Met up with my hiking partner Jim to bushwhack the west side of Cornell/ Wittenburg from Woodland Valley on a picture perfect spring day. We began at about 1400 feet elevation by the following the DEC trail up above private property before leaving the trail to head west through the mostly open woods. There are some good sized boulders on these steep slopes.
Jim leading the way through a field of club moss. Any and all green is welcome this time of year.
One of the many drainages, flowing through a damp, mossy area, providing a "slime" look.
We followed the Woodland Valley Creek west until it branched south.
Dropping down to the main branch for a closer look, well back in the valley.
We were both quite surprised to stumble across a well trodden foot path following along the creek.
Further back nearing the head of the valley, we were treated to this impressive view of Slide Mountain(distant) and "Mini" Slide to the right.
Continuing south/ southeast along one of the branches of the creek, we came to the first of what would be a series of beautiful cascades and pools.
Where branches of the creek converge.
We chose to follow the middle branch up, which heads nearly due east towards the Bruins Causeway between Wittenburg and Cornell. The falls here were very impressive and we stopped to soak in these views.
We spotted a carving in the rock near the base of the falls, which appears to say "PW Misko 95 Cornell Falls".
Above Cornell Falls, there are multiple more picturesque falls, each as beautiful as the one before.
Falls #3.
Jim making his way up past falls #4.
We couldn't believe the amount of waterfalls that this branch of the creek provided. These falls really stole the show, as we continued east higher and higher up the creek bed.
One of the last pair of falls at about 2500 feet, with a more wintry look. Snow and ice began to creep into sheltered spots at about this elevation.
Nearing the head wall of the creek, high up the slopes of Wittenburg.
Jim, seen here climbing up through what was left of the creek bed, at the head wall.
From above the head wall, the ridge of Cornell began to really crowd our view.
Even with temps warming through the 50's and 60's winter holds a tight grip at the higher elevations. This 20 foot wall of icicles looks to be going nowhere fast.
As we gained elevation, progress nearly came to a halt, with icy snow and thick spruce. We did manage to find some good views towards Slide Mountain though(Cornell's ridgeline in the foreground)
A more westerly view with Slide's north ridge.
After some scrapping and scraping, we managed to find this northwest view a bit further up towards Panther Mountain.
A closer look reveals Giant Ledge(L) and Panther Mountain(R) and what I believe to be Eagle a nd Balsalm beyond.
As we continued the ascent we really began to slow down, with very wintry conditions taking over.
From just below the Bruins Causeway off trail at about 3500 feet, we spotted this view of Cornell and Slide!
Turning slightly west/ northwest with outstanding views over Woodland Valley.
We soon hit the trail on the Bruins Causeway, after nearly 6.5 miles of bushwhacking. We were both happy to see the trail, but due to ice and the late hour, we skipped Cornell and headed over to the 3780 foot summit of Witt. The views here, as always, were amazing. Southeast views towards Ashokan High Point.
The Ashokan Reservoir is front and center from Witt.
North views towards the Devils Path peaks.
One last look from the summit area of Witt, over Samuels Point towards the Ashokan. Ticetonyk is just left of the Reservoir.
Took the long 3.7 mile trail back to Woodland Valley to end the day. Ice and snow remains on the high elevations, making it a slow descent. A little over 10 miles total, with over 2500 feet elevation gain.
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