Hike of the Week 4/11/2002

Description:

From the parking area, cross the road and proceed south on the joint Jessup (yellow), Sweet Clover (white) and Highlands (teal diamond) Trails, which climb gently through a field and then descend to a woods road. To the right, you can see Schunemunk Mountain, which you’ll soon climb.
        Turn right on the woods road, going past a chain that blocks off the road. Just beyond, you’ll reach a junction, marked by a sign. Here, the white-blazed Sweet Clover Trail leaves to the left. Turn left and follow the Sweet Clover Trail, which continues along a woods road through fields. At the end of the fields, it reenters the woods and turns right, passing old stone walls. When the woods road again curves right, follow the white blazes straight ahead. The trail now climbs to cross railroad tracks. This is an active rail line, so be sure to stop, look and listen for approaching trains before crossing.
        On the opposite side of the tracks, turn left on the Otterkill Trail, blazed with red diamonds. This trail curves right and descends to cross Dark Hollow Brook below an attractive waterfall. Just past the brook crossing, the Otterkill Trail ends, and you turn right onto the Dark Hollow Trail, marked by black-on-white blazes.
        The next mile and a half, during which you will climb over 1,000 vertical feet, is the most strenuous part of the hike. The Dark Hollow Trail begins by following a woods road up the mountain, first quite steeply, then more moderately on switchbacks. The trail then turns sharply right and ascends steeply to an east-facing viewpoint – the first of many that you’ll encounter on the hike. Just beyond, the trail rejoins the woods road and continues to climb steadily through a mountain laurel thicket. It then turns left, leaving the road, descends to cross a small stream, and climbs steeply to an expansive viewpoint. The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is visible to the northeast, and the fire tower atop South Beacon Mountain can be seen across the Hudson River.
        After descending slightly to cross another stream and an unmarked trail, the Dark Hollow Trail continues to climb, passing a narrow cave to the left. About two and one-half miles from the start of the hike, the Dark Hollow Trail ends at a junction with the yellow-blazed Jessup Trail and the teal-diamond-blazed Highlands Trail. Turn left and proceed south on the joint Jessup/Highlands Trail.
        You’ve now reached the ridge of Schunemunk Mountain, which is composed of a conglomerate rock, studded with pebbles of white quartz and pink sandstone. This unusual rock has been smoothed by glacial action, sometimes resembling a level sidewalk. After 0.3 mile of this ridge-walking, you will come to a large open area studded with pitch pines. You’ll notice a line of cairns (rock piles) which lead to the right; follow them into a wooded area, and you will soon arrive at the Megaliths – a group of huge blocks that have split off from the bedrock. This is a good place for a break, as the interesting geologic features are complemented by a fine viewpoint to the west.
        When you feel rested, return to the main trail and turn right. Soon, you will arrive at the summit of the mountain. The elevation (1,664 feet) is painted on the bedrock, and there is a panoramic 360̊ view from this spot. You can see the Perkins Tower atop Bear Mountain to the southeast, with the Shawangunk Ridge visible to the northwest, and the Catskills beyond. In another 500 feet, you’ll pass the terminus of the Western Ridge Trail (blue on white) to the right.
        Continue ahead along the ridge, following the yellow and teal blazes for another mile, with open expanses of rock alternating with mountain laurel thickets. When the trail begins to descend, look for a junction with the aqua-blazed Long Path. This intersection, which is just below a descent from a rock ledge, is marked only by paint blazes on the rocks. Turn right onto the Long Path and follow it as it steeply descends the ridge into the Barton Swamp, where it crosses a woods road and a brook, briefly joins a woods road, then turns right and gently ascends the western ridge of the mountain.
        Follow the Long Path for three relatively level miles along the western ridge, with wooded stretches punctuated with open rock ledges offering broad views to the west. To the right, you can see the higher eastern ridge, which you followed earlier in the hike. After about a mile and a half, you’ll pass (to the right) the southern end of the Barton Swamp Trail (red on white) and then the western end of the Western Ridge Trail (blue on white), and a mile later you’ll reach the western end of the Sweet Clover Trail (white), followed by an exceptionally fine viewpoint to the west. Continue along the Long Path until you come to the northern end of the Barton Swamp Trail (red on white). Turn right onto the Barton Swamp Trail, which surmounts the ridge and descends steeply, passing the northern end of the Trestle Trail (white) on the way.
        After crossing Baby Brook, the Barton Swamp Trail reaches a junction with the yellow-blazed Jessup Trail. Turn left, and follow the Jessup Trail downhill, parallel to the brook, on an eroded woods road. Pay careful attention to the yellow blazes, which detour at times to the left to pass an interesting waterfall and to avoid a particularly bad section of the road. At the base of the descent, turn right, briefly joining the red-diamond-blazed Otterkill Trail, then turn left onto the yellow-blazed Jessup Trail, cross the railroad tracks (after first looking carefully for trains), and turn right onto a woods road paralleling the tracks. In half a mile, the Jessup Trail turns left, reenters the woods, and descends along a small stream, emerging on an open field. Follow the posts across the field, then continue to follow the yellow blazes along a woods road. The Jessup Trail is soon joined by the white-blazed Sweet Clover Trail. Follow the yellow and white blazes, which turn left to cross a field and lead back to the parking area where the hike began.

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