Feeble attempt at Westkill

[Mike P.]

Date(s) Hiked: 12/1/2006

Trails(s) Hiked: from Spruceton to Devil's Path & about 1/2 a mile or so up Westkill on Devil's Path

Total Distance: roughly 3 miles RT

Difficulty: if you are well rested & didn't mind hiking in the rain, moderate

Conditions: damp with some mud, I was up & back before the storm kicked in

Special Required Equipment: rain gear, sleep, the ambition to hike in the rain, headlamp for just a few minutes

Trip Report: With the forecast projected to go downhill as the day progressed & for it to be colder in the ADK's I abandoned my trip to Sawteeth & Gothics & decided after seeing Route 23A was recently re-opened to try Westkill. Before my evening festivities in Utica I put in my 3:00 AM Wake up call & then left my room. I was back by 8:30 but instead of hitting the hay, I stayed up. I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep Wednesday Night & Thursday Night only got two. DUMB DUMB DUMB. left the hotel about 3:40 about 20 minutes behind schedule & reached the trailhead at 6:40 a total of 40 minutes behind the initial plan. At that time, while it was raining hard in Utica, it was not raining in Westkill, NY & the wind was calm. The walk along the stream was very pretty by the early light (even better on the way back)

It became very apparent quickly on the Devil's Path that I had no energy. The first mile I made in 18 minutes as it gains only 200 - 400 feet in that mile. By 7:30 I was sucking wind & I was no where near the ridgeline & wanted to be back in Hartford working by 1:00. In my present state I would have been lucky to make it down by 11:00 & in Hartford by 2:30 still needing a shower at the YMCA. About this time it began to rain a little, the cloud cover came down even lower & after running 4.77 miles on Thanksgiving in a 38 degree downpour, I had no ambition to do this hike in the clouds & rain.

While I've been pretty good this year with diet & exercise, November has been the worst month in almost two years as far as fitness goes. With a 12/30 Washington attempt lined-up failing miserably (the river walk & cascade really were nice) today, hopefully that gives me the drive to hit the gym & road in the next 28 days to get ready.