Catskill 3500 Hike Review - Slide, Cornell, Wittenberg

Catskill 3500 Hike Review - Slide, Cornell, Wittenberg 

by Kathleen Lisson

Arun and I began at the end of this weekend's hike by camping at the Woodland Valley Campground. We camped spot #47, right next to the trailhead sign and directly across from the day-use parking lot.

Trailhead at Woodland Valley end of hike

Bridge at Woodland Valley end of hike

We drove to the other end of the trail and left one car at the Slide Mountain Parking Area on Oliverea-Frost Valley Rd. / C.R. 47, then climbed Slide, Cornell and Wittenberg mountains before descending to our campsite at Woodland Valley.

3500 Foot Mark at Slide Mountain

Plaque at Slide Mountain Summit

 Lessons Learned:

• BUG SPRAY - I did use my bug face net on the summits, but I forgot to put bug spray on my socks and legs and now I have a rash above my ankles from bug bites. Luckily, I took a shower immediately after the hike and discovered the rash. I put bug bite ointment on my legs before dinner. 

• EATING - I ate on all three summits. My husband didn't eat on Wittenberg and he ended up asking me for a snack to keep up his energy on  the long descent. 

• FOOD - We stopped in Phoenicia for breakfast and bought some good trail treats from Mamma's Boy Coffee Shop. 

• SHOWERS - A campsite hike is the best! I was able to walk straight to the showers. I felt like a new woman after my shower and was ready to relax and enjoy dinner. 

The campsites at Woodland Valley campground:

BAD - feel very close together, there is not a "secluded in the woods" feeling,

GOOD - but the campground was at the trailhead and alongside Woodland Valley Stream.

Catskill Mountain Guide

I used the Catskill Mountain Guide to guide me on this hike. The book has an excellent trail map in the back cover and a lengthy description of popular Catskill hikes. I read the description of the upcoming section of trail at each summit.

More Tips from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

More Tips from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

Salad with multiple foods and food groups

by Kathleen Lisson

I started reading Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook on a flight to St. Louis for the Junior League Annual Convention. The first part of my review is here:

Here are some more tips I picked up:

Page 64 – If you are not hungry for breakfast, you ate too much the night before. 

This was a big A-HA moment for me. I have heard from so many people that they skip breakfast because they are not hungry. Cutting down on food late in the evening might put breakfast back on the table.

Page 101 – Redefine the word ‘snack’ to mean ‘meal.’ Nancy Clark is so right – the word snack (and treat) opens the gate for not-so-nutritious foods to sneak into my diet.  I wouldn’t eat two cups of chips for a “meal,” but as a “snack” it might be OK – just a snack, right? I will start to plan my snacks to include multiple food groups.

Page 106 offers advice for those who suffer from ‘snack attacks.’ My husband and I call this being “hangry” – hungry and angry. I also suffer from low blood sugar if I do not eat, which makes me reluctant and unable to make quality decisions. I will take Nancy Clark’s advice and eat BEFORE I get hungry if I am going to put myself in a situation where I forsee becoming hangry.

Sunrise on the Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

Sunrise on the Summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

By Kathleen Lisson

In the article ‘Whiskey on the Rocks: A Taste of Climbing Kilimanjaro,’ Layla Eplett shares a recipe for Ugali and one of the most breathtaking pictures of a sunrise I have ever seen. I am looking forward to seeing that sunrise in person. 

Click here to read her article:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/2013/11/19/whiskey-on-the-rocks-a-taste-of-climbing-kilimanjaro/