" Mimi, Joanne, Terri(Joanne’s friend) and I met at the end of Gillespie road for a late morning(11am) saunter of Roundtop and KHP. The late start was to wait out the morning rain showers and enjoy the hike in the sunshine. Joanne took care of navigation so I could just hang out in the back which was nice. We maintained a steady casual chat- filled pace up to the cairn on RT then over to KHP after dropping straight down from the viewpoint. After signing into the can on KHP we headed down to Hurricane ledge for lunch with a view over to the Devils Path, Plattekill and Overlook. On our return we dropped down around RT noticing all the emerging ramps in the numerous moist sunny spots." — Nimblefoot • Apr 6, 2025

"Climbed Roundtop and KHP with Marguerite(aka Itty Bitty) for her single season winter round of the Cat 35. We both wore our micro spikes and I carried snowshoes just in case but they simply went for a ride. The recent warm temps and rain melted most of the snow on RT leaving only ice hazards. Between the two peaks the snow quickly deepened where it was good to have a packed track to hop onto making forward progress quite efficient. Off the track I would occasionally sink in suddenly while Marguerite at 98# simply floated on top. At the summit cairn on RT we met up with our friend Lori who was only doing RT. She would be the only person we saw all day despite one person who had signed into the canister on KHP before us. He most certainly would have started from Gillespie road as we did but must have a different route." — Nimblefoot • Mar 13, 2025

"A fun loop hike of Roundtop and KHP with Tom2, Mimi and Danielle. We were able to drive to the very end of Gillespie road unlike the last time I did Roundtop in early Dec ‘24 after the big snow storm “before” winter. Wearing micro spikes and carrying snowshoes, in case of any deep drifts, we ascended straight up RT to the cairn which wasn’t buried this time. Over to the view then straight down the fall line to the low point between the peaks. The lose fluffy snow made the descent a spirited plunge as we were in controlled slides most of the time. An easy saunter up to the can on KHP, no visit to Hurricane ledge or the upper airplane crash, then returned on our broken track. We side swiped RT, bearing to the left, for less ellie gain and mileage. Micro spikes all day so the ‘shoes went unharmed." — Nimblefoot • Jan 10, 2025

"Tom R. and I originally planned to do both Roundtop and KHP for a shorter day time and mileage-wise. First up we had to park approximately half way between the two PAs on Gillespie road. The plow driver stopped going all the way to the end of the road and created a new “winter lot”. At 6am and quite dark I couldn’t tell how driveable the rest of the road was so we parked in the new lot. Upon snowshoeing the road to begin our whack it turned out to be driveable to all the small lots at the end. Since we knew the snow was deep we opted to take a longer and less steep approach from the old woods road. The snow ranged from day-old mashed potatoes to light and fluffy. Additionally we found all kinds of snowshoe traps and holes between rocks to fall into and spend energy to get out of. So right away we knew we had a lot of work ahead us as we made our way to the W/NW ridge. Closer to the summit we had the usual rock bands/ledges to go around or through via some steep ramps. After 2+hours we finally reached the gentle saunter to the summit cairn. During our brief rest break we both came to the same conclusion that we didn’t have enough juice to push a trench over to KHP and back to our..." — Nimblefoot • Dec 6, 2024

"A fine Fall day for doing a twosie of Roundtop and KHP from Gillespie road. Fall colors are out and already getting significant leaf drop. Wet leaves combined with roots parallel to one's direction often leads to sudden unplanned slips and slides followed by salty language." — Nimblefoot • Oct 5, 2024

"My long time hiking buddy, the Catskill legend Itty Bitty, needed RT and KHP for her single season summer round. She asked for my assistance as we haven’t hiked together in many months and she is no longer comfortable doing the full bushwhack by herself. Started and ended at the PA at the end of Gillespie road, known as Gillespie #2. Marguerite just turned 83 a few weeks ago but is still banging out the peaks all be it at a much slower steady pace. Up to the little cairn atop Roundtop then a straight whack to KHP, where we ran into other hikers looking for either the plane crash or Hurricane ledge. On our way back we bypassed re-climbing RT by dropping down and whacking around to return to the old woods road we took on our way in. A nice quiet day in the woods. " — Nimblefoot • Aug 27, 2024

"A rapid loop of Roundtop and KHP from Gillespie road with Tom R. Roundtop first then over to KHP using the variety of herd paths. On our way back we dropped down to Hurricane ledge to take in the view then whacked back to the network of herd paths to continue toward RT. Once close we whacked down to the northern leg of the sno-mo trail loop to work our way through numerous water hazards to reach the “Y”. From there we whacked toward Gillespie road hitting the old woods we initially took on our way in. Short stroll on the road brought us back to our cars in just over 3 hrs of hiking." — Nimblefoot • Aug 12, 2024

"A solo twosie of Roundtop and KHP from the end of Gillespie road. With recent rains the nettles are coming up in big patches so itchy and scratchy were hiking buddies today. Round trip of just over 3 hrs of a mix of woods road, bushwhack and herd path(s). The herd paths are getting closer to looking like unmarked trails now that Roundtop has become a popular peak thanks in part to Hikers Anonymous(Ha!). Met Lorraine and Scott on my way up to KHP, after visiting Roundtop, then ran into Pat Johnson and three friends on my way back toward Roundtop. With creative whacking I was the first one back to the cars despite being the last one to leave, the key being to whack around RT on your way back instead of re-climbing it. " — Nimblefoot • Jul 11, 2024

"Seven of us rendezvoused at the end of Gillespie road for an off trail loop of Roundtop and KHP. As usual we did see a variety of blue blazes of the old trail on our way up to the cairn marking the summit of Roundtop. Down to the small view looking toward KHP, that was the inspiration for Thomas Cole’s famous painting, then dropped straight down and eventually pickup a herd path. After signing into the canister on KHP we dropped down to the plane crash site, for some folks to see it for the first time, then down to the small view out toward the Hudson River. Back up to Hurricane ledge for a lengthy lunch break in the sunshine, quite nap inducing. A final whack brought us back to the cars by 1:30 and only 5 miles under our feet so I had time for a solo romp up Rusk mountain that I need for the month of May. Feeling frisky and using a herd path for efficiency I was able to put in a round trip hike, after a short chat with a friend in the PA, in under two hours. Unfortunately the time I saved was spent an hour later changing a punctured rear tire to a “donut” spare tire in the parking lot of Kenco outdoor store. Plus driving only 50 mph the rest of the way home was both tedious a..." — Nimblefoot • May 17, 2024

"Easy hiking day visiting some fire towers and a single peak for my grid. Very warm day(70’s) so I was glad I wore shorts. After tagging Roundtop from Gillespie road I headed down to Phoenicia to climb Tremper, my #4 out of 6 for the ‘24 DEC Fire Tower Challenge. A quick stop in Phoenicia to pickup some fluids then out to the Catskill Visitor Center for an easy stroll to the Upper Esopus fire tower,#5 of 6. Continued on to Woodstock to drive up to the Meads TH for the final climb of the day, Overlook. On my descent I ran into two friends who had driven down from ADK Loj in Lake Placid after Mondays eclipse viewing. We finalized a hike for the next day which is unfortunately forecasted to be cooler and a bit wet with showers(ugh). Overlook completed my fire tower challenge now it’s time to report to the DEC and get my patch." — Nimblefoot • Apr 9, 2024