Wittenberg Mountain

"Finally reuniting with some of my hiking peeps, flexible flyer, olive and Irish George, for a traverse of the Burroughs range. Hillsounds all day while taking our snowshoes for a ride. We had the summits of Slide and Wittenberg to ourselves and met very few other hikers along the way. On Cornell David Zhu popped in while we were enjoying our lunch buffet. We provided him info on the single season triangle patch while entertained us with his recent exploits in the Whites and Catskills. Mimi’s dumplings and cream puffs put an additional smile on his face and delaying his return to Woodland Valley. The 100’ webbing was deployed at a ledge on the back side of Slide and the Cornell Crack just because we had it and for utmost fun and safety." — Nimblefoot • Feb 16, 2020

"Spring is back with a temperature of 58* in the Slide PA around 9am. Just three days earlier the temp. was down in the single digits on my drive up. Burroughs range traverse with Tom, Christy, Yong Ae, Mimi and Cathy. First hurdle was getting across the Neversink which was running higher than normal with recent rain and snow melt. Cathy and I scooted a crossed a fallen tree, which worked well at keeping our feet dry, then waited quite awhile for the others to get a crossed. They did a combination of slowing walking across a fallen tree then rock hopping or wading with garbage over their boots. With the snow and ice slowly disappearing we were constantly putting on and taking off our sacrificial Hillsounds. The only snow we found was on the backside of Slide which led to a lot of sudden post holes and the associated hoots and hollers. Once down to the col the snow was completely gone and we could hike on bare ground. On the climb to Cornell we picked up ice and crusty snow in patches which continued all the way over to Witt and down toward Woodland Valley. Lower down back to bare ground like winter didn’t happen. We had all three summits to ourselves." — Nimblefoot • Jan 12, 2020

"An out and back of Witt and Corn from Woodland Valley TH. Left the parking lot at 10:30 am, alpine start for hiking bums, with only one other car in lot that had a Catskill 3500 sticker on a window( very surprising!). At the Terrace mtn trail jct I ran into two hikers doing a traverse of the range, John B. a gridder and Andy P. who is two peaks shy of completing the 420 and owner of the car in WV. With them nearly done with their traverse hike and I haven’t reached my first peak yet I felt like a lazy sloth. No headlamp was harmed on this venture." — Nimblefoot • Dec 16, 2019

"We had a beautiful day for a Catskill Niner with cool temps and sunshine. We enjoyed a clear star filled sky with our headlamp start and the same after our headlamp finish. Only met other hikers on Witt and Friday then one guy on BC then we met on Friday before a noisy group crowded the small summit/canister area. Our passage through the “Dink” was our easiest so far with only minimal pokes and a growing amount of open stretches." — Nimblefoot • Nov 2, 2019

"A beautiful warm cloudless in which to take on the Catskill 9. Low point, getting stabbed by thousands of trees. High point, watching the sunset on Table and the stars on Peekamoose." — Right-On • Sep 21, 2019

"Tom and I had a beautiful clear day to do a traverse of the Burroughs range from Woodland Valley to Slide mountain PA. Someone has left a length of nylon webbing in the Cornel crack to aid in ascending/descending though the way it is tied to the small tree I wouldn’t put a lot of weight on it. Near the Slide mountain PA a young couple was just heading in with no gear looking for a lake(?). We told them it was private and the trail went to Slide mountain which involves some good elevation gain and at least water should be carried. They continued on up the trail with nothing." — Nimblefoot • Sep 19, 2019

"Tom, Peter and I did the Denning 9 starting at the Denning PA visiting Table first and finishing on Slide. A warm humid day but fortunately not excessively hot and clouds rolled in during the afternoon to block the sun occasionally. We didn’t see anybody until Lone where we found a group of Jewish summer campers having breakfast at the canister complete with one in a hammock acrossed the herdpath. Certainly inappropriate but at least they were friendly and were willing to take our canister photo at peak #3. We whacked so far acrossed the Dink we almost made it to the summit of Cornell. The going got so steep and thick we decided to pop out to the trail, only a minute from the spur trail. On Witt we saw only five other hikers which was a surprise since it was a holiday and such a nice day. After a wonderful respite at the spring below Slide we got to the summit viewing ledge only to find another Jewish group taking over the entire ledge doing some sort of religious reading/meditation/ seance silently even though on our climb up we could hear bouts of hooting and hollering. The Curtis-Ormsby trail was a pleasant soft pine needle covered trail dropping us down to the P-E trail for the..." — Nimblefoot • Jul 4, 2019

"Tom and I did “The Nine”in a more or less straight line starting from Peekamoose road and ending at the Slide mountain PA on Co. route 47. The threat of an afternoon thunderstorm and the occasional patch of black flies kept us moving from 6:30 to 5:00 with very little lollygagging. The only peak where met other hikers was Wittenberg where we took a short break to eat lunch. The spring below Slide was a welcome respite during our final ascent of the day then once on top we were chased off by a growing mob of black flies. Down at the PA while enjoying a chilled beverage we discussed the possibility of doing Panther as a bonus peak, fortunately common sense encouraged us to call it a day. " — Nimblefoot • Jun 1, 2019

"We did a nice traverse of Witt, Corn and Slide starting in Woodland Valley. A beautiful sunny day allowing us to enjoy a leisurely lunch of home made Korean pancakes with kimchi, calamari and local ramps." — Nimblefoot • May 11, 2019

"Four of us did a 6-pack of Witt, Corn, Friday, BC, Rocky and Lone via the old Boy Scout trail out of Moon Haw over to Denning PA using the Dink to reach Friday. Only saw one other hiker, on Friday and BC, all day. Everything from bare ground to ice packed trail sections to two feet of snow off trail to suddenly plunge through. A fun day full of challenge and clear views." — Nimblefoot • Apr 17, 2019

"Did a loop traverse of the "Catskill 9" with two hiking companions to close out my winter round finish of the Catskill 35 in style (35/35 on Rocky Mountain, and the rest were bonus summits). We started from the Denning Road Trailhead at 7 AM, heading counterclockwise up Table and Peekamoose before bushwhacking over the four trailless peaks. Climbing the col from Friday to Dink and Cornell was brutal. The forest is dense and fights you at every step. When we finally hit marked trail again, we were banged up, bloody, and grateful to be out of the mess. My favorite Outdoor Research Whirlwind Hoodie did not survive Dink's wrath. The snowpack is high over the burroughs range, and being elevated into the forest canopy felt like we were still bushwhacking. The Cornell Crack required a rope to safely negotiate. Once down, we dropped our packs and jogged the trail out and back to Wittenberg. Climbing up Slide's eastern face on tired legs was a real challenge. We enjoyed an ice cold celebratory beer at the top, and then made the long descent back to the car. The trip was just under 20 miles and about 5100 feet of gain." — wacbravo • Mar 16, 2019

"Beautiful sunny day for Tom and I to do a traverse of the Burroughs range. At the Crack on Cornell Tom pulled out his 100’ lobster tail webbing for a safer descent then an easy stroll over to the summit of the Witt. We had the open Ledge to ourselves for a leisurely lunch break with great views. The sun was so bright and with the snow cover it was a good day to get an early season sunburn. I should had at least wore sunglasses on a day that feels like early spring more than winter. We engaged in a spirited plunge down to Woodland Valley on the packed trail and taking some creative shortcuts just for sh*ts and giggles." — Nimblefoot • Mar 11, 2019

"Tom, Joe, Yong Ae and I rendezvoused at Moon Haw to hike the old Boy Scout trail a month after Tom and I last did it. For both Joe and Yong Ae it was their first time and they found the final ascent to the Burroughs Range trail quite challenging. Deeper compacting snow would make the climb much easier. Once we successfully bagged Cornell we headed over to Wittenberg where we enjoyed the wonderful view of a cloud bank. Both Yong Ae and I broke a chain link on one of our Hillsounds on the way so out came the stainless steel zip ties for a quick fix, always nice to do when your fingers are a bit chilly. Back down in the trees for a lunch break of our own soups/sandwiches/wraps plus Yong Ae’s home made dumplings and ginger tea. Our initial descent down the old trail was slow and tedious with the slippery conditons of leaves, ice and fluffy snow. The crusty snow back in December was much easier to deal with. Nice deep snow would make it a fun playful romp.....maybe in February( fingers crossed!)." — Nimblefoot • Jan 10, 2019

"Six of us headed out of Moon Haw to visit the summits of Wittenberg and Cornell. Instead of heading out the back of the parking lot and crossing the creek right away we headed up toward Friday mountain just enough to get passed the private property. Then dropped down to pickup the old Boy Scout trail to head up to the Burroughs Range trail. The microspikes went on as we gained elevation where the thin crusty snow caused back slipping. Higher up the snow deepened but still had a hard crust so we simply kicked steps. I followed the trail pretty well until the final several hundred feet where I veered off but still stayed in the open fairly well. Once we popped onto the range trail we headed up to Witt passing one hiker heading to Cornell. Surprisingly we found only a group of four having a hot lunch at the summit on such a beautiful day. A leisurely lunch in the sun then over to Cornell." — Nimblefoot • Dec 9, 2018

"Nine of us took a stroll across the Burroughs Range to complete Laura’s and Tom’s first 420 Catskill Grid and my second one. Beautiful sunny day with the heat and humidity down to a more reasonable level compared to the previous week. Not many folks on top but it was still early in the day. Chatted with an old friend before moving on to Cornell." — Nimblefoot • Jul 8, 2018

"Steve and I out for a through hike on the Burroughs Range. Shortly after leaving Cornell we came upon the infamous Cornell crack. Now we see why we haven’t seen any other hikers all morning on such a beautiful day. Normally not much of a challenge but today there is enough ice in the crack to question our safe descent. While we are looking down it a young couple,who are backpacking the range, are trying to figure out how to ascend it. Steve managed to get down it slow and safely then I attempted to do the same only to take a misstep an executed a butt luge to the bottom. Safe but gained a nice egg on my forehead the result of tapping the rock with my head on the way down. Now it’s basically just a stroll over to the summit of Wittenberg for lunch and a selfie of my new egg all while taking in the wonderful view. Strangely again we have the summit to ourselves until two guys arrive from Woodland Valley ten minutes later. On our descent we pass numerous hikers and backpackers not prepared for the icy trail conditions because the PA and lower elevations are completely snow free." — Nimblefoot • Apr 21, 2018

"Seven of us did a nice long hike from Lanes street in Phoenicia to Slide mountain PA. Visited the summits of Romer, Cross, Wittenberg, Cornell and Slide mountains. Surprisingly only two other folks on the summit when we arrived." — Nimblefoot • Oct 28, 2017

"Steve and I joined a Mohonk hikers/Rip Van Winkle hikers group hike led by our friends Tom & Anna traversing the Burroughs range. The usual great view from the summit was dismal do to the low clouds. Trail wetter and muckier than I've ever seen." — Nimblefoot • Aug 12, 2017

"Wittenberg and Cornell from the Woodland Valley Trailhead. So much snow on the mountains and great weather today made for an incredibly fun hike. The glissading on the the descent was top notch. When I did these peaks for my 35er patch, there were no views to be had. So fortunate to get to experience the beauty of the Wittenberg vista. Could've stayed up there all day.." — wacbravo • Feb 17, 2017

"My only regret with this hike was not continuing on to do Cornell. Having bagged two for the 3500 challenge would've been sweet, but time was of the essence. Nonetheless, great hike with views from the top outstanding. The Ashokan Reservoir seemed close enough to touch." — billsussdorff • Dec 1, 2016