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"Microspikes on, microspikes off. That was the story of my hike up Hunter Mountain. The Spruceton trail alternated between icy sections and bare sections at the beginning, and then between icy and snowy sections beyond the trail junction 1.7 miles from the firetower. The snow was hard and not too deep, so no snowshoes were required. Thankfully I left them in the car because my winter pack was heavy enough!
Near the summit, I encountered snow flurries and blowing snow that made it feel like a proper winter hike! :)
The winds atop Hunter's firetower were nearly as strong as they were on Overlook's around sunrise. Learning from the mistakes I made this morning, I didn't spend nearly as much time on this tower and didn't even bother turning on my phone. All of my summit photos were taken with my point-and-shoot camera.
Overall, I would give this mountain a 4 or 5 in terms of difficulty. I stopped more than I wanted to near the summit, but that probably has more to do with how much weight I have put on during the long winter. This hike, and my subsequent hike up Slide Mountain, served as huge wake-up calls. I need to get myself back in shape before I take on Colorado's highest..." — theascent • Feb 9, 2019
"Nine of us met at the Rusk/Hunter PA for a loop of the two Hunters. A brisk start of 12* but the sunny blue sky and the climb of SWH warmed us up. We enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the picnic tables at the summit basking in the sunshine. Only one of our party was willing to ascend to the cab of the tower to get the view following the example set by a couple who reached the summit just before us. An easy stroll down to our cars not seeing another hiker except the couple reaching the top as we started our descent, kind odd for a weekend day with nice weather. Rehydration break at the West Kill brewery before we headed our separate ways." — Nimblefoot • Jan 12, 2019
"Finally the last task at hand.The Beast of the bunch, Hunter Mountain, Not concidered the longest but the steepest! @ 4040 ft of elevation making it compared to an Adarondaks climb.Trail was a gradual climb with water falls and mountain beauty along the trail before your never ending steep ascent,, Again Careful on those rocks,, ended up on my butt a couple times here — at Catskill Mountains." — ramjet1963 • Oct 20, 2018
"Hiked all 5 Catskill Towers in 2 days to complete the Fire Tower Challenge. This was the toughest, steep trail to the top, with conditions typical of a peak over 4,000ft, cold wet and even a bit of snow. This was our 5th and final in our trip. The Catskill Fire Towers are complete, as now is the ADK/Catskill Fire Tower Challenge. " — UK-Ranger • Oct 20, 2018
"Went on a big ole loop hike starting at the western end of the Devil's Path, going over St Anne's, West Kill, SW Hunter and then finally Hunter. There was a dusting of snow on my climb up St. Anne's and over to West Kill but it melted not to long after that. Diamond Notch Falls was roaring and the clouds and lighting from Hunter was superb. Quite a few people out on the trails for a mid-october Friday, but it was quite the beautiful day. Finished the trip off with a three mile road walk and a stop in at the West Kill Brewery." — Right-On • Oct 19, 2018
"Laura, Steve and I were joined by Laura’s dog Lilly for a fun romp of SW Hunter and Hunter mountains. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the picnic table on Hunter while attempting to dry our wet shirts in the sun. On our descent on the Spruceton trail we noticed that the DEC have re-dug all the waterbars in an attempt to dry up the often wet trail. Down near the saddle with East Rusk we encountered the work crew of four working on the water bars with a Bobcat and the trail itself with fill and a plate vibrator. Looking forward to an interesting sled ride this coming winter when the snow is deep enough." — Nimblefoot • Sep 4, 2018
"Out getting the two Hunters and the Colonels Chair as a break from work and house chores. Nice quiet day hiking solo. At the summit found two couples enjoying their lunch time break. No climb of the tower as the overcast sky would have diminished the fine views. " — Nimblefoot • Jul 30, 2018
"A nice rainy day with the occasional brief dry spell. Light steady rain that makes us a bit soggy by the end of the day despite wearing rain jacket and pants. We are up to participate in the 3500 Club litter pickup along Rt 214 then do a wet clown hike of Hunter and SW Hunter. With gusty winds added to the rain on the summit we could really feel the weather. Climbing the fire tower was not too inviting especially since the view would be disappointing. We devoured a batch of homemade vegetable dumplings ,donated by Yong Ae , as we huddled behind the cabin to get out of the wind. She was planning on joining us but had enough of the steady rain while doing the litter pickup. Off to SW Hunter before anyone cools down too much. My first peak of the Catskill 35 to reach 35 ascents that I know of as I didn’t keep good records from ‘99 to ‘05." — Nimblefoot • May 19, 2018
"Not a bad day for a hike. Not too cold. Weren't any views due to the cloud cover. Hiked with a friend from work and another friend. Could have used crampons above 3500' but we managed with mircrospikes. " — LGH-Topple • Jan 30, 2018
"Hiked with Uncle Gernie & John. We met at the park& ride in Catskill off of the Thruway & then took one vehicle to the trailhead. The hike started out as a crisp cool morning, very overcast. We meandered up the trail at an easy pace, there were a few nasty icy sections near the top, and about a quarter mile from the summit, it started to snow lightly. We hung out at the summit for quite awhile goofing around and catching up, my uncle has never seen a fire tower in person so he got a real kick out of it. The snow picked up as a meet-up group of hikers arrived on the summit. By the time we headed back down, the snow was falling steadily in big fat flakes, so we put on our spikes because we couldn’t really tell where the ice had been on the trail prior. The drive home was pretty terrible since it was the first actual snowfall of the season, but overall a great day spent out in the woods. " — kellieirene • Dec 9, 2017
"Back to the Blackhead range to finish my 15th round on Black Dome then headed down to West Kill to scoot up Hunter. Got a late start in the morning so now I’m fighting the clock to get up Hunter and then get home in time to pick up the wife at the train station. Power hiked up then promptly ran back down to the car, no time for lollygagging unfortunately. Luckily only the upper part of the trail, above the leanto, had patches of ice or frozen snow with the gravel still poking out for grip and minimal slip." — Nimblefoot • Dec 4, 2017
"Out after Sunday's big rain storm visiting West Kill and Hunter. All creeks, streams and falls are running fast and full. A lot of limbs and trees down on the trails. Spruceton trail is washed out where the DEC layed down a layer of large crushed rock a year or so ago and the large puddles past the leanto are back and bigger. Nice steady climb to the summit tower where I met a local guy with his dog enjoying the cool weather and partial sunshine. Hunter completes the month of October for the second time." — Nimblefoot • Oct 31, 2017
"The Catskill Four did a loop of SW Hunter, Hunter and Rusk mountains from Spruceton road. Lunch at the picnic table then we climbed the fire tower to get the views and escape the bugs." — Nimblefoot • Jun 13, 2017
"Tom, Laura and I hiked a loop of SW Hunter, Hunter and Rusk from Spruceton road on a beautiful sunny day. Encountered some slow to melt ice patches as we neared the summit of Hunter mtn. No need for spikes just careful foot placements. Lunch at the picnic table followed by a run up to the top landing of the tower to take in the clear views." — Nimblefoot • Apr 24, 2017
"Hiked with my father, his friend Eileen, and her dog. Was a lovely 24 degrees at the car, and there was a light flurry the entire hike. We used microspikes for half of the hike, and I still can't get over how easy they make hiking in the winter! (Relatively speaking.) It was 18 degrees at the summit, and the fire tower offered spectacular views of all around! On our way up, we came across 2 people coming down that had camped at the lean-to the night before. Only came across a handful of people on our way down. " — LaxHiker • Dec 28, 2016
"Needed to get a slice of that recent Catskills snowfall pie. Nice quiet loop around Hunter with my fiancee utilizing the Spruceton and DP trails. Hoping for a very snowy 2017 in these mountains." — wacbravo • Nov 27, 2016
"Tom, Steve and I did a loop of Rusk, East Rusk, Hunter and SW Hunter from Spruceton TH. Headed over East Rusk from Rusk to pick up the Spruceton trail and ascend to Hunter. Passed the weekend Tower volunteers on our way up." — Nimblefoot • Sep 24, 2016
"The Catskill Crew did a 3-pack of West Kill, SW Hunter and Hunter on a very humid day. Final peak of the day before red lining the Becker Hollow trail. We cleared away the majority of limbs on a recent blowdown on our way down." — Nimblefoot • Jul 5, 2016
"After doing maintenance on my adopted section of the Diamond Notch trail I headed up to Hunter for the 4K/ day challenge. Red lined the Spruceton trail and the yellow shortcut trail for the All Trails challenge round #2." — Nimblefoot • Jun 14, 2016
"Hiked a three-peak loop of Rusk, Hunter and SW Hunter with Tom, Anna, Laura and Don. After whacking East Rusk we got back on the Spruceton trail for the to Hunter. Lunch on the porch of the cabin, to stay out of the wind, where the thermometer read 5 degrees. No takers for climbing the tower, we just high-tailed it down to the DP to warm up." — Nimblefoot • Jan 21, 2016
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