Section 28, Long Path Doney Hollow to West Fulton

Late November is always a tricky time of year to hike. The weather can be unpredictable and the temps can drop rapidly. However, Kathy and I had been following the weather for a few days and decided to try and walk off some of our Thanksgiving turkey on Saturday the 29th of November.

We agreed to meet at 7am at our usual spot, a Dunkin Donuts just north of Schoharie NY. The weather report the previous day called for partially clear skys for Saturday. When I opened the garage door at 6am, there was a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground and more falling. My stomach sank but I went ahead because the weather can be totally different even just 10 miles south of here.

Sure enough, as I drove south on Rt 30, the snow became sleet, the sleet became rain and as I crossed the Mohawk River into Fultonville, the rain stopped altogether. By 6:45am, I could see the clouds breaking to the east and a pink and orange sunrise coming up. I met Kathy and we proceeded to the West Fulton end of the trail to leave my car. We had hoped to add a couple extra miles to today's hike but couldn't find where the trail crossed Patria Rd. Oh Well. I left my car at the West Fulton end of Patria Rd and we headed off for the Doney Hollow trail head.

We found where we had left off our hike the last time and parked Kathy's car. We each had brought extra winter gear, just in case but there was no need for snowshoes, there was no snow at Doney Hollow. I did however take my shelter, backpacking stove and fuel, rain gear and snow pants and jacket, and extra socks. Better safe than sorry but it sure makes the pack heavier. I had long johns on under my hiking pants but the temps were in the 30's, probably high 30's so I didn't feel the need to wear my snow pants but I did have them in my pack too.

We started up the hill at 0810 and followed a pretty stream. All along the trail, and all day in fact, we followed mile after mile of old stone walls. Constructed from the local slate, they are a marvel of work, still standing after all this time. At elevation 1800 we had snow on the ground but even at 2000ft, we never really had more than a couple of inches of snow. The only problem was the moderatly warm temps, above freezing, caused the snow to pack up on my gaiter straps and I had to keep knocking the balled up snow off of the bottom of my feet every hundred feet or so.

Fortunately, the guide book, at least for this section, was pretty close to the mark and we had no trouble following the trail. We had lunch at noon at the Rossman Hill lean to. It was in good shape and pretty clean. Kathy signed us into the shelter log, in this case located on the outside of the leanto in a little box built for it.

On our way again at 1230, we passed an area that must have had several farms because the trail runs between two stone walls. The space is about 8 feet apart and I thought it was dueling farmers till we came to a cross roads where a similar lane crossed the one we were on. I thought the lanes a little narrow for carts or wagons but Kathy called them carriage lanes. All wooded now, I wonder what those farmer's would think now to have all their hard work abandoned.


Coming down off of Rossman's Hill is extremely steep and in the day's conditions, very slippery. The ground was frozen solid and the snow had melted in and left everything icy. However, the trail runs beside a series of cascades, partially frozen and very pretty. Well worth the hike. We never did see the ruins at the bottom and before we knew it we were out on Sawyer Hollow Rd, going into West Fulton.

We found the Peter Smith church, formerly of Ripley's Believe It or Not fame, just before we reached the center of the village. We lucked out, the current owner has made the building into a private residence and the owner's son and daughter-in-law were working on the front entry porch when we went by. They invited us up and we had a very nice chat with them for about 15 minutes, learning about the church and the changes it's gone thru.

All in all, we had a great hike.

Chase Lake Hike with Alpiners

Oh boy! The forcast for today was clear, sunny and in Albany, 29 degrees farenheit at noon!

That did not deter 12 very hardy souls from being at the trailhead at 10am! My niece Emily and her friend Haighlie, 12 and 13 respectively were along as well as the dog, Brownie, a very happy chocolate lab.

Also on the trip were Brownie's person, Dan, Janet and Jim, Evie, Evelyn, Kathy, Gail and Randy and myself. As noted in previous posts, Chase Lake trail is pretty level and in these conditions, very clean. By that I mean everything was frozen, so no mud or wet. No bugs. In the latter part of the trail tere was a very thin covering of snow. We left the trailhead at noon and were at the lean-to by 1130.


Lunch, due to the cold, was a relatively quick affair and we headed back to the trailhead by noon. Throughout the trip we had both sunshine and a light snow or frost fall. With the sun shining thru it, it seemed like we were inside a giant snow globe. It was very sparkly and pretty. The trip back was quick and we were at the cars by 1pm.

LP Sect 27: West Conesville to Doney Hollow

On Tuesday November 4th, Kathy and I met at 0800 and caravaned south on Rt 30 to drop my car at the Doney Hollow end of the day's section. This is on West Kill Rd, off of Rt 30 just outside of North Blenheim. We loaded up into Kathy's car and headed south again, turning off of Rt 30 onto Rt 13 and into Gilboa and Conesville. We found a great place to park and we were on the trail by 0910. The 1st part of the trail is on the road and goes by the Gilboa Dam, and a little bit later down the road, a display of petrified trees, found in the 1800's.

We stayed on the road for a little over a mile then the trail turned onto an abandoned road running along Schoharie Creek. Note that while this body of water is named a creek, it is really a fair sized river. This part was about a mile then the trail again becomes a road walk on Rt 13 (Stryker Rd) for about a mile. Here we passed a rock overhanging the creek and we took some pictures here too. When we got to the Nickerson Park Campground, we continued past on the road as the guide book indicated. We had gone to the club website to check for any trail updates or reroute info as the guidebook indicated that something was being worked on. We found no update information. As the guidebook said, we climbed the hill and at the top, sure enough, great views of the whole valley. We started down the other side and near the bottom, I saw a painted over blaze on a tree. We consulted the guide book but sure enough, the blaze was painted over. We've been thru this before. So we trek back up the hill and now see on this side of the road(we had been walking facing traffic), lots of painted over blazes. So we hike all the way back to the Nickerson Campground where we finally spot the new blazes leading into the campground. We missed them the 1st time as they were on the opposite side of the road from where we were walking. Total distance on the road past the campground and back was probably a mile.

So we go into the campground and it turns out this is a huge place. The Schoharie creek runs right along the campground and the trail follows the creek.
We stopped, still in the campground about 1130 for a short break in a juniper wooded area on a slate outcropping of rock overlooking the river. Nice rest area for us and a really nice camping spot in the campground.

Once we get to the campground border, we seem to be on NYS land. There was a sign posted that the Mine Kill Falls was about 2 miles away and the trail time would be 2 hours. That seemed excessive to us but we proceeded. Sure enough, the trail meanders through the woods but along the steep hillsides with lots of gully crossing required. We also had to go out of our way (still on the trail) to get up streams far enough to have the streams crossable. It was a long 2 miles and it took us a little less than 2 hours but we did have another short rest at Mine Kill Falls once we got there. This is a really pretty water fall.


So we climb up out of the gorge and back to Rt 30 where we walk across the bridge (currently under construction) and find where the trail goes back down and follows the gorge again for awhile, just on the other side from where we had been. Now we're in the Mine Kill Falls park. We hike along, still doing a bit of gully crossing and another small water fall appears along the path.

We get up to the park entrance and at a maintenance building, about 2pm, we decide to take a break and eat our lunch. This should be the halfway point but the trail reroute thru the woods has added milage. After half an hour and some food, we feel better and start out again. This part of the trail is level and field-like. Well maintained so we are able to go at a good pace. The trail eventually passes by the Lansing Manor. I'll have to go back sometime for the tour. Since it's getting late and sundown is coming fast, we keep moving. We pass by the smaller, Blenheim-Gilboa dam and follow the trail thru a pine woods to the creek side again where the summer's growth of grass and river bottom weeds have fallen over and make the hiking a little hard. Eventually we reach Rt 30 again at the edge of North Blenheim. The trail takes a reroute again and takes us past the water fall and up the street toward an old cemetary. Here the trail turns into the woods again, straight up a steep slope. Once at the top, we cross some fields and eventually come out onto West Kill Rd.

We hike up West Kill Rd and realize the trail goes into the woods again on our left. We declined to participate as sundown is nearly upon us. Continuing our hike on the road, we see the painted over blazes. At another point, we see the trail come out from the left and cross over into the woods on the right. Again, we declined to participate. Eventually, passing a beaver pond on the right, we come to my car about 4:30pm, where the trail comes out of the woods on the right and crosses again into the woods on the left. We were checking out the terrain on the left and the trail looked like it did quite a bit of running along a steep hillside. We don't know how much more milage the woods walk would have beenor even if we would have made it to the car before it got dark.

Kathy checked our milage from her GPS when she got home. The hike was supposed to be 10.75 miles, we did 14.2 miles. Given we did an extra mile on the road near the campground, we figure we covered the woods walk we missed at the end. At any rate, it was a good hike, even with the extra milage. Lots of pretty spots along the trail.

Chase Lake

On the spur of the moment; weather being good and we actually had a day free of appointments; Randy and I decided to check out the trail to Chase Lake.

I have volunteered to be a hike leader on 11/23 for a hike to Chase Lake, I don't remember being there before. However, when we got to the trail head, I mentioned to Randy that the trail seemed familiar. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Sunshine and wide, smooth trail made it a dream hike. No breeze made the day, while cool, perfect hiking weather.

We got to Chase Lake and the leanto in good time and found the area to be clean and the leanto, clean but a little past it's prime. Many of the shingles have slipped and inside, you can see where the rain is coming in and causing damage. Otherwise a good place. The lake itself is ringed with growth, making it hard to get to the lake but that has not deterred past vistors. There was both a row boat and a canoe at the site, tho no oars could be found.

We had lunch at the leanto and headed back to the trailhead the way we came in. As we expected, we missed the quick turn at the end of the trail, heading on the old woods road to the back of a hunting camp and had to turn around and backtrack to the right turn. For a quick hike, this cannot be beat. An easy hike for beginners or those just out for a nice walk in the woods.