Empire State

The Girl has a college friend who, after living in South Africa for a while, decided to try something really wild and moved to New York State to work at a posh resort.  It's the sort of place frequented by Supreme Court Justices and really renowned horror authors, so our only chance of getting a look inside was by knowing someone inside.  Lucky us!

We also used our long weekend to explore the surrounding area.  As a local, The Girl's friend knew about the popular places in the state parks, and hidden waterfalls down gated dirt roads that we'd probably never find without a local's help.

On our first full day, she took us to Shaft IIA, one of the locals' hidden spots.  She had billed it as a "swimming hole."  Hole was the operative word.  I speak in terms of size, not quality.  It was a lovely, secluded spot, and we only saw one other person and a couple frogs while we were there.  Our golden retriever trail dog got to do a little more swimming than the rest of us--he was the only one who couldn't reach the bottom.

Shaft IIA waterfall

That afternoon, we traded the retriever for another local and drove out to Kaaterskill Falls.  When we found the parking area at the bottom full, we continued driving to a more secluded area near the top and explored the valley's rim before returning to the base and working our way through a tremendous crowd to the base of the falls.  I had mixed feelings here.  The waterfall is a local landmark, and has been photographed, painted, and appreciated for well over a century, but its proximity to the road and impressive grandeur means it's an easy target.  I'm glad so many people are able to visit it.  I really am.  I just wish they would appreciate it more.  The amount of litter along the trail and in the stream was very disheartening, and throngs of people scrambled past the "Don't go past these signs" signs into territory well beyond their ability to get even closer to the falls.  It was a very nice waterfall, but between the trash, cigarette smoke, and braying idiots, the experience was a bit spoiled for me.

Top of Kaaterskill Falls

Kaaterskill Falls

We took a longer hike the next day at Minnewaska Lake Park.  Trails and access roads took us from Minnewaska Lake to Lake Awosting, where we had lunch and swam a while at the only accessible beach--a long, sloping shelf of rock.  Take a thick towel, or do what we did and spend an hour throwing a retriever's very favorite tennis ball, so you never really sit.  The beach was visible from many points around the lake, and we spent a good part of our hike looking forward to that chance to take a swim.  On the walk back to Minnewaska Lake, we detoured briefly to Rainbow Falls, where minerals had stained the cliff face across a broad spectrum, but very little water was running because it had been so dry for so long before our visit.  Still, it was peaceful and pretty, and the dog managed to chase balls for a while the humans took pictures and pointed at things.

Lake Awosting

On our last full day, we finally explored the grounds of the resort.  The Girl and I spent the morning wandering along the Eagle Crest Trail and down through a rock scramble that offered ample opportunity to explore slump caves while her friend did some work.  That afternoon, her friend took us into the Labyrinth, a trail which wound its way up from the lake shore to Skytop Tower via rock scrambles, boulder piles, and a series of wooden ladders built into deep, narrow crevices in the rock.  It was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.

Skytop Tower

One of over 200 "summer houses," with a view of the 'Gunks.

Inside a small slump cave

Labyrinth Ladders