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ENTS,
On Saturday, Monica and I returned to New York's dreamy Catskill
country. Our mission was three-fold. For exercise and tree hunting,
we planned to take a hike along the escarpment trail. Later, we
would attend a classical concert in Hunter, and then visit a piano
museum being established by Vladimir Pleshakov and Elena Winther.
All three missions were successful. We're making plans for a return
to Hunter in August.
The escarpment is the impressive eastern side of the Catskills. The
escarpment defines what mountains are supposed to look like in the
southern New York. A bold ridge line rising high above the Hudson
country just a few miles distant.
We took my customary path Route 23a into the Catskills. From along
the Catskill crest in the vicinity of Route 23 and 23a, views to the
east and south inspired a generation of gentle Hudson River School
of impressionistic artists. They captured on canvas the very spirit
of the Catskill country, a spirit that can still be sensed today's
from the high ledges along the escarpment.
Although all but two of their high summits are under 4,000 feet
altitude, t he Catskills are big eastern mountains. Their
vertical relief is very impressive. Kaaterskill High Peak (3,655 ft)
rises a full 3,000 feet above the Helderbergs to the east and 2,500
feet above its immediate base. In some places, the rise is as much
as 2,800 feet. That is a real elevation gain. The views of and from
the escarpment are comparable to the best seen in the Virginia,
North Carolina, and Georgia Blue Ridge.
If there is a negative to the area we hiked in on Saturday, it is
that t he forest in the vicinity of the escarpment is often composed
of undistinguished re-growth from old fields and formerly high
graded wood-lots. The Catskills do not absorb logging operations
well. Soils are thin and when destroyed, they are gone for a long,
long time. So some published hiking guide descriptions to the
contrary, there isn't much to look at in the Tannersville region
adjacent to the escarpment. However, once along the escarpment, the
picture changes dramatically, and I do mean dramatically. The
Catskill magic asserts itself. Rip Van Winkle awakens.
The escarpment forests see a lot of disturbance: drought, snow and
ice storms, spot fires, etc., but on the whole, they provide a
natural and interesting setting. Along the escarpment, chestnut oak
signals the dryness of the ledge environment. But many other species
are encountered. I noticed serviceberry scattered around.
Medium-sized hemlocks (and an occasional large one) are also present
to tempt the big tree aficionado. I judge ages of some of the
hemlocks to be 175 years and older, but not much older.
In the attached images, the first shot is a prelude. It is of a
natural area along the Taconic Parkway - our Saturday route to the
Catskill country. The wild flower are is an experiment by New York
DOT to reintroduce native wild flowers to the meadows along the
Taconic. Yellow cone flowers show their wears in the image. The blue
haze of the Catskills is seen only faintly through the young trees.
On clear days, the Catskills form the horizon. In the winter they
wear a mantle of snow.
The second image was taken on the escarpment. The image looks
southward from Sunset Rock toward Kaaterskill High Peak. Although
the forest is predominately hardwoods, balsam fir and spruce dot the
summit ridge . High Peak was a popular destination of many Catskill
visitors in the 1800s and early 1900s. It was once thought to be the
highest peak in the Catskills. In fact, it ranks as #22, but still
one in the 3500-foot club.
The third image is in the same direction, but with more foreground
foliage. These peaks receive a goodly amount of moisture and often
reflect it in the curls of mist that spiral upward. The eastern
Catskills remind me of the southern Blue Ridge country, home for the
first 23 years of my life.
The last image shows Monica sitting on Sunset Rock. The
3,440-foot summit of Roundtop is seen in the distance. Place names
like Sunset Rock, Inspiration Point, and Artist's Rock speak for
themselves. This is gorgeous country.
Saturday evening, we attended a concert put on my Russian pianist
Vladimir Pleshakov and his wife Elena Wenther. Afterwards we toured
the piano museum and Vladimir allowed Monica to play several of the
historic pianos including an 1826 Tischner built for Russian
Royalty. Vladimir played a Beethoven several Beethoven selections on
it for us.
As I sat in the concert hall, listened to the melodious notes from
the works of Brahms, Arensky, and Stravinski, my eyes kept scanning
two large murals on the wall showing scenes from the Catskills in
the 1800s. One scene showed the Laural Hotel and Kaaterskill Falls.
The second was of an agrarian scene taken in the direction of Mink
Hallow. Here was a taste of culture and history within a region of
great scenic beauty. It all seemed appropriate. Great music enjoyed
in a great place. The little Catskill towns may never reclaim their
former glory, but the arts are not yet dead.
Back at the Hunter House, Monica and I enjoyed the friendly feeling
that permeated our surroundings. Everyone there seemed laid back.
Everybody greeted us and we them. Perhaps it was the dreamy
Catskills working their summer magic. They did it successfully on
old Rip Van Winkle and it lasted for 20 years.
BBob
Continued
at:
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/0783ecf8940b6677?hl=en%F3%8D%BB%BBfd9146682a
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