Barkaboom Mountain(Catskills)

Headed out to the western Catskills Tuesday to do a long traverse hike with my buddy Jim.  The game plan was to meet up at the Shavertown Bridge on the Pepacton Reservoir early in the morning.  As luck would have it, the crisp air, morning mist, and rising sun, all came together to make for a gorgeous setting.

From the water's edge, frost covered slopes tower above Shavertown Bridge.

 From the bridge itself, the view across the water was quite striking as well.

As I've stated before in previous visits to the western Catskills, the drive along many of the back roads and byways is in itself a wonderful experience.  This off the beaten path view of the Mill Brook valley nearly took our breath away.

 Mill Brook valley view.

Our main goal for the day was to hike to the summit of 3100 foot Barkaboom Mountain, but with the intent of seeing as much of the long mountain ridge that we could.   Nearly 100% of the mountain is deciduous and we only came across a couple of steep ledges which were easily ascended.

DEC land provides access to many interesting nooks and crannies on this long ridge.  As we gained elevation, the snow depth went from a couple of inches to nearly a foot.

 High up in the cirque below the 3000 foot false summit, we managed to squeeze in a small south facing ledge view over Mountain Lake and Big Pond.

Between the false summit and true summit, we came across a small, but pretty snow covered wetland.

The true summit, at 3100 feet of elevation.  My 99th Hundred Highest peak.  The deeper snow near the summit had tired us out a bit, so we took a couple minutes here to refuel.

Descending the steep, east slopes off the summit, with the low angle December sun already beginning to fade.

 Is that a potential viewpoint....? 

From the steep eastern slopes of Barkaboom, the far western edge of Mill Brook Ridge can be seen rising impressively through the trees.

 From the same vantage point, we enjoyed a SE view towards Cradle Rock Ridge.

 Enjoying the fleeting daylight as we crossed yet another wetland high up on Barkaboom's slopes.

Our final leg of the hike was along picturesque Cross Mountain Road, which we met at a height of land just over 2600 feet.

From the road, Barkaboom's long summit ridge can be seen rising across the deep abyss where dead end Old Edwards Road runs.

We hiked about 7 miles total, with nearly 2000 feet of ascent on a cold, but picturesque mid December day.  99/102 in my Catskill Hundred Highest quest.