Catskills Fall Foliage Hike

The First Overnight Hike

Location: Catskill Mountains, New York - Wittenberg, Cornell, Slide Loop Hike

This trip really kick started my interest in backpacking…

I met Jason in a coffee shop after he started up a conversation about the camera I had by my side. We got to talking about what each of us were editing and what kind of projects we were working on. He was editing vlogs for a gym soon to be working for Vayner Media and I was just over a year into my photography and videography expedition. We got along well and chatted for a bit and discovered we were both fans of the outdoors so we planned an overnight hike!

I grew up skiing in the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains and I had done some day hikes in the past but never an overnight trip. The route we planned was three peaks over two days in the Catskills so we left mid-morning on day one and made the drive from Long Island to the Phoenicia area in upstate New York.

The first day of the trip was quite overcast so I immediately started getting nervous about inclement weather. I was unprepared for rainy conditions, and I was more nervous than I probably should have been but reassured because Jason was more experienced.

The Slide, Wittenberg, and Cornell Loop

We flew through the first evening which held a nice blue hour watching the cloudy weather disappear. The sun had set and we decided to camp out somewhere between Slide Mountain and Wittenberg. We had stopped earlier in the day at a brewery for a growler and ate our dinner together and shared some still-cold beer

We sat watching the clouds fly by the moonlit treetops and talked about our dreams and goals. I spoke about my wish to photograph and film in the Arctic; A dream I had for years. We slept well… except for that one rock under my tent which I promptly kicked into the forest once I woke up the next day.

Peak Autumn Colors

I mentioned that I have skied around these parts for years but I have only ever seen these mountainous regions while they’ve been covered in snow. When I awoke that morning I was bewildered with how many colors the rolling hills and valleys held.

After the first afternoon of wandering through endless pine trees on one side the mountain, I was shocked and excited to see the colors of all of the Catskills trees. The higher elevations saw reds and oranges while we made our way down into the valleys of yellow and green.

5 Year Plan

You always have a lot of time to talk when you hike. There are no distractions when you’re only focused on putting one foot in front of the other. We had a quick pace, quickly traversing the rock scrambles and only slipping on some gravel once or nine times. Jason said the Arctic dreams sound like a great 5 year plan. I nodded in agreement but was internally thinking I could get there in 1... probably… right? How hard could it be?

Out of the Forest

Once again at a quick pace, we headed out of the mountain trails back towards the town below. We created some wonderful images of the fall foliage in the valley while we enjoyed the greenery towering over our heads.

After a friend cancelled our pickup we ended up hitch-hiking our way back to the car and parking lot, with our backpacks strapped tight and our dreams still in our heads.

(Thanks for the photo Jason)

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