January 2012 - All Kinds of Warm

No wonder we've spent more time hiking than skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing or anything else winter related this past January.  According to the NOAA, January 2012 was the 4th warmest January ever for the country with an average temperature of 36.3 degrees.  Not only that, but...

• The snowcover in that month was the 3rd smallest since records were kept (46 years of records)
• Warm temperatures in the plains reduced snow cover and broke many records
• Snowpack across the Sierra Nevada is down 50% from the average
• Unlike the continental US, Alaska temperatures were below normal and this January was their coldest ever
• For the Northeast January was the 10th consecutive month that the average temperature was above normal

For more even more information, NOAA's National Overview for January 2012 is here.

For the Northeast there's some snow coming this Saturday, but then the weather warms back up.

I was up in northeastern Vermont a few weeks ago and it is simply amazing how little snow there is.  I went to college at Lyndon State and this time of the year, the college was always blanketed with a deep snow cover and the surrounding areas had even more.  This year, there was maybe a few inches.  I can't imagine how much all the local businesses are suffering.  Winter is a huge event for them with skiers and especially snowmobiles.  This year, you'd be better off with an ATV instead of a snowmobile on the trails (which isn't allowed by the way), there just isn't any snow.

I can remember winters in the Catskills where we haven't had good snow, but usually we would have had good ice.  This year, there have been a few stretches where we had some good ice form up, but then between the rain storms and the warm weather, the ice just rots and falls off.  You wouldn't catch me climbing on most of what we have left now, which is a real shame because that's one of the most popular activities in the Catskills in the winter.

It is a good idea to be extra careful though out on the trails.  Here in the Catskills we have had a couple of injuries and rescues thanks to the icy trails.  While there isn't any snow out there, in the wet areas, the trails are covered in plenty of flow ice.  Make sure you are adequately prepared and extra careful.

So at this point in our warm winter, what do you think?  Do you want winter to come back with a vengeance and we have good snows and cold temperatures for the rest of what would traditionally be winter or do you want spring to just hurry up and get here and we'll hope for a better winter next year?

I'm kind of leaning towards just writing off this winter.  I know I'm probably jinxing myself, but for my job, I am already planning trail work for April in the Catskills, which usually would be unheard of, but considering the winter so far, I thought at least some tentative dates probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

Support Trails Funding Now

Funding for all kinds of trails are threatened in the new Transportation Bill that is making its way through Congress.  Here are some resources for those interested in helping to support trails.  We urge you to contact your Congressmen and tell them you support trail funding.

• Stand up against the Senate Transportation Bill (EMS Blog)
• Recreational Trails Program, 2012 (NYNJ Trail Conference)
• Reauthorizing transportation funding for trails (American Trails)

These funding programs provide an important lifeline for trail projects (including hiking trails, accessible trails, rail trails and other multi-use trails) throughout the country.

From the Archives - Lookout Point in the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park - Northbridge, Massachusetts

Lookout Point is a rock promontory overlooking the Blackstone River in the southern portion of the Town of Northbridge.  There are two trails that you can use to the access the site.  The longer approach is from the south and via King Phillip's Trail.  The shorter and more level walk is from a parking area on Quaker Street which quickly follows the height of land and brings you to the cliffs and overhangs at Lookout Rock.

The King Phillip's Trail is about 1.3 miles in each direction and the trail from Quaker Street to Lookout Rock is less than a half of a mile in each direction.  The King Phillip's Trail is level for the majority of its length as it runs just above the floodplains of the Blackstone River.  As it reaches the base of Lookout Rock, the trail scrambles up where you can either bear right and head out to the parking lot on Quaker Street or bear left and end up on top of Lookout Rock.

Neither hike is overly difficult, but the hike from Quaker Street to Lookout Point is definitely the easier one.  The King Phillip's Trail's only strenuous section is the climb from the river level up to Lookout Point.

Lookout Point sits on the eastern edge of the Blackstone River, a hundred feet or so above the river level.  It gives you about a 180 degree view of the river's valley and is well worth either hike there.  In the fall, it is a great site for checking out the changing leaves.

This trip is well worth the hour or so you need for the short hike or the couple of hours to travel via the King Phillip's Trail.  With some advanced planning and some roadwalks, you can also make larger loops, traveling north up the western shores of the Blackstone from Hartford Avenue via the Goat Hill, Canal Towpath and Plummer's Trails, then east along Church Street to Quaker Street, south down Quaker Street to the Lookout Point Trail, then down the King Phillip Trail back to Hartford Avenue.  That trip would be a little over five miles round trip.

More photos of the trip to Lookout Rock

For More Information
Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park

The Massachusetts Trail Guide offers a short discussion of the Blackstone River and Canal State Park with trail descriptions in the area.

Huckleberry Point Bushwhack - Catskill Mountains, NY - January 8, 2012

Headed out this past Sunday to check out a small bog that's located near Huckleberry Point in the northeastern Catskills. The bog was found along with some interesting areas once you started bushwhacking off the Huckleberry Point trail.

The trip starts at the parking area off of Platte Clove Road just above the head of Platte Clove. This parking area serves the Long Path, the Huckleberry Point Trail and the snowmobile trail that circles around High Peak and Roundtop Mountains.

From the parking area we followed the old Steenburg Road that the trails follow. The Huckleberry Point trail branches off the snowmobile trail after approximately 1 mile. After another third of a mile or so, the trail crosses a small stream and on the eastern edge of the creek is an old road that the trail crosses.

At this point we jumped on the old road and started heading to the northeast. The road passed by the foundation of an old homestead/farm and then continued on just below the bog that we were investigating. The bog itself sits in the low point and actually drains in two directions - one down off the eastern escarpment of the Catskills and another drains towards the Hell Hole Creek and Platte Clove.

From here we continued along the old road, but we were running out of time as we had a pretty late start.  This is a place that I would like to go back and explore, as the road appears to wrap around the eastern escarpment of the mountains and it would be an interesting place.  It would also be interesting to go back and follow the road to the south from its crossing of the Huckleberry Point Trail to see where it ends up.

We had a few flurries and somewhat cold temperatures while we were out, but we continue to have a very mild and uneventful winter in the Catskills.  The upper elevations have a light covering of snow, but at the lower elevations, we have some ice, but no real snow to speak of.  This makes for nice bushwhacks though - no nettles getting in the way and not much undergrowth to break through.

After that we headed back down the old road to the Huckleberry Point Trail and then backtracked down the trails to the parking area.  All told we probably traveled about three miles or so without any real huge elevation changes.  The climb from the parking area to the Huckleberry Point Trail probably involves a few hundred feet at most.  From there, elevation changes are pretty minor.


More information on Catskill Hiking
If you are looking for additional resources for hiking and climbing in the Catskills, the Trail Conference publishes the Catskill Trails Map Set, which is the best trail map set for the region with detailed mapping and trail descriptions. The ADK publishes the Guide to Catskill Trails and the AMC publishes the Catskill Mountain Guide, A Comprehensive Guide to Hiking Trails in the Catskills.

Other Catskills maps and guidebooks are available at our bookstore

Review: National Geographic Trails Illustrated Catskill Park Map

National Geographic has recently released a new map for the Catskill Park in their Trails Illustrated map set.  This map covers most of the Catskill Region with information on hiking, fishing and other outdoor recreational activities.  The scale is pretty small so some details are lost in order to provide coverage of the entire park.  The map itself is made from waterproof, tear-resistant material and seems to hold up to regular use without much problem.

Based on my prior experience with the Trails Illustrated maps, I expected a map of the Catskills that provided a good overview of the park, but that might be lacking some details.  That is what I have found with this map.  It is a great map for trip planning and road travel, but for trail travel, the scale is just too small and the map too big to make it much of a map that you would take hiking with you.

Read the full review of the National Geographic Trails Illustrated Catskill Park Map