South Taconic Trail - New Section

I hiked the new section of the South Taconic Trail yesterday.  This section is at the southern end of the trail, extending it another 6 or so miles.  I arrived at the Shagroy Rd. trailhead just before 11am, on a beautiful day for mid August.  It was sunny with low humidity and a little breeze.  Temps were to reach into the mid and upper 80's.

The trail begins by winding its way around a pond and an open grassy area before quickly entering a hardwood forest.  It then follows an dirt road for a little ways, all at a gentle climb.  Soon I reached the trail junction for Rudd Pond, where I continued on the STT.  It is a steady but easy climb to the first look out of the day.  

Nice view of the valley

Zoomed in on the Catskills in the distance

I stopped here and had a snack and some water before hiking on.  I enjoyed the varied terrain, nothing to difficult, and the different forest types as I hiked along.  On the ridge top it was Oak forest, but the trail passes through groves of Hemlock, where it is deeply shaded and quiet, then there are areas where large Sugar Maples dominate and it looks like it was farmland in the distant past.  Areas that had been logged years ago that are regenerating and are thick with saplings and new growth, it was very interesting.  After crossing Kaye Rd. it was another steady climb to the ridge, with some views.

I hiked about 4 miles in and had to turn around and hike out as I was alone and was working with some time constraints.  I was just short of the trail junction for Quarry Hill Rd. but I really enjoyed this new section and will be back again soon to finish.  I think this is a good addition to the South Taconic Trail.  I was surprised to find that some of the streams were still running with water, being almost mid August and very dry lately.  It's good to know there could be some reliable water along this section, as it gets pretty dry after South Brace Mountain.