Peekamoose and Table Mountains

Kathy and I summited a pair of mountains in the Catskills to keep ourselves in ‘hiking shape’. It was a nice hike, under 10 miles but with 3,000 vertical feet of gain.

We showed up at a reasonable time (for us) and were hiking before 9AM. We encountered just a couple pairs of other hikers and a few singles all the way out to Table Mountain, where turned and re-traced our way back.

Of note was the one trail runner we encountered about halfway up, completely naked except for shoes and a hydration backpack. We were lucky to encounter him along a moderate slope, where he had his junk covered; a couple we spoke to later happened upon him coming down a steep rock face and weren’t so lucky.

Other than that, it was a warm but pretty day. By the time we returned to the car, the lot was mobbed. We were stopped by a family in flip-flops asking us “what’s at the end of this trail?” and by Long Islanders asking “what’s good to hike around here?” Since we were at the Peekamoose Mountain trailhead (which doesn’t go anywhere else) I thought both were odd questions. There were cars lined up to grab our space when we left, as apparently there is a swimming hole not far away. With the exception of the naked trail runner, apparently 9AM was the time to start.