Rusk and East Rusk Mountains - Bushwhacking the Catskill 3500 in the Catskills

Rusk Mountain stands tall at 3,678 feet and is one of the trailless Catskill 3500 peaks, while East Rusk is its slightly shorter (3,312 foot) neighbor. Together they make for a pleasant bushwhack loop that utilizes portions of the Spruceton Trail that ascends the nearby Hunter Mountain in the northeastern Catskills.

The bushwhack up Rusk Mountain begins at the Spruceton Trail’s trailhead on Spruceton Road. From the trailhead, you’ll follow the Spruceton Trail for a little over a half a mile, at which point, you then turn left off the trail and begin the bushwhack up Rusk Mountain. While Rusk is considered a trailless peak, there is a well defined herd path (social trail/informal trail) from the Spruceton Trail to the summit that takes little to no bushwhacking skills to navigate.

From the summit of Rusk Mountain, the bushwhack between Rusk and East Rusk was very well established with a social trail, but there were occasional spots where some bushwhacking navigation proved handy.

From the summit of East Rusk, and down to the notch between East Rusk and Hunter Mountain. This section lacked a well defined herd path, but the navigation is generally quite easy, as you are following the ridge down to the notch. Some basic map skills come in handy to make sure you don’t miss the notch on your descent.

At the notch, you rejoin the Spruceton Trail, and then follow it back down to the Spruceton Trail Trailhead where you started.

All told, this was a 5.7 mile hike with a total elevation gain of about 1,736 feet.

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You can find more information about this hike on:

• The NYNJ Trail Conference's Catskill Trails Map Set
• National Geographic's Trails Illustrated Map for the Catskill Park

Find additional information about the Catskill Park by visiting the Catskills Visitor Center

• https://catskillsvisitorcenter.org​.

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Advice and Recommended Gear:

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• Our day hike backpack recommendations
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Gear we used on this hike:

• Goodr Sunglasses
• Osprey Talon 22 Pack
• Altra Lone Peak Shoes
• Black Diamond Trail Back Trekking Poles
• Darn Tough Socks
• Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter
• Nalgene 32-ounce Wide-Mouth Water Bottles
• Energizer LED Headlamp
• NEMO Chipper Reclaimed Closed-Cell Foam Seat Pad
• Lenny & Larry's The Complete Cookie
• Gatorade Endurance Carb Energy Chews
• GU Energy Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Drink
• Jelly Belly Sport Beans - Energizing Jelly Beans
• Garmin Instinct Watch
• Garmin inReach Plus GPS

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