If you don’t know Mike, he is retired professor of forestry at Paul Smith’s College, author of The Catskill Forest: A History, and a preeminent expert on the Catskills.  Whenever I have a chance to hike with him, I learn not only to identify different plants but also the unique stories of how they fit together in the natural environment.  Our mission on this recent hike was to locate a 50-year old abandoned power line and follow it up the mountain until we could discover the original first-growth forest, which started at around 2600 feet, just above where 19th century tanners and loggers were able to reach.

Continue reading “Field notes from a hike with Mike Kudish” →