New York Vaca

We started out our vacation backpacking on the Escarpment Trail in the Catskills. We didn’t really have any set plans, we just needed to be back at the car on Friday morning to meet my parents. We started off on Tuesday night and stopped at a lean to about a mile into the trail. We first arrived at the trail head, registered and saw a bear warning!!!! Thomas had to run back to the car to get twine so we could tie up the food in a tree for the week. That definitely got my nerves going! We set up the tent and went to bed- we tried a fire but all the wood was wet from a recent rain.

Woke up early and set off after making some oatmeal and tea. We hiked about 2 ½ hours up the mountain and made it to the top of Windham High Peak at about 3500 feet. We stopped and had some snacks and enjoyed the views.

We continued on for a few hours, trail was technical and hilly and so it took us a while with the packs on. Lucy did great, even with her pack  We had to go off the main trail for a bit to find water and we were lucky we found a stream about a quarter mile off the main trail. We refilled water supplies since that was our only water for the trip. We continued on and had a tough section ahead. We had a one mile CLIMB! It was STEEP! And ROCKY! Took us quite a while to get to the top of Blackhead. Once we made it to the top we decided to take a nap and eat lunch. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon! 

We were about 10 miles in at that point, we wanted to go on farther but decided to make that the turnaround point. We were hot and tired and we had found a great spot to camp earlier on the trail. We camped on a beautiful area surrounded by pine trees and really close to a great open rocky outlook. We made a fire, cooked dinner and sat out on the rock and watched the sunset and the stars emerge. 

The next morning we ended up hiking back to the car a few hours. Once back at the car, we drove a bit, got some lunch and then found a river we could camp at that night. We drove about 2 hours to the campground and settled in for the evening. We sat around, read, waded in the river and made a fire. I decided to buy s’more stuff for a desert  

We met up with my parents Friday morning in Ithaca, NY. We walked around the downtown for a bit then decided to head up to Finger Lakes area about an hr away. We got lunch and picnicked by Seneca Lake. We spent the afternoon at Watkins Glen State Park- beautiful waterfalls/gorges. 

Drove to the Finger Lakes Fifties race Start/campground to pick up our packets for the race and set up the tent. Spent the rest of the evening getting ready for race day. 

See race report…

Sunday after the race Thomas and I spent the day at a few wineries by Seneca Lake. What a beautiful place! Great wine, great views and great conversation!! Lucy was even allowed in!

Monday we joined back up with my parents and went Ziplining on Hunter Mountain!! SO FUN! 

We had my parents over at our campsite for a campfire, hotdogs and s’mores. Fun way to (sort of) end the vacation. Tuesday we all hiked up Hunter Mtn… straight UP! 2 miles up and gained 2000 feet of elevation. Views at the top were worth it!