Huntersfield Mountain

View from Huntersfield Mountain
(All images mine)

Huntersfield Mountain is one of the forgotten Catskill peaks. At 3,422 feet, it is a mere 78 feet short of being a Catskill High Peak and it lies a couple miles north of Catskill Park. That doesn't mean it is not worth visiting, though. The summit, the 42nd-highest peak in the Catskills, lies on the Greene/Schoharie county line and it is the highest point in Schoharie County, For relatively little effort, there are stunning views southeast toward Windham Mountain. A lean-to is at the top of the mountain if you wish to spend the night and the summit is marked by a USGS benchmark. New York has no county high point two-fers; Greene County has two dozen or so higher peaks. A few things I should note:

1. This trail is generally unmarked. The main trail I follow in this guide is easy to follow. The trail is officially-designated and entirely within Huntersfield State Forest.
2. While not too far from Albany, the area is remote and rarely visited. Don't count on seeing another person if you run into trouble. I had cell service for most, if not all, of the hike with Verizon, a rarity for hikes in New York's mountains.
3. This is bear country. The northern Catskill Mountains have one of the highest black bear populations in the northeast. Given that this area is rarely visited, bears do roam. I did not see any bears while hiking this trail, but do be aware that you may encounter one (or signs of one). I would recommend bringing bear spray and something that makes noise. Bring a bear canister if you're spending the night at the lean-to. While not required, I wouldn't camp here without one.

Now that we have that stuff out of the way, it's hiking time. Do note that I took this hike shortly before I decided to start blogging, so pictures are minimal. I generally take at least 15 photos per mile of hike, with many hikes getting over 30/mile. I took 9 photos on this hike, total, and looking back at what I have, some of these are of poor quality. I generally wouldn't post a hike without a full slate of pictures, but there is very little information on this mountain and I was generally relying on information from a friend and a topographic map. I did this hike in November and there was snow near the summit. In most years, it is impossible to get to the quarry trailhead this late in the year due to snow, but the fall was unusually warm.

From the trailhead, an old woods road departs to the east. This road follows the ridgeline up the mountain. With only ~650 feet of ascent over the 1.4-mile trip up, it's generally a gradual and easy hike.

Most of the trail looks like this. I can't remember where this was, but given the snow, it was likely near the summit

Near the summit, the trail starts to be blazed with the occasional yellow DEC blaze. A lean-to and scenic view are just off the trail to the right. If you want to reach the true summit (and I don't see why you wouldn't), continue past the lean-to. You'll be back in a couple minutes to rest and enjoy the view.

Trail in summit area

Past the lean-to, we intersect the former route of the Long Path. Turn LEFT here. Faint aqua blazes indicate that this was the Long Path in the past. Not even 1/10 mile north of the junction lies the summit benchmark in the middle of the trail. I can't confirm if the entire hike before this is in Greene County, but the lean-to definitely is. Step on the benchmark and you've visited the highest ground in Schoharie County, a peak that's also a liner (the county line generally follows the ridgeline).

Summit benchmark

From here, retrace your steps back to the lean-to and enjoy the view.

The lean-to

The lean-to has one of the best views in the Catskills, and since we're below 3,500 feet, you can camp here and have a fire if desired.

Cave and Tower Mountains are clearly visible from the lean-to. I'd love to wake up to this view after sleeping up here.

Summit fire pit

Strangely, the area's only DEC trail register is at the lean-to itself. I was the only person not performing a DEC patrol to register for nearly a month.

Once you are done enjoying the amazing view, it's an easy hike back to the Quarry parking area. Honestly, the hardest part of getting down is ensuring your car makes it down safely. If you like hikes where you can be alone or relatively-easy hikes with great views, Huntersfield Mountain is the place for you.

How to get there

Huntersfield might be the highest peak in Schoharie County, but the only way there is through Greene County (unless, of course, you take a lengthy hike on the Long Path). There are two main places to park for the hike, depending on how comfortable you are taking your car up a minimum-maintenance dirt road:

Quarry Trailhead

This is where I started for the hike and it gets you up on the ridge. Total round trip ascent is approximately 650 feet, round trip distance is 2.8 miles if you visit the summit benchmark. Jim Cleveland Road and Huntersfield Road south of the snowplow turnaround are unpaved, unmaintained, and not in good shape. I did get my Honda Fit up and down, but I'd recommend going very slowly if you park up top. Parking is at the abandoned quarry at the top (east side of road), you can come in from either side.

Huntersfield Road Trailhead

This keeps you on maintained, paved roads, but there's double the ascent and double the distance, as half of the hike is just getting to the quarry. Simply hike up the road to the quarry, follow guide above. There is supposedly another trail branching off the road between the parking area and the quarry that connects with the Long Path northwest of Huntersfield and can be completed as a loop, but I cannot confirm. Parking is roughly 200 feet after the snowplow turnaround.

Nearby Short Hikes and Attractions

As the hike is short and far from civilization, I'd strongly recommend combining it with a visit to one of several nearby attractions:

• Pratt Rocks (see this write-up at Unlocking New York, run by a friend of mine)
• Mine Kill State Park
• Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project Visitors Center and Lansing Manor 
• Several hikes in the northern Catskills, including Bearpen Mountain (Delaware County's high point) and Otsego County's high point

Resources

Catskill Mountaineer: Huntersfield Mountain: Has more trail information and pictures. This hike starts at the Huntersfield Road trailhead.
Huntersfield State Forest: NYSDEC website for area, contains topographic map and information

Cat Mountain (or is it "meowtain"?)

Lake George from Cat Mountain
(All images mine)

Cat Mountain is the less popular of the two mountains that make up what was once the Cat and Thomas Mountains Preserve, now a portion of the Lake George Wild Forest. Even though the mountain is now DEC land, the Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) continues to maintain trails on the mountain and their marking practices are slightly different than those of the Adirondack Mountain Club, who maintains most trails in the park. Most people who visit Cat Mountain do it as a loop from the easier Thomas Mountain via the main trailhead and parking lot near I-87 Exit 24, but Cat can be hiked alone from a secondary trailhead next to Edgecomb Pond. There isn't much parking here and it's all on the shoulder. No trail register is present here, either. Only indication of a trail is a small sign on a utility pole that is only visible if you're facing north on Edgecomb Pond Road.

From the road. Sign on the right indicates that this is the Bolton water supply.

Closeup of the sign

My purpose for this hike was to climb Cat Mountain, an ascent of roughly 1,000 feet from Edgecomb Pond Road and a 4.5 mile loop, checking off another peak on the 12ster list in the process. In all, this hike took me 2.5-3 hours, including time spent at the summit. I rated this as 3/5 difficulty solely because of the descent down the red trail from Cat Mountain. An out and back from Edgecomb Pond via the blue trail and north fork of the red trail would be a moderately easy 2/5 hike, but 0.5 miles longer. My plan for the day was to hike to Cat Mountain via the red and blue trails, returning down via the red trail to make a loop.

I started up the trail late on a Saturday morning in early May. The first mile of the trail is an old woods road and there is little elevation change in the first half mile. Starting at the trailhead, there were many branches and a few fallen trees across the trail, likely from a large storm the previous night.

Looking back toward trailhead at fallen trees

Lots of fresh branches and trees across the trail

The old road, blazed in red, curves around Edgecomb Pond. The trails up here have a combination of NYSDEC markers, LGLC markers, and paint blazes (mainly the south fork of the red trail).

Curve around south end of Edgecomb Pond

There were a few muddy spots, but these were easily avoidable.

Somewhere in this area, roughly half a mile from the trailhead, the narrow and steep fork of the red trail leading directly to Cat Mountain forks off to the left. I did not see it while walking along the road, though I had always intended the steep trail to be my return path. Eventually, the pond is left behind and the old road enters the woods as it begins to climb.

Entering the woods

There is a large creek that must be forded up here. If you come in the spring after a large storm like I did, there's a decent chance you'll get your feet wet. Even the stepping stones had a couple inches of water above them.

Large stream across the trail. No way for me to avoid getting wet here.

Past the creek, the trail begins to climb steadily. There's a gate up ahead to block vehicle access along with new signs, but I don't know how a vehicle that isn't an ATV could get up here.

The gate

Blazes near the gate

Just past the gate, the trail takes a hard turn to the left and continues to climb.

Not too far past this point, we reach the junction with the blue trail, a little under a mile from the Edgecomb Pond trailhead. At this junction, straight leads to the main trailhead at County Route 11. Sharp left leads to Cat Mountain.

Looking toward main trailhead from end of red trail

That's where you want to head 

A trail map is nailed to a tree at this junction.

Trail map

The next half-mile or so of trail gently ascends with some elevation loss. Still generally an old woods road, this is easy hiking with little shade.

The trail crosses a couple of creeks on its climb up the mountain

Some trees had fallen across this portion of the trail, too.

Roughly 1.75 miles from the trailhead, we leave the road behind as the trail turns into the woods and becomes a footpath.

Trail turns here

The remaining 3/4 mile or so to the summit is a typical Adirondack trail through the woods, ascending pretty steadily. Much of the ascent is in this last 3/4 mile.

The trail crosses the old road a couple of times, which has been brushed off. Signs and blazes direct hikers to the current trail.

A short distance below the summit, we meet up with the yellow trail from Thomas Mountain. Left here keeps you on the blue trail and on your way to Cat Mountain. Right leads to Thomas Mountain

Junction with the yellow trail to Thomas Mountain

Above the yellow trail, we start seeing several rock outcrops and there are many roots crossing the trail.

Up here, we reach the upper end of the old woods road, with the trail making a right to keep climbing. The sign below awaits people heading downhill here.

Think it's a permanent closure, though...

It's not far from this point to the summit. Just a little bit more climbing.

Almost there...

Eventually, there is no more mountain to climb and we're at the summit of Cat Mountain, which provides a panoramic view of Lake George and the southeastern Adirondacks. At this point, I had hiked 2.5 miles per my GPS.

Lake George from the summit 

Looking toward the mountains along the eastern shore

Looking west

While I could not find a benchmark at the summit (likely hidden in the brush near the highest point), there was a reference mark above the overlook.

Quite a bit of damage from lightning strikes and hikers.

Several nice vistas can be seen up here and there is quite a bit of exposed rock to rest on and enjoy the view.

Ready to go, I started making my way across the summit to the red trail leading directly to Edgecomb Pond, listed as "very steep" on the LGLC map.

From near the red trail

Once I found the trail, it was time to head down.

One parting shot of Lake George

The descent is steep and it begins immediately.

There are several places where the trail levels off, only to drop steeply again.

The main markings on this trail are red paint blazes, common in other states but quite unusual in New York.

Typical blaze

Still some views across the lake at the upper part of the descent

 The upper part of the red trail has some grassy areas with views of the lake.

I wouldn't say that this trail has any real scrambles, but some places come close.

I'll call this a "pseudo-scramble"

 Quite a few places on this trail don't even look like a trail.

This is the trail?

 After descending from the mountain, there's at least a mile more of ups and downs before the trailhead. Make sure you follow the blazes - really easy to get lost in here and the trail is hard to follow.

Some more stream crossings located in ravines the trail passes through

The remainder of the trail back to the junction with the old road (and other fork) is a lot of the same. Up, down, some small streams and mud.

You can barely see a trail marker across this stream bed

Much of this trail is little more than a marked herd path 

Don't miss the turns!

That is the trail. Again, herd path.

Approaching the old road

Eventually, we're back at the old road. Turn here to get back to the trailhead.

Looking down the south fork from the old road. Hard to tell this is even a trail.

Looking along the north fork toward the blue trail at where the trail splits

After roughly half a mile on the old road, we're back at the trailhead.

Trailhead from the trail

Cat Mountain may be one of the less-popular mountains in the area, but the hike is relatively short and the views are excellent. Depending on how hard you want your hike to be, it can be easy or moderately difficult.

Getting Here

The Edgecomb Pond trailhead is located on Edgecomb Pond Road between Potter Hill and Finkle Roads. Parking is available along the shoulder. The trailhead is not easy to spot from the road if you aren't looking for it and easiest to find from the south. The trailhead is roughly 1.3 miles north of the parking lot for the Pinnacle Trail.

Resources

Cat and Thomas Mountains Preserve: LGLC website for the area, has the most up to date trail map for the area