Plans Optional

An artful, traveling retirement.

Catskills Hiking & Painting

We arrived in the Catskills earlier this week and already have been loving getting out into nature.

We took a short hike with the dogs on our first full day to Sloan Gorge Loop. Given that Sadie just turned 11 years old, it was about as strenuous as we would have wanted to do with her, but she seemed to have a great time.

Our campground is on a pretty big property adjacent to a large creek and hiking around here I’ve come across interesting sights, like a small waterfall and nature scenes that looked like they needed to be sketched in watercolor. I used the opportunity to make adjustments to my hiking kit because when I used it a few weeks ago, the setup seemed a little too big & heavy.

a small waterfall or rapids on a large creek
a dog looking back at the photographer on a hiking trail amid rocky terrain
a woman and a Great Pyrenees dog overlooking a rocky ledge
portable watercolor supplies with a terry cloth wristband, a small palette, and a water brush

After the shorter & nearby hikes, I set my sights on a larger trek. Huckleberry Point Trail is an “out & back” trip to beautiful views and was highly recommended by a former work colleague. The “out” portion was mostly uphill, but I had packed a lunch and ate it out at the summit. Then on the way back I took things slower & sketched a few scenes. For only being 4.6 miles (per AllTrails and 4.8 per the trail sign), it took me quite a while…almost 5 hours. But I definitely didn’t hurry. I took some marked side trails just to see what was there and stopped to look at the rock formations or plants frequently. It was a tiring but lovely day.

A brown sign with yellow writing at the base of the Huckleberry Point Trail, showing various routes and their distances.
looking uphill on the first part of Huckleberry Point Trail
a circular, yellow trail marker nailed to a tree along Huckleberry Point Trail
a pile of stones as a trail marker, with a chipmunk sitting on top
a view of a distant valley and the Hudson River from the end of Huckleberry Point trail
a small stream through the woods that has to be crossed along the Huckleberry Point Trail
a view of forested hills at the end of Huckleberry Point trail
a watercolor sketchbook spread showing a variety of woodland scenes and a view from the top of the hike

Overall, this area and campground has been one of our favorite so far. I think partly that’s due to being in flat terrain for so many months. These mountains are a welcome change. They feel calm, lush, and deeply peaceful.

I hope we get to come back here some day.

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