Escarpment Trail - First time in the Catskills

I have been wanting to get out to the Catskills for awhile and have really wanted to hike the Escarpment Trail.  I arranged for rides before we left and headed out to the trailhead parking on route 23 outside of Windham.  I was accompanied on this hike by my wife, Kate.  We decided to hike North to South up and over Windham High Peak and made for the Batavia Kill lean-to for the night.

The trail climbs through a mixed hardwood forest and groves of coniferous trees.  It is a nice mix of woodlands and fun to hike through.  Pretty quickly the Elm Ridge lean-to comes up and this would be a great spot to stay if you wanted to start your hike in the afternoon and continue on in the morning. Windham High Peak, elev. 3524ft, is not much farther along with three areas to look out from.  The look outs are on both sides of the summit and show great views in both directions.

The views of Blackhead, Black Dome and Thomas Cole Mountains were great and I liked seeing where we were headed.  After eating a little on Windham High Peak we made our way down and began the climb up Burnt Knob.  The trail climbs in short steep spurts then levels out for a bit before another brief climb.  Once on top of the ridge the trail stays fairly level and is a nice cruising hike. We made pretty good time and enjoyed the various look out spots along the way.  We passed a number of day hikers out enjoying the trail and views.  

It was late afternoon when we made it to the trail junction with the Batavia Kill trail and a short hike to the lean-to and water.  We decided to set up camp near the top of the ridge and I would go down for water after.  We found a nice looking spot and set up our hammocks and did some camp chores before I made the trek to refill our water for the night.  It was about this time that the clouds started getting dark and we knew we were in for a thunderstorm.  I did not want to take any chances with the weather so we both quickly packed up and made our way to the shelter to ride out the storm.  We cooked dinner and sat and watched the rain from the dry shelter.  It was nice.  The shelter is not in very good shape.  The years have taken their toll along with the porcupines.  I guess they seem to like chewing on the shelter.  

Once the storm passed and the sky became blue again we set up our hammocks in the near by campsite and called it a night.  It was about 8pm when we both turned in. We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning and took our time packing up.  We had a short hike out to the road and a waiting ride back to our car.  The Batavia Kill trail follows along the stream and out to the road with nice forest views and the sound of the water running over the rocks.

I really enjoyed the hike along this first 9 miles of the Escarpment Trail, and can't wait to return.