Morning Run

Rough start..

49:30 15K Tempo

Wow. What a day. Plateau was brutal!
Big hike day in the Catskills with Luke and Greg.
Left beautiful scenic Ewing NJ bright and early at 6. Drove all the way up to Saugerties via 287 and the Thruway which was an overall nice drive as per usual. Ascended the infamous Devil's Kitchen climb (a long and steep climb that takes you up into the Catskills) which basically took us right to the trailhead. First 2 miles were rather pleasant and scenic at times as it took us right to the Devil's Path. Headed westbound up Twin which was a decent ascent that featured a cool a section that required climbing up a big rock with a rope. But the highlight of this ascent was the rewarding view at the top. Absolutely stunning and mind blowing. No further explanation needed. You have to go check it out yourself for justification. After a long lunch break at the top we then descended back in the eastbound direction and headed up Sugarloaf shortly afterwards. Besides a small scenic view on the descent, there weren't many views on this climb. The climb itself was a tad more difficult than Twin but we still felt pretty strong at the top which lead us to ascending Plateau. And plateau was the absolute killer. Don't get me wrong the ascent up it was quite stunning but man it was absolutely brutal. We gained almost 1200ft in 3 quarters of a mile! To put it into perspective that's an average grade of over 30%! Let alone the fact that it was fulfilled with massive rocks that required a full body workout to make it all the way up. I also pushed this ascent much harder than the other ones which probably also caused a lot of huffing and puffing towards the end as my heart rate was spiking into the 170s. Although there weren't many scenic views apart from one small lookout near the top it was well worth it as it was quite an epic climb. Also hit a new altitude PR of 3850ft! Afterwards the hike turned into a complete shitshow of us completely shredded physically and debilitated mentally as we spent the last 3 miles on a back trail trying to get back to the trailhead as quick as possible.
Overall the hike was very challenging. 12 miles with 5000ft of climbing and we completed it in almost 9 hours with a 6 and a half hour moving time. Much harder than what I encountered at Tammany but at the same time the scenery and the views were next level. No comparison between the two hikes, definitely worth the extra hour of driving as it was a complete blast out there today. I was quite exhausted afterwards but it was well worth the journey. Weather was flawless as well. Hardly any clouds out there as it was sunny in the mid 50s at the beginning and mid 70s towards the end. Couldn't ask for anything better.

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Pelle Nogueira

Twin, Sugarloaf, and Plateau

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Morning Run

Morning Run

Morning Run

Rough start..

49:30 15K Tempo

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