Kate and I went up to pick up Nathan then continued into New York to the Catskills and the Warner Creek Trail. It took some looking around to find the trail head and then some slow, careful walking to begin up the stream bed full of rocks covered with snow and ice.
Our slow ascent also had us wondering if we were on the right trail. I tried to stick to the knowledge that my concern usually turns out to be over nothing and we eventually came to the trail marker we were looking for and headed toward the Devil's Path.
The entire trail was like this: slightly snow-covered inches-thick ice. It was crazy slippery. We had to walk slowly and carefully and basically not pick up our feet. Every step had to be calculated. We all fell down at least once. It was slightly nerve-racking yet really fun at the same time.
After some really difficult climbs up steep hills (covered in the same amount of ice) using mostly trees and luck to get us up, we came to a mostly flat area of coniferous forest that was a welcome break and a beautiful sight with snow hanging on the branches. It seemed like we had made it farther than we really had and we started thinking we should turn around soon.
We stopped at an overlook to enjoy the brief view before we turned around to descend the same way we came up. The way down was arguably more difficult than the ascent. The ice seemed a little more treacherous as we tried to get down steep hills. The nice part was that we could just sit down and slide! Kate and Nathan really took that method as their own. It was quite amusing to see them sliding through trees and around corners.
It was a long journey back, especially once night fell and we were still a good way from our car. It suddenly became even more dangerous and slow-going than before. With a firm grip on every tree we could grasp and a triple-checked footfall before each step, we descended the icy slope and the stream bed we climbed up in the afternoon light just a few hours before. Luckily I had brought my flashlight, which helped immensely on the rocky trail.
It must have taken us an hour after dark to get back to the car. We had a few falls, but luckily no one was hurt. The best feeling every was taking off our wet clothes and shoes when we got to the car and then eating the halves of our sandwiches we left from lunch. It was much more of a challenge than I ever expected, and we all performed very well. It was trying, but it was so much fun. We dropped Nathan off at the train stop and headed down the highway back home to a comfortable bed.
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