Jockey Hill (Kingston) 9-25-10

[legalskier]

A friend introduced me to Jockey Hill on Saturday, part of the Blue Mtn Forest a few minutes west of the NY Thruway in the Kingston/Woodstock area. Bluebird skies and unseasonably warm temps, we rode for two hours on a technical single track trail, which was primarily stone-based with many smaller loose stones and gravel and the occasional fallen tree branch, man-made anti-ATV stone obstacles, and dry stream beds. The shady forest kept us from a complete meltdown, as did our Camelbacks, when we rode through an open sunny area here and there and felt the heat (my hydration pack was empty by the end). There were several steep but short climbs and descents, tight and very challenging. The forest consists primarily of deciduous trees with stands of conifers here and there, typical of the Catskills. We only saw two other pairs the entire time, as well as a hunter with a rifle, which was a bit unnerving. There are a number of other trails in this huge forest, which I was told are even more technical--some legal, some not. It was a lot of fun; we burned off many calories, which we promptly replaced over a nice lunch in Woodstock.

This link has a map & info: http://bicycling.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/130707