Breeze Hill, Dark Hollow, Old Route 128 (Blue Hills Reservation)

Breeze Hill, Dark Hollow, Old Route 128 (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Figure 8 Loop

Distance: 3.96 miles

Elevation: 269 feet

Time: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills Winter Trace; Blue Hills Grid

The Hike

I was lucky enough to miss the last "snow storm" while I was in NJ, but I still got lucky enough to enjoy a bit of the snow with a Monday afternoon hike in the Blue Hills! I parked a little later than planned due to an accident on 95, so my orignal grand plans of hiking around 5-6 miles, I shortened it to just under 4. I started at Houghton's Pond and christened the nasty porta potty, and started my journey! I wanted to walk the boardwalk behind the visitor center, but it was borded up for the winter. I meandered my way along the main path past the bathhouse, to 2053, hiked the bit of road that connects to Andover Path, and then backtracked to hike up Breeze Hill via the Prescott Foot Path and a short meander in the woods where there were plenty of footsteps, which I found interesting. 

From Breeze Hill, I made my way to the Tucker Hill Path, which I followed to its terminus at Headquarters Path, and then Chickatawbut Road. The white-triangle route follows the parking pull-off and then dips back into the woods at the Dark Hollow Path, which I followed all the way to 2096. I followed the Bugbee Path to 2070, and then made my way on the Angle Path to 2092. This stretch of my hike was quite uneventful and quiet, which was welcomed. I turned right onto Burnt Hill Path, which led me down to Old Route 128. I still have some trails to hit in this area, but the sun was going down and I was a bit chilly, so we were officially on the return trip! I made my way to the view of Great Blue Hill from Houghton's Pond, followed the yellow-dot blazes, and then followed the wide path through the picnic area that leads to the middle of the parking lot. It was a short one, but a nice afternoon in the snowy woods. 

Step-By-Step

    - Park at Houghton's Pond parking area.

    - Start hike by passing Visitor's Center and then follow blazes to 2053.

    - At 2053, hike toward Andover Path and retrace steps.

    - At 2053, follow red blazes up Prescott Foot Path to Breeze Hill.

    - Summit Breeze Hill just off trail, continue hike to 2071.

    - At 2071, follow Tucker Hill Path (green blazes).

    - At terminus, turn right onto Headquarters Path (green blazes).

    - Follow Headquarters Path to Chickatawbut Road.

    - Walk along Chickatawbut Road to Dark Hollow Path Trailhead.

    - Follow Dark Hollow Path to 2096.

    - Turn right onto Bugbee Path, hike to 2070.

    - At 2070, turn around and hike on Angle Path to 2092.

    - At 2092, turn right onto Burnt Hill Path.

    - At 2085, turn right onto Old Route 128.

    - At bathrooms, turn right and hike to view of Great Blue Hill via Houghton's Pond.

    - Follow yellow blazes to the picnic area near the bathhouse, then follow unnamed trail back to parking lot.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

White-Yellow-Red Loop (Savannas Preserve State Park)

White-Yellow-Red Loop (Savannas Preserve State Park)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 3.88 miles

Elevation: 0 feet
Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike

I’m down in sunny Florida visiting my Dad’s new snowboarding home - he and the stepmom were working this morning so I drove over to their nearby state park to do some exploring! Right after the entrance to Savannas Preserve State Park there are two iron rangers - one for the visitor center and one for the canoe launch area - I paid my $3 and drove along the sandy road to the canoe launch, where it felt like I made my own parking spot in the grass (but I guess that was okay?) and started walking around the canoe launch area. There was a nice boardwalk covered in little lizards and a great view to the wetlands with the morning sun in the background. From there I swapped my flip flops for my sneakers (which my Dad had accidentally stolen for his bike ride - I chased him down in his car to trade) and started my hike!

There is a kiosk with trail maps just before the canoe launch, and beyond that is the white trail. All of the trails here follow wide roads with some very unique (at least unique compared to places I’ve previously hiked) scenery. I truly felt like I was in the lion king! This first stretch of the white trail was in great condition with easy footing. After a short bit the white trail veers left and the yellow trail begins on the right - I decided to take the yellow trail since the sun was still lower on the horizon and I saw there were two bridges - hoping I would avoid too much exposure when the sun was at its peak.

The yellow trail feels more secluded than the white trail - the trail itself was grassier with an occasional sandy patch. I was in awe of the tall trees paired with the scrubby plants covering the ground (if I have time to go back this week I’ll break out the iNaturalist app to learn what on earth I’m looking at). There were plenty of ground-level spider webs, only visible by the morning dew, which was really neat. The two bridges were a fun change of pace and had great views of the wetlands (no gators though…). I also couldn’t get over how many birds there were! From small songbirds to big long noodle birds. I noticed the sun was starting to beat down on me, and I maaaaybeeeee forgot to bring sunscreen… whoops. The weather was absolutely gorgeous when the sun was behind the clouds and when there was a breeze, but when the air was still and the sun was out I was cooking (78 degrees is a BIG jump from what I’m used to!). I was even lucky enough to come across a bunny crossing the trail. 

The yellow trail terminates back at the white trail, and a bit further down the white trail is an intersection with the red trail. So far, I’ve noticed that the white trail had more of those tall beautiful trees and the yellow trail focused more on the wetlands. Thankfully the trails were 99% dry (so far…). The red trail started off as just a continuation of the same terrain, but then as it approached private property it was deeply rutted with large sand mounds that provided some annoying footing for 200-ish feet. The trail was right up against someone’s back yard who was having a lovely morning by their pool. The rutting never let up, but the trail widened once veering away from the private property, which allowed for much more stable footing. 

The red trail continued on with distant cheering of the Port St. Lucie High School gym classes, and I would hear the occasional rustle from the scrub, assumingly a lizard jumping out of the way. There was one small formerly burned area where only the skinny stumps remained. The red trail terminates back at the white trail, and the white trail was more of the same as before. There were two flooded sections of trail that thankfully there were herd paths around, and one long, black, noodle bird (my own scientific name for it) just chilling. I picked up the pace at this point as I felt the sun getting hotter and hotter, and once I made it back to the yellow trail, the end was in sight! I passed my first and only other person, a runner, right near the trailhead, and then I was back at the car! A really great way to start my day… now to the beach!

Step-by-Step

• Park at the canoe launch area.

• Start hike past kiosk on white trail.

• At junction, turn right onto yellow trail.

• At terminus, turn right onto white trail.

• At junction, turn left onto red trail.

• At terminus, turn right onto white trail.

• Follow white trail back to the car.

“Savannas Preserve State Park” from Wikipedia

Savannas Preserve State Park is predominantly a savanna; open grasslands with sparse South Florida slash pine trees. The park is made up of pine flatwoods, basin marsh, scrubby flatwoods, wet prairie and the Atlantic scrub ridge. Protecting southeast Florida's largest freshwater marsh, the Savannas Preserve State Park manages over 7,000 acres. It is home to many species, most notably: the threatened Florida scrub jay and gopher tortoise, the American alligator, and the sandhill crane. The park is also the home to a rare plant that only grows in the Savannas Preserve State Park in the world, the savannas mint.

Savannas Preserve State Park Map (FL DEP)

Savannas Preserve State Park North Trail (FOS)

Photo Album

Green-Orange-Blue Loop (Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area)

Green-Orange-Blue Loop (Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 5.21 miles

Elevation: 699 feet
Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike

My final hike in New Jersey before flying to Florida to visit my dad at his new place! I had a few hours to kill in the morning, so I drove to an old favorite - Pyramid Mountain. I had hiked here for a field trip in the 2nd grade to the famous Tripod Rock, and then again with cub scouts, and a few more times as I got older and started exploring the area more. I decided to go with a loop that I know I enjoy that parallels the Tarrytown Reservoir, then climbs up Pyramid Mountain and returns via Lucy’s Overlook and Tripod Rock. I made it out the trailhead at the Boonton Avenue field just before 8:00am, and got started hiking in the cool, misty air. 

The very first stretch of the hike is along an access road which parallels multiple sports areas before continuing into the woods. The green trail is a gentle meander through the woods in view of the reservoir, passing over a few footbridges and skirting some private property. At some point in the past there was a trail that connected Pyramid Mountain with a local street in Kinnelon, and then further to the Kakeout (sp?) Reservoir, but that appears to have been since abandoned. The final stretch of the green trail is a bit steeper up a slippery rock slab, but thankfully I didn’t fall. Finally, the trail terminates at a new (new to me at least) kiosk, with the option to turn left or right to join the orange trail.

I turned left which immediately led to a nice viewpoint over the Taylortown Reservoir. There wasn’t much distance to the views due to the foggy, misty conditions, but it was still nice. The orange trail scrambles down and then slowly descends through open woods and impressive rock formations to the shoreline of the reservoir, which is where I infamously took a picture with my friend Marissa in high school, posted it on Facebook, and then my aunt commented “is that where you go to make out?” - which Marissa was not a fan of. We have not been facebook friends since. The orange trail continues to meander around the reservoir area until it turns away from the dam in a rooty area, and eventually comes to its terminus after following what appears to be a summer camp/corporate picnic area. 

Next up is the blue trail, which has clearly been rerouted since my last visit years ago. I have a vague memory of a very steep yellow trail jutting off at some point during this first stretch of blue, but I’m not entirely sure. The blue trail in this section is very gentle, and eventually passes through a power cut with a classic power cut view. Soon after the trail turns sharply right and begins to climb Pyramid Mountain, first gently up to cross the power cut again, and then steeply up to the summit area, which seems freshly manicured. There is a large cairn and two viewpoints up at the summit, both offering the same nice view. Nothing breathtaking, but lovely nonetheless. The blue trail then gently descends off the summit to a junction with the blue-dot trail, which is the next leg of my morning adventure.

The blue dot trail is lovely, slightly rugged, and very green. Lots of rhododendron and lichen… and rocks. I took the purple trail to Lucy’s Overlook, which has a lackluster view but a nice, rugged trail. Purple rejoins blue-dot, and then it leads to the classic Tripod Rock, which is a glacial erratic that is truly impressive how it manages to balance. The blue-dot trial leads away from Tripod Rock, I realize how hysterically sweaty I am for a 36-degree day, and it meanders through the ridge line until its terminus at the orange trail.

The final stretch of the hike followed the orange trail back to the junction with the green trail, trying very hard to not slip down the wet rock slab on the green trail, and questioning what the very loud sound was coming from in the distance from the direction of my car. I would later realize that my car was fine, but they were taking down multiple trees right next to my car, and they were parked along the access road that the trail follows. Instead of risking a falling limb, I walked through the baseball field before eventually making it back to my car, getting back to Mom’s house, realizing there’s no bread for grilled cheeses, and then ordering bagels instead. 

Step-by-Step

• Park at Boonton Ave. field and start hike following green blazes.

• Follow green blazes to terminus at the orange trail.

• Turn left onto the orange trail.

• Follow orange trail to terminus.

• At terminus, continue left onto blue trail.

• At cairn, turn right to continue on blue trail.

• Follow blue trail to the summit area of Pyramid Mountain, then continue on.

• At terminus of blue trail, turn left onto blue-dot trail.

• At junction with purple trail, turn left onto purple trail to Lucy’s Overlook.

• At terminus of purple trail, turn left to continue on blue dot trail.

• Follow blue dot trail to its terminus, with a side trip to tripod rock.

• At terminus, turn right onto orange trail.

• At next junction, turn left back onto green trail to complete the loop and return to car.

Map of Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area (MCPC)

Photo Album

Wyanokie Torne & Osio Rock (Norvin Green State Forest)

Wyanokie Tourne to Osio Rock (Norvin Green State Forest)

Hike Type: Lollipop Figure-8

Distance: 3.11 miles

Elevation: 728 feet
Time: 1 hour, 40  minutes

Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike

I had the day to myself in New Jersey while everyone else in my life is working, so I headed over to one of my favorite spots in the state - Norvin Green State Forest! I had been eyeballing this figure-8 loop with the Tourne Mountain for a couple years, but my AT challenge last summer took over my priorities. It wasn’t until I was pulling into the parking lot when I realized I had been here before, multiple times! The top part of the figure-8 is the Stone Living Room, a classic NJ hiking destination, and the lower half is Osio Rock, where I had been at least once before. I parked at the Otter Hole Parking area with three other cars, crossed the street, and got started on the blue-blazed Hewitt-Butler Trail. 

Right away the trail follows one of the defining characteristics of the trails at Norvin Green, rocky and right on up. It climbs a small hill before descending, both steeply, and then comes into a col where the blue and the red Torne Trail meet. I hiked the small spur of the Torne Trail to the road and back, just inches I decide to hike all the trail this summer(?!), remembered when I was young in college me and two friends hiked up to the stone living room, but we missed our fourth friend, so we printed out a photo of her and taped it to a piece of cardboard to bring her with us. Sadly, when we crossed the footbridge to the road, we dropped her into a stream (RIP). 

The Hewitt-Butler Trail has been rerouted in recent years, I assume to account for erosion. The trail moderately climbs through some nice, rocky woods in some dense humidity. It was 34 degrees when I started but was quickly climbing into the 40s, then 50s, and eventually topping out in the 60s. Nearing the top, I poked the height-of-land in case I decide to start working towards a modified NJ1k Challenge (?!), and then leapt toward the Stone Living Room, which seems smaller than I remember? I also realized that the Stone Living Room isn’t on the Hewitt-Butler Trail, which I can’t remember if that’s a new thing or if it's always been that way (I’ll need to check some old photos). 

Coming down from the Stone Living Room, there are some nice views away from NYC/Wanaque Reservoir, but I wanted to get that specific view. There is a trail split where the blue trail turns left for an easier descent and the blue-dot trail follows the original footbed steeply down - I chose the easier route as it ventured in the direction of the view that I wanted - and thankfully I got it! There was a great view of Osio Rock, the fog-covered Wanaque Reservoir, a town center (maybe Bloomingdale’s?), NYC, and the rest of Norvin Green. I was equally impressed with how well-blazed this trail was.

The easier route rejoins the steeper route, and then continues to descend into a daunting col, which doubles as the intersection with the red-blazed Torne Trail. Very rocky with a drainage going through the middle. Continuing on the Hewitt-Butler Trail, the good blazing continued up through the cool and moderately as the Hewitt-Butler Trail ascended to Osio Rock. The one positive of the humidity was that the forest smelled of spring, which of course is false hope, but exciting nonetheless. There are a few viewpoints in the upper stretches of the trail, but the best views are from Osio Rock, which doubles as the high point (I think… there was an impressive boulder just before the summit also…). 

There is a short scramble coming down from Osio Rock and then the trail follows a narrow footbed down the hill, descending into a dry wetland area. The Hewitt-Butler trail used to continue over a bridge further on, but it has since been closed (in the past 10 years at least). Here, I turned right onto the red-blazed Torne Trail which started by following the peaceful, quiet forest floor, before ascending to the same impressive col as before. Through the col and drainage, footing can be a bit sketchy and confusing, but nothing absurd. Soon enough I topped out at the height-of-land on the trail and began to descend to the original junction with the Hewitt-Butler Trail.

I turned right back onto the Hewitt-Butler Trail to complete the figure-8, and now completing the lollipop. Two people were right behind me, so I gunned it up and over that little hill. When I got back to the Otter Hole parking lot, I had grand plans to then travel down to the falls and to Wyanokie High Point, but “plans with a friend” took priority - I took a short side trip to the Otter Hole, and then back to the car to get home and cleaned up! I’m looking forward to exploring the forest much more this upcoming summer. My final take on this hike is that it’s like a chihuahua, small but mighty. The mileage wasn’t rough at all, but I was beat from the ups and downs. 

Step-by-Step

• Park at Otter Hole parking area, cross road to start hike on blue-blazed Hewitt-Butler Trail.

• Follow blue-blazed Hewitt-Butler Trail up a hill and back down.

• Hike out-and-back on small spur of red-blazed Torne Trail to road and back.

• Continue to follow blue-blazed Hewitt-Butler Trail up the Wyanokie Torne Mountain, with a side trip to the Stone Living Room.

• From Torne Mountain, follow the Hewitt-Butler Trail down, and take the easier route bypass for a great view of NYC and a bit of the Wyanokie Reservoir. 

• Continue along the Hewitt-Butler trail to interesting and rocky col, and then climb up to Osio Rock.

• From Osio Rock, continue to follow Hewitt-Butler Trail down to a stream where it terminates.

• From terminus, turn left onto red-blazed Torne Trail. 

• Follow red-blazed Torne Trail back to original junction with blue-blazed Hewitt Butler Trail.

• Turn right onto Hewitt-Butler trail and return to parking lot, with a side trip to the Otter Hole.

Map of Norvin Green State Forest South (NYNJTC)

Map of Norvin Green State Forest (NJ DEP)

Photo Album

Birchwood to Hogback Loop (Wilcox Municipal/Tourne County Parks)

Birchwood to Hogback Loop (Wilcox Municipal Park & Tourne County Park)

Hike Type: Figure 8 Loop

Distance: 5.34 miles

Elevation: 541 feet
Time: 1 hour, 56  minutes

Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike

I’m back in NJ for the first part of February break, which means it’s time for the classic “I need just an ounce of alone time” hike. I drove to Birchwood Lake, pretended I’m still a Mountain Lakes resident (even with my MA plates), and planned to hike the red trail to the top of the tourne and back. The first part of the hike went as-planned - following the beach bypass trial to the Tourne’s red trail, but I soon came up on a group of rambunctious tweens that I simply do not have the patience for on my vacation week. At the junction with the purple trail, they continued on the red trail, so I altered my plans and took the purple trail.

The purple trail avoids the two hills that the red trail climbs over, and then takes a low route, eventually crossing an unmarked trail that has a closed sign over it, and then crossing the paved park road. I had planned to follow the purple trail to the playground, but then I saw a new orange-dot trail that I’ve never seen before??? I had to take that trail, of course, and see where it led. It starts by paralleling the purple trail to the playground, but then takes a rocky route, clearly enjoyed by mountain bikers, up the hill. 

The orange-dot trail crosses the yellow trail, which leads to the top of the tourne, and goes into the interior of the loop, which I had only been once on an old abandoned trail that nearly caused me to fall down the “mountain” (high school was an easier time…). The orange-dot trail comes to a terminus at the new orange loop, which acts almost like a second circle in a venn diagram to the yellow loop. The route follows beautiful forest, sometimes with a wide footbed and other times a very narrow single track. There is a ledge soon after the junction that offers seasonal views, but I was more amazed with how beautiful the forest was. It could have been the endorphins of getting to explore this new area of a park I’ve been to dozens, if not over a hundred times. 

I passed a few mountain bikers and enjoyed the seasonal views of nearby hills and Hamilton Farms, the former-plant-nursery-now-weed-farm-that-people-hate. The orange trail crosses the yellow trail again, and skirts below the Mouse Cradle Balancing Rock (I’ve always been curious of the name of that…), before wiggling its way back to the original junction with orange-dot. I retraced my steps on orange-dot, then turned left onto yellow, which coincides with red. At the wildflower area gate, I continued along the red trail, exited the wildflower area which acts as the technician beginning/terminus of the trail, and then did a short road walk to the other technical beginning/terminus of the red trail.

This final stretch of my hike was relatively straight-forward, following the red trail all the way back to the Birchwood Lake loop. Two mountain bikers (one kid and one dad who clearly wanted to go faster) passed me, and I hiked past a few hikers, but it was overall pretty quiet and uneventful. I followed the Birchwood Loop counter-clockwise to finish out my hike, eventually returning back to the car and taking a well-deserved shower. 

Step-by-Step

• Park at Birchwood Lake (Mountain Lakes residents only)

• Start hike on Beach Bypass trail.

• At fork in trail, veer left.

• Enter the Tourne County Park’s red trail on the same footbed.

• At junction with red/purple trails, turn onto Purple Trail.

• Stay on Purple trail until crossing paved road.

• Cross paved road, now following Orange-Dot trail.

• Follow Orange-Dot trail until it’s terminus, then turn right to follow the Orange trail loop counter clockwise.

• Follow orange trail loop counter clockwise, then turn right back onto Orange-Dot trail.

• Follow Orange-Dot trail to junction with Yellow Trail.

• Turn left onto Yellow Trail.

• Continue onto Yellow/Red Trail.

• Continue to follow Red Trail past the deer gate through the Wildflower Trail Area.

• Exit Wildflower Trail Area, road walk along paved road to the red trail continuation.

• Follow the Red Trail all the way to Birchwood Lake.

• Turn left onto Birchwood Loop, and follow trail back to car.

Map of Tourne County Park

Giant Ledge & Panther Mountain (Catskill Park)

Giant Ledge & Panther Mountain (Catskill Park)

Hike Type: Out-and-Back

Distance: 6.81 miles

Elevation: 2031 feet
Time: 3 hours, 46  minutes (3 hours, 39 minutes moving)

Hiking Challenges: Catskill 3500 Club

The Hike

It’s February vacation! Before I made my obligatory visit to NJ to see the family (and get a haircut…), I decided to tackle one of the Catskill 3500 peaks. The club requires four of it’s mountains to be climbed in the winter for the 35’er patch, which happily narrowed down my choices! I ended up hiking Panther Mountain via Giant Ledge, which ended up being an excellent choice (my other idea was Blackhead, which according to FB posts was an icy disaster). I left Boston around 4:45am, and got started on my hike just before 9:00am. 18-degrees at the trailhead, I was playing with my layers until finally deciding on leggings, sweatpants, darn toughs, long sleeve base layer, fleece zip up, and merino wool buff. I wore the puffy for the first 10 seconds and then packed it in. Overall, my layers worked great. I definitely failed at not sweating, but I was able to alternate between rolled up just baselayer to full gloves/buff/fleece relatively comfortably. EITHER WAY, let’s get hiking!

I crossed the street at the hairpin turn and got started hiking by crossing a footbridge and IMMEDIATELY sipping in a way only Scooby Doo could do and falling hard on my right side. Thankfully I was able to walk it off, but WHAT a way to start the hike. I decided to not take iPhone notes during this hike just to unplug some more, which was a lovely plan that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t mind taking notes during the hike, but when I’m doing a bigger hike (i.e., up an actual mountain), I like to be more in-the-moment. 

The first part of the hike follows the yellow-blazed Phoenicia East Branch Trail, gently ascending up a ridge. There was crusty snow on the ground with a few icy patches, but nothing too slippery. There was one steeper area that was 100% ice flow, but a footpath/trail has been made around that section. It was relatively breezy this morning, and I couldn’t tell if the loud tree knocking was because of the breeze, an animal, or Bigfoot (probably Bigfoot). Again, I was trying not to sweat, but to no surprise, failing miserably. 

A little under a mile in, the trail reaches a junction with the blue-blazed Giant Ledge-Panther-Fox Hollow Trail. The first part of this section had lots of woodpeckers and was fully flat and frozen - I only fell through a few spots. I had the pleasure of following a rabbit’s footprints during this section. I could tell when warm, this section of trail would be soaked. Looking at the AllTrails app, I could see there was a steeper climb coming up, so I took a moment to take my fleece off and put the spikes on for this section, which was a good move. There were only two sets of footprints ahead of me, but they got a little lost at the steeper section, leaving me to “break trail” (thankfully only though 1” of snow). Near the top of Giant Ledge, there are a bunch of campsite spurs, which I definitely got lost on, but was able to bushwhack my way shortly back to the trail and the first viewpoint, where I found the duo ahead of me. They were having truly a fantastic morning - they had food and a stove for a hot beverage. Good for them! I thanked them for their footprints and continued on my way. 

There were a few more viewpoints along the trail showcasing the incredible view from Giant Ledge - I’m really looking forward to getting to know the Catskills more so I can know what I’m looking at! There was a bit of old graffiti at one of the viewpoints, which I always find to be super cool. The trail begins to gently, and then steeply descend to a col between Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain. It was COLD in this col - I fully re-bundled up. Some new animal tracks appeared in the col - likely a coyote (could be a bobcat, could be a wolf if they have those?), that accompanied me for the rest of my trip. 

There were seasonal views up to Panther through the trees, and then I started to climb again! The climb overall was rather forgiving - any steep sections were followed by a relatively flat section. There was one excellent view of Giant Ledge & Slide Mountains. The trail itself traversed some beautiful, rocky scenery, and I got to see a few OLD blazes, which was fun. There was one final STEEP section, which was more daunting visually than it was in practice, which leads to the 3500’ sign! The coyote tracks would disappear and reappear, clearly avoiding more challenging terrain. 

The final stretch of trail was much more gentle with a few tricky ice flows that thankfully were not too steep. The tracks led me right to the summit area, which has a small view and tree with a “P” carved in. I saw the AllTrails track continued past the summit area, which could have been nothing or it could have led to another view, but I figured I could check it out when I have to do Panther again in a non-winter month. It turns out I would never meet my coyote friend, which was truly okay, but I did appreciate how the tracks made me feel like Snow White for a little while.

The return trip started as-expected, I passed my friends again as they were heading up panther and a couple other hikers, made my way down the steep section safely, and noticed the snow and ice was starting to melt. Giant Ledge itself was an absolute madhouse of tourist hikers, which is fine, but not my cup of tea, so I picked up my pace to get away from the crowds. The flat part of the trail was a wet, icy, muddy, swampy mess, but the final stretch on the yellow-blazed trail was peaceful with less people. I signed the register and made it back to my car, where it was now a balmy 37-degrees. One man approached me asking where the trailhead is, how long it took me, and how far I went, and then commented on how my pace was “good” and how that was “good for me,” which wasn’t necessary but well-intentioned. I did my journaling, and then made my way to NJ!

Step-by-Step

• Park at Giant Ledge parking area.

• Follow yellow-blazed Phoenicia East Branch Trail

• At junction, turn left onto blue-blazed Giant Ledge-Panther-Fox Hollow Trail.

• Summit Giant Ledge, continue on, summit Panther, and retrace steps to car.

Slide Mountain Wilderness (NY DEC)

Photo Album