Monthly Archives: February 2016

The Catskill 35: Vly Mountain

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

There’s something magical about the valley through which Vly Creek runs and possibly it’s the wealth of great people who live there. Downstream from the Vly headwaters that originate alongside the trail to Vly Mountain, you’ll find Morse’s maple syrup, Vly bottled water and delicious, cream line milk from the DiBenedetto farm where the product is sold on the age-old, country honor system. As you drive along Route 37 crossing from Delaware County to Greene County, to get to the trailhead on Route 3, you’ll pass house after beautiful house in vibrant colors in a cozy, well-lived valley and photo opportunities galore with classic cars hidden behind barns, registered landmarks, and ancient houses. It looks like a movie set; Route 3 would make a riveting long walk in itself for this reason.

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A Local Guide to Catskills Products: Local Sugar

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

We published a piece about local sugar that you’ll find here in September 2014. Below is a more comprehensive list of the Catskills maple syrup producers. Tree tapping began much earlier this year, with tapping beginning in the southern Catskills as far back as Christmas. New York State’s Maple Weekend takes place on March 19th and 20th, and again on April 2nd and 3rd, 2016. There’s no reason not to get local sugar. At last count, for every dollar spent locally, the community benefits to the value of five to seven times that dollar, and all that money stays in the community. If you spend $20 on a bottle of maple sugar, it is the equivalent of putting $140 back into your community.

Maple syrup also has many health benefits:

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Daily Catskills: 02/28/16

57F by 2pm with hazy sunshine through wispy cloud cover.

© J.N. Urbanski Noon

© J.N. Urbanski Noon

 

Daily Catskills: 02/26/16

21F at 8.30am, lightly snowing, a fresh layer of powder and beautifully overcast with a shimmering sky.

© J.N. Urbanski 9am

© J.N. Urbanski 9am

Daily Catskills: 02/25/16

50F at 8.30am and mistily overcast with the ground squelching underfoot from last night’s heavy rain. Continual rain in the afternoon contributes to the raging tributaries.

© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm

© J.N. Urbanski 2.50pm

Daily Catskills: 02/24/16

34F at 7.30am and wet with rain melting two inches of overnight snow into slush. Heavy afternoon rain. Update: heavy rain, thunder and lightning storms throughout the evening.

© J.N. Urbanski 2pm

© J.N. Urbanski 2pm

© J.N. Urbanski 2.40pm

© J.N. Urbanski 2.40pm

A Local Guide to Catskills Products

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

The New York Times recently published a “guide to Delaware County’s thriving craft culture” and although a few of our friends and neighbours were included, a significant portion of our wares was omitted. Here in Delaware County and in the wider area of the Catskills, you can’t throw a stone without hitting a local producer of the highest quality. We have a vast array of everything artisanal, handmade and locally produced. The Catskill Mountains are home to a huge community of entrepreneurs, craftspeople and artists but the aforementioned article only included ten local purveyors. This post is the first part of a guide to all things made in the Catskills.

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Daily Catskills: 02/21/16

43F by 11am, overcast, but still bright. 45F by 2pm.

© MAU

© MAU

Daily Catskills: 02/19/16

14F at 8.30am with the sun rising through a veil of cloud. 32F and overcast by mid-afternoon.

© J.N. Urbanski 1pm

© J.N. Urbanski 1pm

Daily Catskills: 02/17/16

25F at 8.30am and overcast with a crunchy layer of frosted snow. Large chunks of ice flowing downstream and thick snow dumped on the mountain peaks only.

© J.N. Urbanski 1.50pm

© J.N. Urbanski 1.50pm

 

Daily Catskills: 02/16/16

48F by 10.30am with the extra blanket of overnight snow having been completely blown away in an overnight storm and replaced with ice.  52F, humid with torrential rain and strong winds for most of the day. A 24-hour smorgasbord of weather.

© J.N. Urbanski 2pm

© J.N. Urbanski 2pm

 

Catskills Cocktails: Vly Creek Vodka Lemonade

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

After copious testing of Union Grove Distillery’s Vly Creek Vodka on Friday night, yours truly is happy to say that the vodka packs a punch. Tried frozen and neat, it’s as fresh and clean as the local creek after which it’s named. Upstate Dispatch decided to team it with the other famous product, Vly Creek Maple Farm maple syrup from Ronald Morse and make a local cocktail that’s as refreshing and invigorating as today’s 2F Catskills breeze.

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Daily Catskills: 02/13/16

Still only 8F by 11am with high winds, a few more inches of overnight snow, fast-moving snow squalls and a shimmering sky. Down to 2F by noon.

© J.N. Urbanski Noon

© J.N. Urbanski Noon

Daily Catskills: 02/12/16

7F at 8.30am and very bright sunshine through the hazy cloud, rising to 20F by 10.30am.

© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am

© J.N. Urbanski 10.30am

The Catskill 35 (W): Sugarloaf Mountain

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

The Pecoy Notch trail must be magical in the summer because even in the winter, when it’s bare and cold, it’s charming in a way that other gaps and passes are not. The first 0.25 miles is a gentle incline and before you have time to be surprised at how quickly you arrived at it, you’re upon Dibble’s Quarry, a defunct quarry that runs down the side of the incline, on which someone has built a large stone stage and several over-sized stone chairs in which to relax. Behind the stone stage there’s a small room that looks like it’s on its way to becoming a small stone cabin equipped with stone picnic tables inside and out. Downhill, there are various lookout notches and seating built in the side of the hill from stone. The entire landmark is essentially a bluestone auditorium with a stunning view of Kaaterskill High Peak. Before you come to Pecoy Notch itself, which is a notch between Twin Mountain and Sugarloaf, you pass a frozen lake and then a frozen swamp, which adds an unexpected air of mystery. From the frozen swamp, you can clearly see the two mountains. The Notch from there to the next mile markers is a dense thicket of spruces with a soft forest floor covered in gnarly tree roots and fir needles. After the quarry, but well before the Notch, there’s a half-frozen, roaring waterfall that cascades across the trail and over the edge of the mountain. This stream is is a little tricky to cross, but shallow enough, and there are just enough boulders to help you pass.

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Daily Catskills: 02/09/16

19F at 8.30am, overcast and bitter rising to 25F and some snow.

 

Daily Catskills: 02/07/16

31F at 8.30 with hazy sunshine, rising to 43F by 3pm.

© J.N. Urbanski 12.50pm

© J.N. Urbanski 12.50pm

Catskill Mountain Vodka: Union Grove Distillery

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski The Bar

It’s no secret that your humble correspondent is a big fan of both vodka and shopping locally. After much anticipation, Union Grove Distillery in Arkville, New York is up and running, producing vodka made from apple cider and wheat. Apples for the vodka were bought in Schoharie Valley at Terrace Mountain Orchards in Middleburgh. Vodka is, by definition in the United States, a spirit (made from a grain, fruit or any source) that has been distilled to 190 proof until it’s been thoroughly purified of all the remnants of the fermentation process. Distilled water is then added back in to dilute the liquid to a lower alcohol volume.

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Daily Catskills: 02/05/16

32F by 11am, with shimmering cloud and a bone-chilling, gusty wind, warming up to 36F by 1pm and more sunny. Update: 36F with clear skies by 3pm.

© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm

© J.N. Urbanski 3.30pm

© J.N. Urbanski 3.40pm

© J.N. Urbanski 3.40pm

The Catskill 35 (W): Wittenberg

© J.N. Urbanski

© J.N. Urbanski

A couple of accidents on the peaks – Kaaterskill and Sherrill – this past week remind us how treacherous winter hiking can be. It’s not only the cold, icy terrain that’s a threat; if you’re tired or hungry, circumstances can quickly go from uncomfortable to dangerous. Once fatigue sets in, an ordinarily innocent stumble on a boulder can easily turn into a fall or disable a knee or ankle. In addition, if your under layers are soaked in sweat a rest break could allow them to freeze. These are potentially fatal conditions. Listen to your instinct when it says you’re really too tired to attempt to climb up that 50-feet-high vertical pile of jagged rocks. Except, I didn’t.

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