The Catskill Mountains are another range of mountains in the state of New York, in the southeast part of the state and part of the larger Appalachian range. While lower in elevation than the more popular Adirondack range, there are tons of great hiking options here, including two 4000+ foot peaks which are included in the Northeast 115, a peakbagging list which contains all the 4000+ foot peaks in New England (Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire) and New York. The two peaks are about 40 minutes away from each other by car and I chose these as my next objectives as I train for the skiing season. They’re also pretty close to Mount Frissell, and I decided to take a weekend to hike the two Catskill 4000 footers (Slide Mountain and Hunter Mountain) as well as properly tag the Connecticut highpoint on the south slope of Mount Frissell.
My plan was to drive about 4 hours to the trailhead for Slide Mountain (the highest of the two in elevation, but the easier trail), hike to the summit, then drive over to Hunter, camping in a lean-to and hiking to the summit the next day, before descending and revisiting Frissell. I left Worcester at about 7am and arrived at the trailhead for the Phoenicia East Branch Trail (the shortest trail to Slide Mountain) around 11:20am. I was quickly off and on the trail by 11:30am.
The crux of the trail was immediately after leaving the trailhead – crossing the wide West Branch Neversink River. After quickly surveying options, I was able to rock hop across. The trail was very easy, albeit quite rocky, and I was able to motor up to the summit of Slide Mountain in just over an hour. Around 3500 feet in elevation, snow became visible on the trail and surrounding forest – first taste of winter! Despite it being pretty chilly, I was able to hike in just my sun hoodie until I reached the summit, which officially sits along the Burroughs Range Trail.
Slide is listed as 4180 feet tall, but hasn’t been officially surveyed, and likely stands a bit taller. While at the summit, I noted that it appeared there was slightly higher land in the woods just off the trail. There used to be a fire tower at the summit, but only the footings of the tower remain. I took a quick break for lunch and sat down on the footing closest to the trail.
My hands got pretty chilly after eating my lunch, so I was happy to get moving back to the trailhead. The descent was pretty unremarkable and I made good time back to the car, somehow having more difficulty crossing the stream at the end. I ended up making really good time and immediately hopped in the car to set off for Hunter Mountain. On the drive, I decided to change my plans slightly and instead of camping partway up Hunter, I would hike the entire mountain that day via a shorter route and stay at a motel about 40 mins away that evening. This was mainly because Game 7 of the 2025 World Series was that evening and I wanted to catch the game on TV (if I was camping I wouldn’t have been able to even follow the game due to lack of service). I almost certainly would’ve camped if Toronto had won Game 6. We all know what the result ended up being and I do have some regrets from this decision!
The trail I chose to tackle Hunter Mountain, the Becker Hollow Trail, ascends the east side of the peak, and is the shortest, steepest, and least popular trail to the summit. It ascends nearly 700 meters in just over 3 kilometers, and it was definitely a slog. The trail started fairly gentle but quickly got steep, and stayed steep pretty much all the way to the summit ridge. It definitely took a lot out of me and I started experiencing calf soreness about 3/4 of the way up, which caused me to slow down a bit to manage the discomfort. The trail was also very muddy and slippery – definitely not my favourite hike.
As with Slide, snow started appearing on the ground as I approached the top and the ridge was a very pleasant walk as approaching the fire tower and observer’s cabin. I stopped to don layers and gloves before climbing the fire tower to get some great views of the Catskills. Very cold and windy up top and I made sure to put my cap in my pocket so it wouldn’t blow away.
The descent back to the car was predictably gnarly owing to the steepness of the trail combined with the dampness and mud, but it wasn’t too bad compared with the climb up and I was able to easily make it back to the car before sunset. I’d definitely recommend climbing Hunter via a different trail – the Becker Hollow was pretty tough and not too enjoyable. If the trail was wider it would be a fun ski!
With the two Catskill 4000 foot peaks, this trip put me at 55/115 for the Northeast 115 list, nearly halfway. I’m planning to get 1 or 2 more on the list done before true winter sets in – then it’s time to plan ski missions! Got a bunch of ideas in mind and I’m excited for the months to come. First I gotta tend to this pesky calf issue. Not super serious but definitely potential to get worse if I’m not careful.
Veg 'n' Alpine 