Giant Ledges/Panther Mt. (Catskills)

[Dick]

Another fine day for hiking! A little cloudier than the past weekend, but still sunny and warm. Joanne and I decided to do Giant Ledges and Panther Mt. in the Catskills on 5/4 (her birthday). We figured we’d have the place to ourselves, but when we arrived at the parking lot there were three cars, two of which were vans from the same organization. The owner of the third car left as we prepared our gear, bringing it down to one small mob, we thought. I also had a sudden strong feeling of deja-vu, and remembered just at that moment that we had hiked the Giant Ledges many years ago (Joanne didn’t remember it at all)! We were greeted at the trailhead by a Porta Potty, right at roadside! Signing in (at the register, not the Porta Potty), we noticed a pair of glasses with dark frames in the register, if anyone reading this is missing theirs. The first part of the trail is quite rocky, and climbs quickly to a junction, then levels off, then climbs again to the ledges. There we shared the views with all of the members of the two vans. After a little chit-chat we sensed we were interrupting and we moved on. The trail drops to a col, then regains the elevation and more as it climbs up Panther. At the beginning of this part of the climb, we met 4-5 additional members of the large group, descending Panther. The entire trail seems to be quite well constructed. Once up on the ridge, balsam became the prominent scent, and the trail meanders along and up the ridge to the summit. There is a lookout rock here, very nice, but not nearly the views one has on Giant Ledges. I went farther along the trail and found one additional lookout with similar views. Along the ridge we also noticed some strange downed trees. Strange in that they appeared to be quite fresh, single trees along the side of the trail with others around them undisturbed, and apparently not the result of a storm. We ate our lunch here, and Joanne took copious quantities of pictures (will be posted soon). Saw two hawks sailing across the panoramic vista from one of the Giant Ledges on the way back – made my day! I'm certain he was putting on a show just for me! Almost no muddy sections, save for the area near the second spring and a couple of apparently perpetually wet areas, but with excellent rock hopping. I continue to marvel at the open woods, and the “civilized” trails we have encountered in the Catskills thus far.

[Edelweiss]

These are some pics taken on our hike to Giant Ledges and Panther Mt. in the Catskills.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1&Uc=tdpb2qu.a8jqhta2&Uy=-x3j21m&Ux=0

[steve40]

Great pics and report,I have to get there.

[whitefoot]

Very nice pics joanne!!!

[Adk Keith]

??? picture is false hellebore, I've also heard it called cow poke because it makes cows sick. Often the first green thing they see in the spring so they are tempted to eat it.

[Edelweiss]

Thanks ADKKeith-
I'll update my captions.