Stoppel Point and Arizona Mountain(Windham/Blackhead Range Wilderness-Catskills)

Decided to change things up and head south today to check out the fall foliage in the Catskills.  While most of my recent hikes in the Adirondacks have seen peak foliage, I wasn't really sure what to expect down in the Catskills, especially at high elevation.  

One of my favorite trails in the Catskills is the yellow blazed trail up to Dutcher Notch from the end of Storks Nest Road, which is one of the very few access points to the Escarpment Trail from the valley.  This trail is actually a mid 19th century turnpike that is often referred to as the old Colgate Carriage Road.  The start of the hike(Elevation 1120 feet) passes through private property via an easement all the way up to 1620 feet, so be sure to stay on the trail for this part.

The trail is often wet, muddy and rocky as it basically follows the old turnpike up the steep escarpment all the way up to 2550 foot Dutcher Notch, a low spot between peaks. 

After a long steady climb, I hit Dutcher Notch, then turned south on the blue blazed Escarpment Trail.  This trail climbs steadily up towards a view point known as Milt's Lookout, which unfortunately was completely socked in with clouds and fog. The foliage over 3000 feet was past peak with much of the hardwoods already dropping their leaves.

Continuing south, nearing the summit of Stoppel Point, another steep ascent brings you directly to a 1983 plane crash site.  I'm not really one to seek these sites out due to the horrific fate that someone had met, but it is always interesting to find these old wrecks.

 

A very short distance beyond the plane crash is a great view north towards the Blackheads, which was nothing more than a wall of fog today(no photo attached).  Past there, the trail oddly enough, does not go over the summit, missing it by mere yards as it makes its way over to an open ledge with a view east.

The east facing view out over the Hudson Valley is usually great, but thick fog took away much of the vista today.  As I stood there soaking in the view, the fog literally began to engulf the entire view and ledge.

After waiting for a few minutes to see if the view would clear up-only to have it completely fogged in-I turned back, retracing my steps back north.

As I arrived back at Milt's Lookout, just under 3100 feet, skies had begun clearing once again, providing nice views to the east and south.

A look back towards Stoppel Point, which clearly was socked in with clouds at the top.  Good thing I didn't wait there for a view because it would have been in vain.

A really cool look at the fall colors creeping up the escarpment wall.

From the viewpoint, I continued along the trail back to Dutcher Notch, when-almost out of nowhere- the sun began to clear the fog out completely.  Instead of simply heading back to the car as I originally intended, I decided to continue north up to Arizona Mountain, which is really just a bump off of Blackhead's south ridge.  From the notch, it would be over 800 feet of climbing to get there though!

Steep climbing up the south face of Arizona.

After some very steep climbing, the trail levels out a bit.  This is where I left the trail and headed south into the woods for not even 20 yards, when I hit a series of ledges.  It is tough to find the views because of tree growth, but persistence pays off with outstanding views towards the Escarpment.

South view across Dutcher Notch towards Stoppel Point, where I had just been.

Clearing skies providing a great view across the East Kill Valley towards the ridge between Stoppel Point and West Stoppel Point.  Just past there is Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top, with part of the Devils Path just beyond that.

The SW view down towards Capra Lake, which is a bit too grown in this time of year.

Back on the Escarpment Trail, I headed up to Arizona's false summit with views east towards the Hudson Valley.

The woods open up nicely atop Arizona's summit ridge, making for very pleasant hiking.

Arriving at the 3410 foot summit of Arizona, which sits in a large clearing with a great up close view of Blackhead Mountain, towering over 500 feet above to the north.  Incredibly, even though skies had nearly 100% cleared, some fog was still holding up near the summit area.

From the summit of Arizona it was a steep descent back down to Dutcher Notch, then onto to the car at the end of Storks Nest Road.  Hiked just under 12 miles RT with 3200 feet of elevation gain and didn't see another hiker the entire day!