Local Hike up Windham Mountain

These gentle faces are what greet you just before you park your car and venture up a Catskill hike called Windham Mountain. Well-marked footpaths and gradual climbs make the Catskills some of the best hiking trails in the world.

Two weeks ago the legendary Rip Van Winkle area got socked with snow. Then it melted turning a small trickle into a fast-moving torrent. Upon discovering the sloppy mess and muddy rocks on the north entrance of Escarpment Trail we instead drove to Peck Hollow Road on the south end for a safer start.

Nola, her friend Nina and me fell into an easy hiking pace, just fast enough to keep the heart pumping and slow enough to catch up on our Obama euphoria. It was a warm and sunny day and most of the fallen leaves blanketed the slippery red clay with even more vibrancy.



Nola is the pro-athlete, many times written about here, and Nina is no slouch herself, having climbed in Tanzania and Nepal.

With Nola taking the lead and Nina bringing up the caboose, the 6.5-mile round trip hike went quick. Only a half a dozen hikers interrupted our steady stream of conversation. An enchanted woods with dying balsam and barren spruce trees gave the hike a mystical quality.

Before I knew it we reached the top. Nola pointed to the dizzying summits of Blackhead Range, just parallel to Windham. The cloud level was high enough that we could see Thomas Cole Mt (3950ft), Black Dome Mt (3990ft) and Blackhead Mt (not sure of the altitude).

From the north end of Windham, we had uninterrupted views of the horizon including Hunter Mt in the distance. It had dropped several degrees at the summit so we layered back into our Goretex and gloves. Sitting on a flat rock ledge facing the ridge, we emptied our backpacks, chowing down on breakfast bagels and leftover Halloween candy.

Nola is a 3500 club member having climbed and camped on Windham too many times to count. And Nina is a sister to a famous Hollywood hotshot, someone I promised I wouldn't mention. Between the two of them, I could hike all week and not care how cold it was or how dirty the hiking boots got.