Date: 2016-05-16
From: Warwick Turnpike

To: Lakes Road
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Today¢s weather turned out to be great for hiking, cool and dry (although the wind was very strong). And it¢s a good thing since we had some challenges ahead of us. We remembered parts of this section from previous years, we hiked it SoBo in 2014 and NoBo in 2015. There are a number of memorable features including the NJ-NY border, the highest point on the AT in NY, a rock climb with an anchored ladder, and a series of exposed rock ridge lines including the eastern Pinnacle and Cat Rocks. The mileage isn¢t excessive, but the terrain is daunting.But one of the neatest events occurred early in the hike along a relatively flat section of trail. As we passed a small isolated pond, Princess noticed that there were 2 swans in the middle. We stopped for a moment, the swans were somewhat hidden by the brush around the pond, but eventually we saw that there were also 2 cygnets with them. I managed several shots with my zoom and if you look closely, you can just make out the small ones. It was a great moment for us. The trail circled around the end of the pond, but they were only visible from the initial point where we saw them.Not long after that we started a climb towards the ridge line and the hiking got tougher. It was a narrow ridge somewhat like the Knife Edge and Wolf Rocks in PA, but the rocks here are different. In many sections they are smoother and more rounded. We were lucky that they were dry and our boots got good traction on the sloping rocks. I¢ve included more pics than usual. The state border line was painted on the rocks, with a survey marker in the middle. There wasn¢t any sign at the highest point, Prospect Rock, but we assumed that the American flag that was flying in a stiff breeze identified the landmark. Several times we climbed to the ridge and walked the rocks, then dropped down a bit, and eventually climbed back up for another ridge walk. One of the climbs went up a very steep rocky slope and the trail led us into a sort of chimney opening with very steep walls. and blazes painted at the top. I remembered it from previous years when there was an aluminum ladder bolted to one wall as a climbing aid. This year the ladder was replaced with a series of rebar steps that led up a wall. From there the hiker can scale the rest of the way up to the ridge line.The ridges included features called the Eastern Pinnacles and Cat Rocks. Princess loves climbing these rocks and insists on taking the lead. That gives me a chance to take some photos and an excuse for lagging behind. In truth, she moves through the big rocks a lot faster than I and actually enjoys them. Cat Rocks is the hardest for me. It¢s difficult to get up to the top, but it¢s not very long. The last couple of huge rock formations are big and nearly flat on top with steep drops on all sides. For me, the most difficult part is getting down the NoBo end of the last rock. Others may find a different path down, but we inch down several small ledges and hang on to some crevices and edges with our fingers. The climbs look wicked when I look up, but I think the descents look worse from above.Cat Rocks was a mile or two from the end of our section, and when we finished we texted our shuttle driver, Matt Anton. We drove ourselves out to our starting point this morning and left our car there, and Matt picked us up at the end and drove us back to our car. We knew this section has some challenges, so we wanted to hike it together. Tomorrow we will probably go back to a key swap approach. The worst part of my day was this evening, when I spilled just a little bit of IPA on my computer keyboard. I mopped it up quickly, but 5 or 10 minutes later, it started acting up and reached a point where I really can¢t use it - although it looks normal. So I¢m back to my iPhone. I tried it again a few hours later and it was a little better, but still not back to normal. Fingers crossed.