New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-05
RUGGED OLD STORM KING.
MISUNDERSTANDING NEAR NETWORK.

Cornwall, June 3O.-ASh anyway III NVi''"'''
to get TO the top Of storm King, and you VIII probably
,,ccvo an answer that may be classed with the one
described by the Irislman as cquivocal III the hfSu
placc cvcry one will think that You want TO go up
10 the clubhouse, a building which STANDS on
slightly SPOT on the nortEerly side OF spur vi '"o
mountain but which IS not near the summit Oh 7o' III
King and not really on the way thther al all ""e'.
Won reply that you bound for the acuual Vol VI
the nountain itself eyebrows will be raised In aston
isbmant and II there happen to he three or Tour III
the rroup with whom You are talking, you VIII DC
tolerabIy certain TO receive many different drec
tons as there are persons 10 supply Information OF
reveal their lack Of it.
From this it Is evident that the summit Oh Storl"
King is not popular resort for people In CORNWALL
nor do the summer boarders whose names Is icsoh'
seom 10 be possessed by the desire to ascend IT,
spcb was the conclusion reached by party of three
who sot out on sunday morning TO make storm klrg
their own 1t proved to be more dl1cult TASK th'"
they had imagined albeit one that wcl repaid inc
Of breath and muscle required TO compass IT, '"'
led by people who claimed To know something aoo"'
s,orn, kim but who seemingly knew scarcely more
than its name and general situation tn traVehcr'
first lost an hours time and did something more
Than a mile of needless walking by relying on the
various conflicting directions given, At last thcy
determined to set ont for themselves, trusting III
mart to the general impressions OF one Of the hupcr
who had been half way up the mountain zen years
ago Considering the circumstances uhuer WIN" ~
made the partial ascent at that time however, his COM
panions were not inclined to trust absolutely in his I'M
pressions though 1t turned out that, as Josh BIZ
inrs might say, he was not "far from ont OF the
right way"
Let il be said that Storm King IS veil worth ascend
ing and il may lie added that the ascent IS as genuine
a BIT of Notwithstanding the novice may desire
It is surprising that people do not undertake IT,
1t can be done easily in day by ono starting from
New-York at a reasonable hour in the morning ana
returning before dark and better saturday or sun
dav outing could be asked for, if one is fond OF
climb and Of noble scenery. From Cornwali-on-the-
Hudson the ascent can he made in a little over an
hour and women c0uld accomplish Il in less than Two
hours not without bit OF hard work, though Never
+bcIess II is work that many Of them ought to prefer
to idle gossping. silly novels and fancywork on the
plazzas of hotels and boarding houses.
Having learned by experience the difficulties OF find
ing the beginning of the way TO the top OF TINS
mountain the writer is mpeled to write down plainly
for the benefit OF all Corners that certain point Of
departure is the Storm King House. That Is well
known to everybody in the village and can be readily
found and directly in the Of the house IS the path
leading up the mountain. There are, In fact' more
than one path. but they all seem to lead 10 the neht
destination The party last Sunday only found this
mart of the path on the way down. for the first part
of the ascent they struck through the woods on their
own hook making for.the old house the mountain
side once occupied by an artist. From this point
there is plain path TO the summit though one Is liable
10 be led astray from 1t by the wood roads AS teSe
soon pass ont into the open country lower levels no
great harm can come from following one of them be-
yOnd a loss Of time. In general 1t may be SAID
that the right path ascends continually ana that
If the path you are on leads you downward that
Is prma facie evidence that you are going wrong
To reach the artists house requires pretty good
pulL From there IL is easy going for n time. Then
comes the tugOf-war on the last third OF the way
one Of the writer's party who had had some eX-
perence in mountain climbing declared that he had
seen nothing more except tho climb 10 the top
Of Mount Washington by the way of Tuckerman's
Ravine That may have been slight exagGeration.
but nevertheless Storm King requires pretty good
muscles and stout shoes. old clothes also de
srable because forest fires have run over the noun
tain and there Is great danger OF song ones clothing
from the charred sticks and branches along the way.
There is no water the mountain: hence persons
inclined TO be thirsty must carry some with them
90 without
storm King is about 800 feet high, and as the
river is almost at the level of the mountain Of
that height Is to be compared with those of the Cats
kills which are reckoned twice high, but which, it
Is to be remembered not measured from the gen
era level Of the surrounding country, but from the
level of the sea Seen from the West Shore train
after one sweeps past Gro Nest Storm King presents
are bare and almost perpendicular lodges In many places
and the ascent OF the mountain from this side would
seem to be impossible for any but most adventurous
mountaineer. The northern side Is less PERCEPTIONS
and more wooded but b climb here without resorting
to the paths would be a semi-foolhardy thing. The
view from the summit is surprisingly good The fore
ground is filed With the noble river, whose broad eX
panse before being hcmmed in It's tOrtuous course
through the Highlands is called Newburg Bay. The
CITY of Newburg is five miles away, and is plainly seen
rising on its steep streets from the river front. The
pronounced as though spelled ShOngnm) fills the mid
die distance, the highest part sans FONT, Delh8
clearly discernble. Further 10 the west can be seen
the portion of this on which cultivated farms
extend clear 10 the top. 3. J.,
advantage. Being observed from n totally new point
of view the sightscerS are not quite sure Of their
idcntr though tley are tOeraby confident that they
can idcntif Overlook Platteki, Indian Head, Suga r
loaf Plateau, possibly Hunter and Black Dome as wen
a. tbe lower aud more westerly group Slide. Wttem-
berg Cornell etc Through the glass big white hotel
is distinctly seen and the conclusion Is reached that II
must be the Hotel Kaatersll, not less than fifty miles
away a the bird fis-providcd the bird feS in bee
line From The point Of view attained by our travel
jcr there is no outlook 10 the south east and TO the
west only nearby hills are visible. Northwad the
nanOrama is magnificent. How many people know that
there is such splendid view to be obtained at the
neusc Of two hours ride from New York and climb
occupying more time? storm King ought To be
visited BY thousands where hundreds now make the
ascent II has a splendid name-beStowed upon It by
p Wills rs a substitute for the commonplace local
designation which ii formerly bore-and IT IS worthy
Of its name.