Headed down into the heart of the Catskills on a gorgeous fall day to check out a pair of off trail ledges high above Mink Hollow in the deep notch between Sugarloaf and Plateau Mountains. Parked at the end of Mink Hollow Road(north), Elevation 2225 feet and set out on the yellow blazed trail gradually climbing south on the old road bed up to the notch between the two peaks.
Once in the notch, I picked up the red blazed Devils Path heading east, climbing steeply up the rugged slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain.
It has been a while since I've climbed this section of the Devils Path and I had forgotten just how steep and rocky this trail was.
Once above 3000 feet, I left the trail and bushwhacked south towards a precipitous set of ledges over Mink Hollow. The terrain drops off abruptly to the west but provides spectacular views out over Mink Hollow. Here is a view north towards Spruce Top with Oteora beyond and the Blackhead range to the distant right.
Due west across Mink Hollow stands the imposing view of Plateau Mountain's east slopes.
To the south stands Plateau's south ridge above Mink Hollow heading towards Olderbark Mountain.
After enjoying the views from Sugarloaf's cliffs, I headed back to the trail and descended steeply back down into Mink Hollow.
After dropping back down into the deep notch at just below 2600 feet, I began to climb in earnest again, making my way up Plateau's steep slopes.
Rocky ascent on the Devils Path.
Once up to about 2900 feet, I once again left the trail, heading north, skirting through a very rugged area of cliffs and calved off boulders. Eventually made my around the cliffs, making my way up and over to a dizzying set of open ledges. This is a view southeast towards Sugarloaf Mountain across Mink Hollow.
View east towards Sugarloaf's north ridge and Kaaterskill High Peak and Roundtop in the distance.
Open ledge view south into Mink Hollow, with Sugarloaf's slopes to the left and Plateau's to the right.
Once I left the ledges, I bushwhacked down north then east through open hardwoods in the afternoon shadows on Plateau's east slopes.
Eventually picked up an old woods road and followed it back down towards the trail. Once down on the trail it was an easy walk back to the car. Covered about 3.2 miles RT, with almost 14000 feet of ascent.
Map below. P=Parking Blue X's Ledges with Views
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