Fall Hike up Westkill Mountain
Saturday was a lovely fall day. Mel and I went for a day hike up to the summit of Westkill Mountain in the Catskill Mountains. We left early in the morning as it was almost a 2 hour drive. When we left there was a thick fog covering downtown Albany. By the time we got to the trailhead the fog was gone.
We started from the second trailhead on Spruceton Rd which makes the hike a little shorter compared to the first. The benefit is there is a really nice waterfall about a mile into the trail. After we spent some time at the waterfall we continued on. The trail was in very nice condition. You could tell that fall was in the air. There was also plenty of leaves on the trail and a multitude of colors in the trees.
Westkill has a funny false-summit. Once you think you are at the summit you actually have to continue on a ridge for a while before your final climb to the actual summit. Buck Ridge Lookout is where you want to stop and enjoy the views. There are two areas to view the surrounding scenery from. It was really cold on the lookout, the wind was whipping across the exposed rocks. After taking in the view we retreated to the tree cover to enjoy lunch. After lunch (and the relentless wind) we started our descent back to the waterfall and finally to the car. It turned out to be a long day with the time we spend at the waterfall, summit and the drive but it was a great hike.
