With all the peaks for May complete, the Catskill Grid is on pause until the 1st of June. With some time on my hands, I was thinking the other day about the Catskills All Trails Hiking Challenge, also known as Redlining the Catskills, a project where you keep track of all your hikes and runs until you’ve covered every step of the 345 miles of official trail. On a whim, I downloaded the list and started checking off the trails I’d completed as part of the Grid and other adventures, and perhaps that was a mistake, or put differently, these projects are slippery slopes and even if they don’t sound compelling at first, once the spreadsheet is created, then you feel the force of gravity starting to tug.
With respect to the Redlining project, my calculations showed around 40% of the 345 miles complete. There are a number of connector trails and side-loops I’ve never explored, particularly out west.
With the forecast calling for a beautiful spring day, a glance at the map identified Ashokan High Point as a place I’d never been with a trail that wasn’t too long and a trailhead that was only an hour’s drive away. So Odie and I piled into the car and off we went….
The Long Brown Path 