The following article may be used free of charge with no prior authorization provided that it is used for nonprofit purposes and appears with the author biography at the end of this article intact. Please email us with any details of its use so that we can keep the author or other interested parties informed of the use of this article.

Hiking the Long Path to Huntersfield Mountain

Clarence Putman

The Long Path crosses Huntersfield Mountain, which is over 3400 feet in elevation. This is the Long Path?fs highest point outside of the Catskill Park. Hikers can expect a vigorous workout. The spectacular views make it well worth the effort. Huntersfield Mountain is on Schoharie County?fs southern border with Greene County.

From the parking area at Macumber Road to the peak of the mountain is 2.15 miles. Macumber Road is accessed from Greene County Routes 10 and 11 out of Prattsville.		Shortly after leaving the parking lot, the trail intersects an old wood road. It continues on this road for about a half of a mile before turning sharply uphill. This picture shows the Long Path’s trail marking indicating the right turn heading up the mountain.
Part way up the mountain there is an opening from a ledge with a westerly view looking into Schoharie County. The Gilboa Reservoir can be seen from this point.		On top of Huntersfield Mountain there is a yellow trail that leads to a lean-to. Before the lean-to, there is a nice view to the east showing the ridge line the Long Path follows to Ashland Pinnacle.
Huntersfield Mountain Lean-to is a great place to take a break from the hike up the mountain. The lean-to was built and the views cleared by the inmates from the Summit Shock Camp.		Looking south from the lean-to, hikers can view some of the higher peaks of the Catskills. Hunter Mountain and Slide Mountain can be seen from here.
The yellow trail is a quarter mile long and loops back to the Long Path trail. Hikers continuing on the yellow trail will have a westerly view that includes a large portion of Schoharie County. Mount Utsayantha can also be seen from this point.		The Power Authority’s upper reservoir of the Blenheim-Gilboa pump storage complex is also part of the view. After returning to the Long Path from the loop trail, hikers will return to Macumber Road or continue east past Ashland Pinnacle to Bluebird Road in the town of Conesville.

The trail to the mountain is on the Huntersfield State Forest, which is administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The trail is maintained by volunteers from the NY/NJ Trail Conference and from the Long Path North Hiking Club.

Clarence Putman retired from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in 2002 after 35 years managing Schoharie County State Forests. He continues an involvement with the Long Path Hiking Trail that started while working at DEC. The club address is the Long Path North Hiking Club, P.O. Box 855, Schoharie, NY 12157, and his email address is clput@wildblue.net.

The article originally appeared in the the Gilboa Historical Society Newsletter.

High resolution art .
.pdf file     audio file