"Roughly 20 hikers affiliated with Hikers Anonymous met at the Spruceton TH for a loop hike of SW Hunter and Hunter. The occasion was to celebrate Mimi’s( aka Cream Puff) 1260 or third 420 Grid on the summit of Hunter. Two folks, Connie and Paul, took the onesie option of doing just Hunter mtn via the Spruceton trail. Tom and myself brought our wives and Sherri encouraged her two young sons join us and get two peaks they need for their first round of the Cat35. Also in the party was the legend herself and my long-time hiking partner Marguerite(aka Itty Bitty). She is nearing the completion of her own 840 Grid at the youthful age of 83 and still providing an example for all of us youngsters(!). It was a casual chat-fest hike to SW Hunter via the Devils Path and old rail bed. Old friends catching up on hikes past and present and others meeting each other for the first time and finding out who is behind that alias. Once most folks reached the canister on SWH and signed in it was time to take more group photos both serious and silly. On to the Hunter mountain summit, peak number 1260 for Mimi. At the summit with the fire tower as background we formed the classic arch of trekking..." — Nimblefoot • May 26, 2024

"A loop of the two Hunters and Rusk after clearing two small blowdowns on my adopted section of the Diamond Notch trail. Getting some peaks for a winter round before the “Big Storm” comes in a day or two. Overnight flurries that continued into the early AM put a dusting of snow on the ground hiding the various ice patches leading to micro spikes going on and off all day. Wonderful day looking like a winter wonderland on the ground and blue patches with bright sun in the sky." — Nimblefoot • Jan 5, 2024

"Sherri and I joined Richard in getting his last three peaks to close out the month of December for his grid. Beautiful day in the winter wonderland with snow still hanging on the trees. Fortunately all trails and the rail bed/herd path to SWH were broken out making for work for us. The knuckleheads who broke a track over East Rusk to Rusk and down to the Spruceton trail need to improve their game in trail braking. It was great that they did it but they plowed through stuff that was totally unnecessary and missed the entire herd path coming off of Rusk. Great day of laughs, giggles and the occasional slip and fall that we labeled as performance art in the slippery powdery snow." — Nimblefoot • Dec 13, 2023

"Getting the two Hunters for a single season Fall round of the Cat35 using the Becker Hollow trail. Nice sunny day with the warm temps melting the dusting of snow at the lower elevations from several days ago." — Nimblefoot • Dec 8, 2023

"There were alot of people on the trail I did it from th devils tombstone lot. the initial ascent was unspeakably steep. After it leveled off, there was plenty of ridge walking. I had lunch with a couple of fellas at the Devil's Acre lean to. They were staying the night after climbing Hunter. It was seriously cold on the herd path to the peak. I had a wonderful day, and was able to get back to my car in daylight." — HeyJoe • Nov 10, 2023

"Loop of the two Hunters and the two summits of Rusk with Richard and Pat on a lovely day. My first time hiking with Pat and she is certainly a new friend. She is a local, knows all the who what and where of the Catskills, and likes to cook and bake. Richard and I got our fill of her delicious home made chocolate chip cookies….one per peak plus some extras…my kind of hike(!)." — Nimblefoot • Aug 23, 2023

"Original plan was to do West Kill, the two Hunters and Rusk in a loop. With a late start and a casual pace all day I decided to call it a day after getting to the canister on SW Hunter. To avoid hiking up the Devils Path and to save time with a direct route I whacked up to SWH from the bridge at Diamond Notch falls. Need to make improvements to avoid the thick treed areas with rock outcroppings otherwise the route was a nice change. Bumped into Tom and Sarah(aka Mochi Combo and Beginner on Ha!) on my way up West Kill. They were out doing the West Six, Sherrill to Rusk, then adding Halcott as a cherry on top for long day." — Nimblefoot • May 16, 2023

"Loop of the two Hunters and Rusk from Spruceton road. Early on the Devils Path I met up with Tim, aka Hilltop, who was out doing a onesie of SW Hunter. We discussed teaming up for some mid week traverses in the Catskills. To mix things up a bit I eliminated the east peak of Rusk and put in two bushwhacks between SWH and Hunter. They saved time and were fun to fine tune for future group hikes." — Nimblefoot • Apr 28, 2023

"A loop of Rusk, East Rusk, Hunter and SW Hunter from the Spruceton trail PA which wasn’t plowed out at 8:30 am. Bare booted up the Spruceton trail to the hairpin turn where I hopped onto a rough snowshoe track. Bare booters put numerous divots in the track over the weekend and now they are frozen. Spikes went on for the climb up to the canister then switched to snowshoes for the trek over the East peak of Rusk. Two tracks between the peaks and down to the Spruceton trail looked like they were made by two squirrels running around. Up to the tower on Hunter for the month and day #216 of 366 for the 4K/day challenge. Bit blustery on the summit with wind blowing through the tower that sounded like an airplane. Got out lunch then headed on for SWH, so far haven’t seen a soul. Did a short bushwhack to cut off some mileage hitting the DP near the rail bed rather than right at which was my original intention. After signing into the can on my final peak I continued on the rail bed before taking a wonderful plunging bushwhack descent down to the bridge over DN falls thus avoiding the monotonous descent on the DP. Good decision as the DP was poorly broken out from what I saw after crossing..." — Nimblefoot • Mar 7, 2023

"Hiked with Joe Cool Johnny Murphy. Started at 08:00 at the Notch Lake area. I forgot that the Catskills just go STRAIGHT up when you exit your vehicle. I was glad I wore calf sleeves, but was unhappy with my socks which started sliding off my feet almost immediately. The first mile was a struggle, with two dicey icy areas we navigated carefully. Following that, peaceful walk in the woods, no snowshoes required. Snow depth was low and the trail well-packed. Not much for gain or loss after the initial push, temperatures were very mild, at the top it was extremely windy but not unpleasant or too cold. It was fun to see the canister was orange rather than the tough to find grey of ten years ago when I started hiking in the area. Much easier to find! I left a note for Jim the Can Man, and we headed back down trail. We made good time on the descent but picked our way carefully down the final steep mile. It was a long day as we are both a bit out of shape, but a joy to spend time with my surrogate dad & get some miles in and fresh air. " — kellieirene • Feb 6, 2023