Southwest Hunter Mountain

"Nine of us met at the left hand PA on Spruceton road, for Rusk/Hunter, to do a loop of SWH and Hunter. A road walk to start then up to the falls where we put on our spikes before jumping onto the Devils Path. A brisk AM ( 12* ) but the blue sky, sunshine and the climb warmed us up nicely with a few stops for costume changes. We set first tracks for the day along the railbed and up the HP in a couple inches of fluff. Only met one other hiker, at the railbed/HP junction, so far on such a nice day." — Nimblefoot • Jan 12, 2019

"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 pleasant romp of SW Hunter and Hunter mountains. Laura graciously took the lead which involved clearing all the spiderwebs that stretched across the trail. A little warm on the climb then more pleasant higher up. Laura was surprised how easy it was to follow the old rail bed and herd path, like an unmarked trail. " — Nimblefoot • Sep 4, 2018

"Out getting the two Hunters and the Cornels Chair as a break from work and chores. Sunny day to start quickly drifted over to overcast which was fine as it was fairly warm day. DEC construction crew installing new posts and signs at the two PAs. Nice quiet day hiking solo." — Nimblefoot • Jul 30, 2018

"A wet clown hike of Hunter and SW Hunter after helping with the 3500 Club litter pickup along Rt 214. The light rain falling all day left us a bit soggy despite wearing rain jacket and pants. After a quick lunch break on Hunter while hiding behind the cabin, to get out of the gusty wind , we head over to the rail bed on SW Hunter. We took a brief respite in the Devil Acre leanto to escape the rain and ingesting more calories on the way. The notebook in the canister is damp from previous visitors making it difficult to get all our six names in it without tearing the paper, another wet clown hike moment. A second respite at the leanto then down the infamous Devils Path which is a little more devilish today with the rain making the rocks, roots and leaves slippery on our way toward Rt 214. " — 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

"The Catskill Four did a loop of Southwest Hunter, Hunter and Rusk mountains from Spruceton road. Warm right from the start but not too bad. Quick in and out on the old railbed." — Nimblefoot • Jun 13, 2017

"Tom, Laura and I did a loop of SW Hunter, Hunter and Rusk on a beautiful sunny day. The day warmed up enough in the early morning to strip down to shorts and t-shirts. Very little ice/snow seen or encountered so far." — Nimblefoot • Apr 24, 2017

"A nice icy romp along the Devil's Path. The herd path along the final climb to the canister is like an ice luge in one section, and I did a beautiful- albeit unintentional- butt slide on the descent. " — wacbravo • Jan 18, 2017

"A slippery snowy romp up from Rt 214. Got a late start so only did SWH and had pass on doing Hunter. Snow depth is such that bare booting is rather clumsy since you can't tell what is hidden under the snow, leading to slips/slides and forward lurches, and not really deep enough for comfortable snowshoeing...argh! Quiet day with snow flurries that turned to steady snowfall at times, didn't see a soul except in the parking lot." — Nimblefoot • Dec 30, 2016

"Tom, Steve and I did a loop of Rusk, East Rusk, Hunter and SW Hunter from the Spruceton TH. After climbing the fire tower and eating lunch on Hunter we headed down to the Devils Path to visit our 4th and final peak and sign in to our second gizmo. " — Nimblefoot • Sep 24, 2016

"Bagging Southwest Hunter for Andy's W3500 finish. Celebrated with gourmet cookies and Prosecco. While the others headed back to the trailhead on Spruceton road, Steve and I head to Hunter mtn." — Nimblefoot • Feb 19, 2016

"First hike of the day. Concerned about finding the herd path. While on the trail, noticed a herd path leading off. I decided to follow it, and a little ways down, it became an obvious herd path. Signed in at the canister on the summit, making it my 4th Catskill peak. No views from the summit. " — newenglandwarrior • Jul 20, 2015

"A short trip to Leavitt with my sister to knock another one off of her list. Herdpath was blatant and cairns marked both turns. My first ascent in a month where there wasn't any snow. " — LGH-Tom • Jun 2, 2014

"Junction is not easy to see but topo against map will let you know when to look for it - on left about .4 from Lean-to area. Semi trailed until last push up to summit, hook left up hill just before downed trees that cross trail. Easy bushwack as the forest is not dense in this area. Chose to return via Geiger then bushwack up to Hunter Mtn view and then back down BH trail to car. Roughly 9 miles round trip, 6 hours with stops at firetower, Leavitt (SW Hunter), Geiger and Hunter view." — deb-and-rob • Apr 19, 2014

"Luckily, ran into my friend John at the Devil's Acre Lean-to who had just broken trail all the way to the canister. It made it super easy to follow his track right to the canister. " — LGH-Tom • Jan 4, 2014

"To complete our loop hike of Rusk, Hunter & SW Hunter we head down the DP past Devils Acre Leanto and onto the herd path highway. A quick jaunt up to the summit to sign-in the canister and have our lunch. The final rocky descent down to Spruceton road is my least favorite part of the DP." — Nimblefoot • Oct 12, 2013

"A loop hike of Southwest Hunter, Hunter and the Colonels Chair from Spruceton trailhead. Started with a warm-up road walk up to the start of the Diamond Notch trail. Old railroad bed/herdpath is still being maintained by somebody as I found blowdowns cut out." — Nimblefoot • Jul 12, 2013

"Our first peak of a loop of SW Hunter, Hunter and Rusk from the end of Spruceton road. The light snowfall from the night prior led to some damp clothes on the bushwhacks. Cloudy with some bright sun peeking out on occassion" — Nimblefoot • Feb 16, 2013

"A solo bagging of Hunter and SW-H from rt 214. Followed someones bushwhack route but they failed to get to the canister so I continued breaking trail to the can w/ another hiker following me." — Nimblefoot • Mar 1, 2011