case when I was having fun where I was hiking a place that I had never been to before.
End Of The Hike
I arrived at the parking lot safe and sound. To my surprise, lots of people were hanging out near their cars, it seemed that they just finished their hike as well. There were lots of children and a few adults which tells me that they all went to Huckleberry Point to enjoy the fall foliage. Everyone was laughing, smiling and enjoying each other.
I often see such smiles whenever I go hiking. Nature has that effect on people for some reason where everyone becomes happy and satisfied. I was happy and satisfied as well. There was a gladness in my heart that I could not explain, I just know it was there every time I hike. A happiness that couldn’t be explained, could only be felt.
For more hikes similar to this one, you can go to my Best Hikes In Catskill, New York page.