#devilsfalls

This was my second firetower hike in the Catskills, completed on 10/9/16. 

I am writing this a bit after the fact - over a month later in fact because my life has been pretty busy. So, my memories of everything are a bit fuzzy. There are multiple trails up Hunter Mountain, but since I was leading a group, I chose the easiest one available. We went on the Spruceton trail, and we had no issues with it. Part of the trail is a simple jeep path, so that was good for some of the newer hikers to the group.

The Catskill firetowers are so impressive. Balsam Lake was well maintained, as was the cabin. Hunter was also well taken care of. In fact, the cabin even had a little fire going, and people were gathered around inside of it. There was one little boy there with cool mittens that had googly eyes on it. He showed me them proudly, so I complimented them and asked him what their names were. He didn’t know. Later, I saw this little guy on the trail, and he waved at me enthusiastically like I was his best friend. I love that sort of thing. Gave me warm fuzzies. 

The view from the firetower was good. It was windy up there, but it wasn’t totally frigid, so I didn’t mind. I guess I’m used to it by now. 

The path was also beautiful. Some peak fall going on here. 

After the initial hike, Aaron suggested we go to Devil’s Falls, which was a short hike nearby. I would strongly recommend it, since the payoff is beautiful. 

You can actually walk around the falls on all the rocks.

 James actually got a picture of a group of us sitting at the top of the falls.

And then I got a picture of him taking pictures of us.

Overall, the hike was gorgeous. It was a beautiful fall day, and it kept me in mind of everything that fall has to offer.