Bearpen Mountain

"T-boned the Blackhead range from Big Hollow road then headed over to Rt 3 out of Fleishmans to T-bone BP and Vly. The Blackhead range was hopping with numerous hikers, particularly on my way down, as expected with the PA overflowing then over in Johnson Hollow it was a ghost town only seeing one couple hiking and two older gents picking apples near the PA." — Nimblefoot • Aug 14, 2021

"The rain has stopped and the sun is shining so it’s time for a solo romp of Bearpen and Vly then a stroll up to the views on WHP to finish the day. I crossed paths with a 3500 Club hike led by Marv between BP and Vly. Short chat with two guys staying at the hunters cabin, they bemoaned the recent wet weather and were ready to leave for home." — Nimblefoot • May 6, 2021

"Joined Mimi for a casual saunter up to the canister on Vly then up to the views off of Bearpen in the AM. Mimi enjoyed seeing the bountiful patches of ramps and blooming wildflowers along the road leaving the hunters cabin heading towards BP. In the PM she headed to do Balsam Lake mountain while headed to Peck road for a nice stroll up to Windham HP for another wonderful view to the north. WHP completed my 43rd round of the Cat35." — Nimblefoot • Apr 20, 2021

"First Catskills winter peak. Second peak with Bailey the trail pup. Beautiful day. Rerouted to Bearpen as Halcott was planned. Due to a detour just missed a parking spot at Halcott so rerouted to a backup plan. First 3500 since finding out that Brandon my hiking partner committed suicide. " — Mousetek • Feb 28, 2021

"A pleasant hike of Vly and Bearpen after bumping into Jim the Can Man, Margaret and Bill in the Johnson Hollow. Storm clouds came in but still got some views. Learned more interesting facts/stories about the local characters from the Can Man, always a treat. Everyone informed me that there is no canister on BP....oh my!" — Nimblefoot • Jan 15, 2021

"Back to the Cats after 2+ months away. Two peaks yesterday, went well, so decided to double it for today. Overcast sky dropping sprinkles on and off from late AM to early PM then later got some patches of blue and sunshine followed by a good breeze. Encountered the most folks on Panther/Giant Ledge, no big surprise especially when the PA was full so I had to park up the road. " — Nimblefoot • Jun 2, 2020

"Out with three ladies, Anna, Mimi and Christy, doing a leisurely hike of Vly and Bearpen. Started off with spikes then switched to snowshoes on the climb up Vly then kept them on for Bearpen just for ease of travel and to be able to play outside the beaten track. Met up with the spunky 5 yr old Luna and her dad Jason on both peaks. Nice sunny blue sky day with a good breeze that kept us from dawdling too much." — Nimblefoot • Mar 1, 2020

"Beautiful day to bag a few peaks early in the morning. Microspikes the whole way maybe could've used snowshoes near the summit of Vly. Kept a pretty good pace the whole way. Knocked without in 3.5 hours. " — LGH-Topple • Jan 8, 2020

"First hike of the new year. Visiting Bearpen and Vly in the AM from Rt 3 in Johnson Hollow then up to RT 42 to do Halcott in early afternoon. A nice dusting of new fluff on top of icy/crusty snow to the cabin then gradually deeper fluff on the summits. Spikes all day, carried the ‘shoes but never deployed them. A group of 8 and a few singles out enjoying the peaks on a nice day. The low clouds, dropping some flurries, occluded any views. On Halcott I had the peak to myself despite a pickup in the lot. Deeper snow with a crust on top closer to the summit. Very thin snow cover down low. All the tracks seem to be busted out with bare boots so any previous snowshoe tracks have been filled in. " — Nimblefoot • Jan 5, 2020

"A solo romp of Bearpen and Vly from Johnson Hollow in 3-5” of snow from yesterday’s storm. Before heading up I met the landowner, nice fella from Poughkeepsie, who reminded me to wear plenty of red/orange and have a good hike. Broke out the route to BP where the ATVs didn’t go. The snow was softening with the warming temps but at least what in the trees and on low hanging limbs stayed put. On my way up Vly the ice and snow was dropping on me and rather annoying when it hit my glasses and bounced into my eyes. Fairly early I deviated from the usual herd path so I did wacky bushwhack until I eventually found the path again closer to the summit. On my descent I corrected my error so the next hiker will have a better shot to the canister. Back at the car I swapped dry clothes for the soaking wet ones before heading home. Low clouds on the summits so no views today." — Nimblefoot • Nov 25, 2019