We spent the past weekend at a cabin, tucked away in the New York Catskill Mountains.

The location was perfect, right in between Indian Head Mountain, West Kill Mountain, and Hunter Mountain. As you probably guessed, we spent the majority of the weekend hiking the trails around us.

Day one was a bit of a flop. We misunderstood the instructions on several different websites, and ended up taking the wrong trailhead. Don’t get me wrong, the hike was still very beautiful. But I just about killed half my hiking gang (lots and lots of uphill) and we didn’t get to the “best view in the Catskills”, like the sites all promised. We did find the correct trailhead towards the end of the hike, but it was already too late in the day to press further.

On day two, we made another trek out to see the “Buck Ridge Lookout”. It was definitely worth the extra six miles and steep hike (2,030 elevation gain) to the top.

Upstate New York really is one of my favorite places. I could definitely see myself living in the Catskills or Adirondacks one day. I need a few more adventures before I decide where I land.

For the full album, see Flickr. Happy trails!

Harriman State Park is an enormous, beautiful spot just across the NJ/NY state line. Much like Ramapo and Pyramid Mountain, Harriman is full of steep inclines and plenty of boulders.

I know you’re not supposed to pick favorites, but Knox is by far my favorite dog to hike with. Dexter is great for off-leash hikes, but he tends to wander and pee on everything. Denali is way more focused, but she never stops pulling.

Knox, on the other hand, keeps a steady pace without pulling me over. He also seems to love climbing mountains as much as I do. I call him my little “billy goat”. He’s my usual choice for the longer, more intense hiking trips.

About two hours into our hike, I was pretty lost. We were on a trail, but Harriman is a huge park with many, many miles of trail. They don’t mean much if they don’t lead back to your parking lot.

Luckily, we hit a road that cut through the park, and I was able to follow that for awhile before dipping back into the woods, onto a trail I knew would lead us back. Also, props to a dad and his two kids for steering us in the right direction.

The whole hike lasted over four hours and probably close to nine miles. I’m already eager to go back, though, since the park is so gigantic and has so many more awesome spots to see.

Full album on Flickr.