The Catskill 3500 Club — Steward of the Catskills January—March, 2010 Volume 43 Number 1 Doubletop In Winter – semper paratus. Inside President’s Column (New Awards ne of our early winter climbs stream of locomotive-like vapors that for giving back)….………...…......2 in the Catskills brings Char- suspends momentarily in the frigid O ley Goodrich and me to the air. Soon we take our first break and Hike Schedule ……….…….…4 - 6 Biscuit Brook Trailhead on Oliverea feel our breathing settle down in the Road. Our plan is to climb Doubletop cold silence. and, if time allows, Big Indian. We Winter Weekend ..………………..6 would hike the Biscuit Brook Trail to Club Dinner Preview..……….….6 where it makes an unmistakably We reach the sharp turn in the trail sharp elbow turn to the right on the and take a compass bearing of 230 side of Big Indian, and at this point Poem by Paul Levine …………...6 degrees SW towards Doubletop. Now we would take a westward compass the snow is 2 to 3 feet deep, and not bearing, leave the trail and bush- having any snowshoes is going to Dues Due………………………….6 whack over to Doubletop. After sum- make for a very long day. The miting we would retrace our route sunlight that had greeted us this Our New Members …….…..…...7 back to the point we left the trail, and morning is slowly being covered by a then on to Big Indian. thin band of clouds. As we slog our Scree ( ADK thanks us; TM note, Belleayre; Catskill drilling and way down and around numerous ledges the sun suddenly disappears more )……………………….…..….7 At 6 a.m. we leave the comfort of the and we observe a decided mood van on a very cold December change in the woods: Dinner Invitation……………….8 morning. With the tempera- “Now the snow is 2 to from a bright visual ture hovering around -3 de- 3 feet deep, and not landscape to the ad- grees F., we are glad to get having any snow- vancement of the once moving in order to generate shoes is going to far off shadows, now Save the Date some warmth. After about a make for a very long lurking closer and sur- mile of shuffling through 3 day. ” rounding us like a ⇒ Winter Weekend : Jan to 4 inches of powdered gauntlet. Even though 22-24, 2010 (see page 6) snow we’re finally able to ward off the it’s late morning, the absence of the penetrating cold. We use our flash- sun combined with the visual effect of ⇒ Annual Dinner: Sat- lights until the dark sky slowly the grove of thick tall trees that in- urday, March 27, 2010 bleaches to a pale light. Soon slivers hibit natural light make it surrealis- (see pages 6 and 8) of sunlight glisten through the trees tically eerie. ⇒ 29-mile Day Hike in and give a slow motion strobe effect Taconics: Sat, May 15 on our faces as we move along this Forcing ourselves to shrug off this feeling we eventually descend our 2010 (see page 7) wintry landscape. The silence of the woods lends subtle sounds of creak- way down to a boggy area that we ing and popping from the trees as think may be the col. The snow, not they sway from a gentle breeze. The being as deep here, exposes the wet thin layer of snow increases in depth bog, wherein we carefully work our as we gain altitude. Climbing steeper way through its maze of brush giving terrain, our deeper breaths exhale a special attention in where we place (Continued on page 3) PAGE 2 the catskill canister JANUARY—MARCH, 2010 The President’s Column The Catskill Canister Giving Back to the Hiking Community: President Jeff Glans Reward and Recognition [email protected] 58 OId Dike Road It looks like my pleas to you have been answered. Thanks. Trumbull, CT 06611 (203) 816-8142 Manuel reports that the hike schedule was filled in record time this quarter, and I'm hoping to see lots of new names. I was also very im- Editor pressed with the outpouring of support for the construction of the new Martin A. Cohen lean-to on Hunter Mountain. Kudos to Laurie Rankin for organizing a [email protected] great group of volunteers and to Pete Senterman for setting up all the 169 Pershing Ave. logistics and getting the materials to the site. This new lean-to is a Ridgewood, NJ 07450 real credit to the members of this club. If you haven't checked it out, (201) 670-8383 you really should; it's in a beautiful location with great views. Associate Editor Since our club is about recognizing hiking accomplishments, we also Michael E. Doehring like to recognize folks who give back to the club. We currently have 7 Cloverdale Ave. White Plains, NY 10603 two awards in which you might be interested. Both have nice patches (914) 761-7225 for the patch hounds out there. Hike Leader Award. This award recognizes club members who lead Membership David White 6 hikes for the club. One of the hikes needs to be a bushwhack and [email protected] one needs to be led in winter. Manuel Peraza 28 Mulberry St. ([email protected] ) is the contact person for this award. Clinton, NY 13323 (315) 853-6942 Club Service Award. This award was created to recognize members or aspirants who give back to the club. It is based on a point system Subscriptions/Aspirants with points being assigned to each of a variety of activities such as Cindy Kuhn trail maintenance, service as a club officer, or adopting a trail. Wanda [email protected] Davenport ([email protected] ) is the administrator for this award. 7 Joyce Street Moosic, PA 18507 Starting next year people qualifying for either of these awards will be (570) 954-7541 (m) (NCA 9pm) recognized at the annual dinner. (More information on these pro- grams is available on the club website under Volunteer Opportuni- Outings ties). Manuel A. Peraza [email protected] The club has recently instituted another benefit for hike leaders and 23 Kathy Pl., #2B potential hike leaders: we've established a scholarship program called Staten Island, NY 10314-5921 the Founder's Award. This award offers scholarships to members in (718) 698-4422 good standing who attend training courses such as Wilderness First Aid, Leadership Training, or Outdoor Skill Training. The club will The Catskill Canister is published four times reimburse the member for 75% of the tuition up to $150. (Fine Print: yearly by the Catskill 3500 Club, Inc. for you must have the course approved by Manuel Peraza, the award ad- $10.00 a year. Articles, not previously pub- ministrator, prior to registering for the course; you must agree to lead lished, of less than 1100 words on hiking, es- 4 hikes for the club within two years of completing the course; and the says, or poetry, should be sent to number of scholarships available each year is limited). [email protected] . So please, take advantage of the benefits of membership and give All material contained herein is copyrighted by back to your club and fellow hikers. the authors or by the Catskill Canister . Nominal dates for receiving the Canister are: Jeff Glans Mar 15, Jun 15, Sep 15, and Dec 15. We’re on the web at www.catskill-3500-club.org JANUARY—MARCH, 2010 the catskill canister PAGE 3 (Continued from page 1) easy climbing abruptly ends and things get serious with deeper snow, occasional spruce traps, steeper terrain, our steps. After a while this seemingly endless obstacle and thicker brush to add to the difficulties. Resolutely finally gives way to a moderate slope with a mixture of we struggle on seeking the elusive high point and 40 hardwoods and pines. Happy to be on solid ground we minutes later finally find our elusive reward. work our way up in anticipation of the summit soon to be in our grasp. We are indeed happy that we have found the canister but we hesitate to celebrate considering there is only A while later we are ready to top out on a quite promi- about two hours of daylight left and it’s a long way back nent ridge seducing us into believing it to be the sum- to the car. Being very careful we take our time descend- mit. When we get there we see in the distance a mas- ing, knowing that many mountaineering accidents oc- sive bulk of a mountain with Doubletop’s definitive two cur when climbers who are spent from the arduous humps filling the western skyline - thus realizing climb stumble or fall on the way down. We continue “we’re not there yet!” Disheartened, we make our way down, then up over the infamous ridge keeping icy off the ridge and soon the snow starts to fall. As we con- spots in mind. By the time we reach the boggy area tinue on our compass bearing we see the mountain is again, daylight is definitely waning. Working our way beginning to hide behind a shroud of misty gray, wait- through the bog, a heightened sense of anxiety takes ing patiently for us to trespass on her terms. As I take even more out of each of our already depleted energy a step down I suddenly slip and start tobogganing down levels. We are thankful for the light snow that left our the slope. When I look down I see the ground below tracks uncovered and gives us some confidence of find- rushing up, I’m gaining speed as my futile efforts to ing our way out.