![]() ![]() Then we continued bushwhacking ever-downward along the ridge until we reached the Spruceton Trail at the saddle between Hunter and Rusk Mountains. Actually, East Rusk doesn’t have enough prominence to be considered a “real” peak, but we bagged it just the same. Eventually we came upon a boulder that was on the top of a rise, and decided to call it the summit block. There were some decent herd paths that came and went, and the going was fairly easy. Rather than go all the way back down the way we came, we decided to traverse east along the ridge toward East Rusk. Video of Hiking the Herd Path Near the Top of Rusk Mountain Me on the Summit of Rusk Mountain with the Canister This was Paul’s 24th Catskill 3500 peak, and his fourth bushwhack peak. We were making excellent time, and were now much less worried about getting back to the van before dark. We signed the summit register, snapped some photos, and took a break. There was a plateau on top which had several well-trodden “herd paths” which we then followed directly to the summit canister. We’d started hiking at about 2100 feet elevation, and the summit of Rusk was 3680. The early part was made easier by hiking on the rocks of a dry streambed, but soon enough we were seriously climbing the steep mountainside, pushing through nettle and briar patches, climbing over downed trees and mossy boulders, and generally sweating our butts off. At this point we left the trail/road and the bushwhack to the summit of Rusk Mountain began. We hiked up the trail (actually a dirt/gravel road) until it made a sharp switchback. The Spruceton Trail Trailhead Gate at dawn ![]() Today our plan was to summit four peaks: Three of them were bushwhacks (two of those with canisters), three of them Catskill 3500 Club peaks, one of them over 4000 feet, and one that really wasn’t an official peak at all. On our last bushwhacking adventure, we barely made it out by dark. We had many miles of hiking ahead of us, much of it off-trail, and the days were getting shorter. We woke up about an hour before dawn (it was just getting light), ate some cold breakfast, and downed some caffeine. We got to the Spruceton Trail Parking Lot before midnight and crashed in the back of the van, hoping that we wouldn’t get in trouble for it. When we got there this September, we saw that some of the washed-out bridges were still being repaired on Spruceton Road. Well, it had been two years since our last bushwhack in the Catskills, as last year’s attempt in early September 2011 was called off due to the too-recent devastation of Hurricane Irene. ![]()
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