Visit Poet's Ledge...while you still can!

Due to previous commitments, I'll miss the June 25 hike sponsored by the Mountain Top Historical Society, but it sounds like a great one, so I hope you go and tell me all about it.

The destination is Poet's Ledge which provides spectacular views from the south side of Kaaterskill Clove.  The starting point is the MTHS compound, just past the entrance to Twilight Park in Haines Falls as you climb Route 23A from Palenville.  Meet there at 9am on Saturday, prepared to hike all day -- they say you won't return to the compound until 4pm.  You'll pass three different waterfalls not seen from the road and arrive at Poet's Ledge mid-day. Given you are arriving at such a romantic destination, you should no doubt have with you camera with long-distance lens (none of the cell phone cameras will do for this vista) and  notebook to record the poetry that will sprout from you like ash from a virulent volcano.

They say the difficulty of the hike is "moderate" which means espadrilles won't work.  My experience is pants work better than shorts, since pants protect you from thistles, insect bites and poison ivy about the ankles. True hiking boots work better than sandals, sneakers or flip-flops since you are likely to be hiking in mud, shallow streams and slippery terrain.  I spray generous doses of heavy-duty insect repellent on the brim of my baseball cap, on a bandanna around my neck and on my socks so that the reminders of the event are my photographs and poems, not my rash and itchy bites.

There's no concession stand at Poet's Ledge, though I understand there are negotiations underway for a casino to be built there.