Last week I hiked up Slide Mountain in the Catskills with my dog. The hike was a little over 7 miles and took us 3 hours.
Slide Mountain is the highest mountain in the Catskills region, well over 3500 feet. When we passed the 3500 foot elevation mark there were signs warning that camping was prohibited from that point on. Not sure why, maybe Mike can explain.
And it wasn't until I got back down that I saw a sign warning against hiking alone. I guess that makes sense if you break your leg or get attacked by a bear or something.
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nice view. i wish we could have made it up there this year.
hiking alone, particularly in the mountains, is generally a bad idea. mainly because if you get hurt no one is there to help you, but also it's easier to get lost by yourself. the boy scout buddy system requires 3 people for hiking (1 person gets hurt, 1 person stays, 1 person gets help).
there are bears in the region, but camping was probably not prohibited because of that. once you're above the tree line (the elevation where trees stop growing -- not sure if you were that high) you are pretty safe from bears. camping was probably not allowed because of the mountainous terrain.
hmmm...on second thought, i've been camping above the tree line on rocky terrain before, and there's no problem at all, except maybe wind. not sure why camping would only be permitted above a certain elevation.
Man I wish I was there. Going by the Boy Scout buddy system, name the worst possible trio that
Yeah in retrospect it was really stupid of me to hike 7 miles alone. I got really lucky on a couple occasions I almost got lost but the trail has markers every 100 yards or so, so if you do get lost you can quickly double back. I also had Felix with me and though he's a pitbull he probably can't take on a bear but I thought he'd at least sacrifice himself for his master should a bear come along.
Most of those trails are pretty well marked, and I'm sure Felix could've helped you find your way if you got lost, but if you came across a bear, you could kiss Felix goodbye.
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