Back on the South Taconic Trail

I headed back to a favorite trail this week, hiking a section of the South Taconic Trail.  I was lucky enough to have a day off with my wife this week and we took advantage of it.  We decided to hike to Alander Mountain from Bash Bish Falls.  We arrived at the parking lot around 9:30am and began hiking.  It was a beautiful fall morning, almost perfect hiking weather.  Bluebird sky’s and cool temps helped to keep us from overheating as we made the climb from the valley floor. We stopped just before the top and had a snack and caught our breath, then we made the final scramble up and the hiking got easier and fun.   

It is a tough climb up for a little over a mile, then the trail levels out and we were able to cruise along nicely.  There were some scattered views out through the trees, looking west over the valley and farther out to the Catskills.  The trail climbs as you approach the summit of Alander Mountain and we started seeing better views.

We could see Mount Everett and Race Mountain as we approached the summit.   After a rest on the summit of Alander, we turned around and made our way back. 

We made good time, better than on the way out, and arrived back at the car just before 3pm.  The descent is knee grinding but went quick.  We hiked just under 7 miles out and back and enjoyed a great fall hiking day.