Soulful Solstice in the Catskills

The 2017 Winter Solstice dawned brisk and bright on December 21 in the western Catskills.

A mid-day hike revealed a message from nature: LOVE.

"Do not go gentle into that good night ... Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

A Soulful Solstice.

The Winter Shift

The first few snowfalls - the kind that stick and lend themselves to snowman-making - have helped us shift into a winter mindset in the western Catskills.

Winter boots have taken up seasonal residence near the front door where skis, poles, snowshoes and goggles now stand ready for mid-week hooky playing.

Back-pack staples transition from bug spray and mosquito face nets to bags of Twizzlers and tins of paw protector, because neither Charlie Browne or I have the sense to come inside long after we should have.

We transform into snow-crazed, ice-glazed cold-weather gluttons, happy to trek for hours through hushed forests.

Evergreens are caked and iced with layered snow, while aged, de-barked hardwoods showcase henna-patterned moss - an elemental art show.

The landscape willingly shares its wisdom gained in the seasonal shift - resist nothing, embrace change and carry on.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie.

Winter Arrives in the Catskills

Time is different here in the Western Catskills. Though we don't live in the past, in many ways, we live in isolation. That's not necessarily a bad thing - politics aside.
Seasons change at their own pace, morphing from chilly to cold to freezing to bitter.

Meditation Rock.

Last week temperatures hovered near the 40s, great for post-Thanksgiving nature walks or end-of-big-game-rifle season hunts.

Blowing snow whitens the trees.

This morning we awoke to a couple of inches of snow and the annual first-snow derby-car dash on Bear Spring Mountain, where tractor trailers laden with factory goods unexpectedly found themselves ditched, awaiting tow trucks, stalling traffic, as many Delaware County residents were delayed in arriving to their out-of-county jobs.
Charlie Browne and I embrace the time difference and adopted our own measure - "Browne-time." Though many people are driven by a clock, we long ago gave up watches, clocks, timers and the like in favor of a lifestyle that was more attuned to nature's rhythms and present-moment living.

The first snow allows us a glimpse of pre-dawn wildlife activity.

We still hold jobs, multiple jobs in fact, that work with our schedules while fulfilling the needs of the employer.
Timing, they say, is everything. We agree. We've just found a different way to manage and flow with it, rather than letting it pass us by.
This way, when winter officially arrives, according to the calendar, on the Winter Solstice, a week from now, Charlie and I will be seven-days ahead of schedule.

Get outside and play!

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Stonewalled in the Catskills

Stonewall (definition): to engage in obstructive debate or delaying tactics : to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

Late November is a strange time in the western Catskills. Big game hunters take to the woods hoping to capitalize on the foolishness brought on by the seasonal "rut" - the breeding season for deer where in a story as old as time, males mark their territory in a testosterone-fueled fury as they attempt to breed a many females as possible.

Trees are "rubbed", "scrapes,"  and "runs" become evident and the roadsides are marked with surveyors tape, lest an earlier scoped likely-successful-hunting spot is forgotten.

Amateurs.

The hills are now polka-dotted blaze orange and Charlie Browne and I contribute to it. 

We've given city-slickers and once-a-year forest-visitors a wide berth for the past week and a half, but have returned to the mountain - with caution. We will also be donned in blaze-orange through the end of December, will not venture off-trail and stay away from areas frequented by traditionalists - who out of habit rather than observation - hunt in the same place year after year.

 No doubt about it, hikers, this time of year, engage in self-imposed stonewalling ... where we go against our nature in deference to (safely) sharing the landscape.

Some are better at it than others.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Sharing the Trail

With an abundance of opportunities for hiking and exploring throughout the year, a local business owner asked me why I didn't stay out of the woods during big game season in the Catskills for a couple of weeks and hand the mountains over to the hunters.

The answer is simple, but two-fold.

1. 2017 has been one of the most challenging years to hike in the Catskills due to an explosion of ticks. The tick problem has been compounded by the lack of trail maintenance with high grasses providing those nasty blood-sucking parasites a trampoline to easily attach to a host - dog, horse or hiker. The overgrown trails also created a semi-dangerous condition in which one could not see where they were  stepping.  Rocks became ankle-twisters and swampy mud holes swallowed-up boots all season.  There was also a lot of rain this year - more than the area has seen in many years. The extra moisture in the air contributed to incredibly humid conditions which if in itself didn't discourage outdoor exploration, provided the the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos and other irritating buzzing insects. Conditions simply haven't been conducive to hiking from spring through early autumn in the western Catskills.

2. In addition to being my preferred method of recreation, meditation and relaxation, the outdoors is a subject I write about. I get paid to go outdoors, explore and write. There is no better way to write a story than to find the story and experience it. I've met very few hunters, hikers, explorers or people generally, who aren't willing to tell you the best - and worst - parts of their experiences in nature. Nature lovers, even if they don't love the same things, have a wealth of invaluable information to share and exchange. I've appreciated a hunter telling me where a bear den is (so I could stay away from it!) as much as upland game bird hunters have appreciated my directions to a flush, overgrown meadow tucked away on an obscured hillside.

Beside, there is such an expanse of public and private acreage to explore throughout the Catskills, that it truly is a rare occurrence to accidentally cross paths with another person, let alone a monster trophy buck, although .... I can tell you where they are 😊😊😊

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Hikers vs. Hunters - Opening Weekend, 2017 Western Catskills Big Game Rifle Season

The "Us vs. Them" mentality, pervasive in the 2017 elections, filtered over into the Western Catskills 2017 big game rifle hunting season. 

Wrong vs. Right, You vs. Me ... a common thread, locally and nationally, has zero place in the conversation about the future of hunting, hiking and tourism.

There is room for all of us here.

Charlie Browne and I ventured out to our usual hiking spot, Bear Spring Mountain, a state-managed wildlife preserve in Delaware County, to scope the viability of trail hiking during the one time each year we actually see another person.

This year surpassed the previous 15 years in the number of vehicles parked at public access areas, warning us of out-of-state and out-of-county trophy hunter-hopefuls. 

We stuck close to a state highway, on a parallel trail, hopeful - adorned in blaze orange (and turquoise)- that we would not be mistaken for a deer.

We weren't.

Because of weather.  

Opening day dawned wet and worrisome - freakishly foggy mid-day.

Day two, Sunday, heralded gale force winds  - gusty and snow-tinged, sending nurtured outdoorsmen indoors.

Charlie Browne and I donned our winter wear - me, layered-beneath snow pants and mittens - him-  a blaze orange collar.

Snow-crusted ferns speak  - we listen. 

There is no adversity or analyzing - just acceptance.

Those who weather the weather, gain the most.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Fallen

The in-between season is fast approaching full-blown winter in the western Catskills. Most of the mountain's leaves have left, fleeing the soft- and hardwoods that provided thicketed cover for area wildlife.

Puddle ducks - Blue- and Green-Winged Teal flocks have long left the area. The East and West Branches of the Delaware River are becoming devoid of waterfowl who have raised their young atop the pristine waters, fed and fattened by sub-surface aquatic plants, supplemented with an occasional fish dinner.

Wood Ducks hang around a bit longer, feasting and fattening up on an abundance of fallen acorns, seedlings of the mighty Oak.

Mallards, Pintails, Merganzers and Black Ducks trickle-travel south through January when the arrowed pattern of  Canada Geese also become a distant memory.

Their sky-honking chorus is an aerial Morse Code passenger-check system in their pre-programmed flight path.

The end of the in-between season peaks with the annual changing of the Larch, when the un-noticed Tamarack trees, seasonally invisible, crowded, clustered and over-shadowed by their evergreen brethren- needle their way to center stage outfitted in glorious gold. 

The hearty-nature of young conifers may soon be tested by deer enlisting their assistance in removal of velvet from their antlers.

Deciduous leaves have fallen, leaving the understory exposed. 

What remains is a preview of what's to come.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Romancing the Stone

There is nothing quite as revealing as an old stone wall. It speaks of craftsmanship, ingenuity, hard work, days-gone by and one's desire to claim ownership.

It broadcasts "this is mine" of place and property. 

This is the time of year - the in-between season of autumn and winter, when stone walls reveal themselves, their character, their essence, a glimpse into history and a peek into the minds of their masons.

Similar to the way in which makeup is applied to highlight, contour and flatter a woman's face, stone walls "work" with topography and when completed expose, highlight and delineate the unique beauty of the landscape.

In the Catskills, stone wall building material - fieldstone - is abundant.  The phrase "two stones for every dirt" characterized the challenges of early-settler farming, but is embraced by the new crop of all-things-Catskills-crazed-newbie-producers who insightfully and intuitively continue to capitalize on the farm-to-table movement that has swept the nation.

The Catskills' terroir exhibited in pan-seared filet mignon, roasted rack-of-lamb, heirloom tomato dishes and specialty ciders, grown within the confines of the nearly-forgotten landmarks, can not be duplicated in any other region. 

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Finding Balance ...

The view from here is ..... exhilarating, yet ... terrifying.  From 40 feet above ground, on a 1 inch piece of rope, the airy charm of a slight breeze is perceived quite differently, when the slightest movements must be counterbalanced to remain upright, unharmed and on path.

I got a lesson in balance, the physical, mental and emotional kind, while on assignment for Catskill Country Magazine in August.

The publishers trust me completely. We've had a long-standing relationship. So when they asked me to write about experience-driven locations, I jumped at the opportunity.

I decided to approach the assignment from an immersion point of view - how a middle-aged, outdoorsy, dog-loving, tree-hugging grandma - might enjoy a family-focused venue.

I learned right away that the venue was geared toward toward children ages 10 - 18. Staff were well-trained in coaxing an unruly brat without manners an energetic, activity focused child from disrupting a group experience. It occurred to me that situation was not unlike the two protests I have recently covered for a local newspaper - a small group of opinionated people - targeting a larger group of people for having beliefs or lifestyles different from their own. 

I realized then, we could all get along if we would just stay out of each other's path and allow one another to have our own experience. 

Blind courage and fearlessness have served me (and saved me)  in many situations. I decided to approach a ropes obstacle course, rock-climbing wall and zip-line in the same way I approach any other assignment - by focusing on the topic at hand, with no preconceived idea of what would come out of it.

Here's what I discovered:

1.  Lithe, fit, agile children are just as dangerous to a middle-ager on a ropes course as they are on a ski slope.

2.  In the same way we forget the safety harness of resiliency of our previous experiences, we forget the safety harness that secures us from falling 40-feet or more to the ground from the course.

3. Never be afraid to ask someone for help, suggestions or advice. People, especially 12 year old gymnastic girls who have not yet learned to self-limit their bodies, are invaluable at re-teaching us older folks trust.

4. Keep your eye on the prize. Don't look down! At a certain (jaded? experienced?) age, we have a tendency to focus on the things that could go wrong, rather than what could go right.  Where your attention flows, your energy goes - stop looking at the ground, unless you want to end up there! This mantra helped me to cross a two-foot wide rail bridge with no handholds. 

5. Trust yourself. I asked my safety-spotter for a rescue 8-feet into an absolutely ridiculous parallel tight-rope with intermittent handholds obstacle. I, in typical fashion, was overthinking my every move. I literally became stuck when I could not imagine grasping my next rope hold, without entangling the harness and losing my balance. A rescue was NOT necessary, nor was it possible. But hearing the words "Go Back" shouted across the obstacle did the trick.  Why do we forget that we can always start over or take a different path when things are not going our way? 

6. I am not as strong as I thought I was. This was a lesson in acceptance. Instead of forcing an obstacle, or potentially hurting myself, I simply admitted that I was not strong enough to complete the task at hand. That being said ...

7. A strong mind is not an adequate substitute for a strong, healthy body.  We owe it to ourselves to stay healthy, no matter our size or our age. Health is not just about the body, it's also about the mind. 

It is possible to find balance in all things.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Hike and Seek - but not on purpose

Summer 2017 in the Catskills is nearly complete. The leaves and ferns are putting on their Autumn pre-game show mid-August and the thigh-high weeds, brush and grasses carpeting Bear Spring Mountain's multi-purpose trails are transitioning from vibrant green shades to dusky golden hues.

Signage is hampered by overgrown brush on Bear Spring Mountain in Delaware County.

This has been an unfortunate year for outdoor enthusiasts such as Charlie Browne and myself. We've extracted multiple ticks embedded in hard to reach places, and brushed off countless more; endured muddy, wet hiking boots for the majority of the season due to unseasonable - but nonetheless welcome - rain and become accustomed to the ear-buzzing, biting no-see-ums.

Pesky as those situations are, they are nothing compared to the inconvenience, danger and cost involved in locating hikers who become lost due to overgrown brush and hidden directional signs.

State trail maintenance crews are focused elsewhere, like mowing grass outside their garage on Beers Brook Road in Walton once a week. That task, as well as maintaining the annual flower beds at the garage, have taken priority over trail maintenance.

So far, not one hiker has gotten lost near the NYS DEC maintenance garage.

However, a hiker did get lost on the Finger Lakes Trail, which traverses Bear Spring Mountain and crosses into Campbell Mountain, in the town of Colchester.

The hiker blamed himself for getting lost. He was traveling east to west on the Finger Lakes Trail and was not versed in reading GPS location points or his compass, he admitted. He became disoriented after "losing" the trail because it is badly overgrown and directional signage is not clearly visible.

The same situation exists on Bear Spring Mountain. However, the NYS DEC has paid employees assigned to the task of maintenance, whereas the Finger Lakes Trail Conference operates strictly with volunteers.

It was a multi-hour "rescue" mission that was chaotically mis-managed by local police, who, instead of connecting him to the Finger Lakes Trail Conference via cellphone or providing with a telephone number as he requested,  told him to stay where he was and call 911. Multiple agencies were dispatched, including forest rangers and emergency services crews with local fire departments.

The police officer that took the initial call from the hiker is partnered with a drug-sniffing dog that is also trained in tracking, which is how the idea of a police dog was "sold" to the taxpayers in the municipality.

A lot of "what-ifs" and "how-muchs" arose from the incident. What if the police officer had used the dog for one of it's intended purposes? How much money was spent on dispatching personnel to locate the hiker though he said he didn't need to be rescued? What if the trails were adequately maintained before or after the incident?

We can only hope that this has also become a summer of learning opportunities as well.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. 

Unexpected Glory

Feeling incredibly patriotic and grateful for the glorious landscape of the Catskill Mountains' pristine air, water and forests, Charlie Browne and I decided to turn Flag Day into Flag Week and create a scavenger hunt-ette of 13 two-foot tall American flags throughout Bear Spring Mountain in southwestern Delaware County.

The flags are planted in spots that we frequent but have been mostly inaccessible until this past week because of the lack of trail maintenance. However, this past week trail maintenance began in earnest throughout the mountain freeing miles of tick-hiding, thigh hide weed-grass and brush.

We wanted to give other mountain explorers - hikers, bird-watchers, mountain bikers, small game hunters, anglers, campers and horse back riders something to look for and to look forward to while on the mountain!

The 13 flags are planted in plain view and each of them represent a favorite, significant location on the mountain. The 13 flags also represent the 13 original colonies in the formation of the country and serve as a metaphor for the wild independence of the mountain.

Whether the skeletal, foundational remains of a one room school house, a man-made waterfall or the boundary lines of an old apple orchard - the flags offer insight to the industrious nature of the region's settlers - not to mention great photo opportunities!


The flags also acknowledge the freedom we have to explore, wonder and wander. You never know what you might find on the mountain!

While scouring the mountain for flag-sightings, bring along an extra bag to pick up trail trash. 
The mountain, wild-life and Charlie Browne will thank you. And remember to sign-in at the trail head every time you visit the mountain. Mountain use helps to determine levels of funding for trail, park and wildlife management area maintenance.

Post your BSM flag photo with the hashtag #13flags on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. 
(The flags will be removed Thanksgiving weekend 2017.)

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie. Follow her on Instagram @catskills.unleashed on Twitter @catskillsunleashed or on Facebook/Catskills Unleashed. www.CatskillsUnleashed.com - #unleashyourpotential and #getanewleashonlife