Panther Mountain from Fox Hollow

 

To start, it was steep, deep and glorious with towering trees blending off into infinity up the steep slopes of Fox Hollow

Our packs were certainly heavier than they should be.

But...they were as heavy as they needed to be for ultimate enjoyment of our time

Because life is fleeting and true friends are few and far between. 

When things line up just right

and beauty is impossible to ignore. Impossible to ignore

We both love our Coghlan's Sierra saws. 

And camo hammocks apparently. We both fell asleep in them then crashed on the floor when the night turned chilly. Michael made grits and turkey sausage for breakfast. We drank coffee. It was heaven.

after gaining the first ridge, the way was pleasant, the morning still and serene, the forest dynamic/ ever-changing

The climb onto the next ridge went on for a lot longer than we expected, a lot harder too.

When we finally got to the first star, it was just exactly perfect. We made lunch there. And more coffee.

There are several false summits on the way to Panther. Also some of the prettiest terrain and forests I've seen in the Catskills

Can't you just smell this picture?

It was, in fact, a long hard climb but SO rewarding!

Coming off Panther there was some uncertainty about campsites and water. 

But we found a great site, unloaded our gear and climbed off the ledge to the spring below.

It was an unexpectedly magical place

While we were searching for a campsite, I was too distracted to really absorb the view from Giant's Ledge. 

So we went and made dinner there at the suggestion of our neighbor.

We stayed till the sunset. Drank some whiskey. This is the longest I've spent at a view on a mountain in many years. I'll admit I rush off. But we stayed till the sun went down then went back to camp, had a little fire and listened to the wind roar over the ridge.

Sleep was deep and heavy. But we went to bed early enough that we were able to catch the sunrise back out on the ledge.

We met some younger guys that had left Westchester County at 2 AM to see the sunrise there. They packed in a thermos of hot cocoa. Their enthusiasm and passion for the woods was intoxicating. We made a big pot of coffee and shared it with them before packing our things and hiking out. 

Before you go, Check out this jaunty tree!