4 PEAK LOOP CATSKILL 35's (The "Surprise Companions" Hike)

I headed down a bit late into the Catskill Park. The drive through Peekamoose Rd was beautiful and I had to stop at Buttermilk Falls to take some pics...

 I arrived at Denning TH and was on the trail by 11:15AM. I kept a quick pace as I had 4 Mtns to hike and 2 were bushwacks! I headed down an old rd until the trail junction. From the junction I dropped down to the Neversink River and crossed a couple of bridges....

I made my way up the ridgeline towards Table Mtn enjoying views of the Burroughs Range through the trees, I went past the spring and nearby Lean-to.Saw a nice butterfly along the trail and enjoyed a nearby overlook...

Right near the summit the forest changed to a very dense Balsam which was great...

I found a ledge with a great view on the way to the wooded summit...

I made the fairly quick trip over to Peekamoose and noticed a couple of large backpacks in the col, maybe I'd see some hikers? The views from the ledge near the wooded summit were fantastic. I enjoyed snacks and a break here...

Going back towards Table to start the bushwack I came across the backpackers Pete and Drew. It turns out they were headed to Lone and Rocky Mtns as well. I was glad to have company on part of my bushwack. We headed towards Lone and made it to the top in pretty good time, there was a small ledge with some views near the canister...

We then hiked on towards Rocky, my final bushwack hike of the Catskill 35. It proved to be one of the toughest with VERY dense balsam trees and a lot of blowdown. We made it slowly but surely to the wooded summit of Rocky and signed in to the canister. I said goodbye to my hiking companions as they headed off to find a place to camp for the night....

I descended through some thick pines towards the Neversink River. Thankfully the pines gave way to a mostly open forest which was easy to follow all the way to the river...

The Fisherman's Path along the river was fairly easy to follow and I was able to enjoy the peaceful river and wildflowers (Painted Trillium & Wood Anemone) on the hike back to the trail....

Back at the trail I headed back across the bridges and back to the trailhead....

I stopped at a place called Aircraft Carrier Rock, which was a large boulder in the woods near the road...

I also stopped at some more waterfalls along Peekamoose Rd on the way home....

I had a great day with excellent views and surprise companions. This is definitely one of the nicest areas I have visited in the Catskills, now just one mountain, Cornell, left for my Catskill 35 finish.