Schunemunk Mountain II: Revenge of the Ridge

My first hike on Schunemunk was just over five years ago, with a group of friendly strangers.  This time I went with different folks - people I already knew, imagine that! - and we had three cars.  So after a feisty debate at Jay's Deli, we decided on a south-bound point-to-point from the Trestle Trail (white) to Barton Swamp (red dot) to Jessup (yellow) to the Long Path (aqua).  With a little side-trip to the megaliths, of course.  According to a pedometer, our journey was 9+ miles.

We started out by heading straight up to the ridge, a steady climb... 

On the Barton Swamp trail, one of the stones looked dry but had slippery moss on it.  Whomp!  My feet slipped forward and I fell back on the rock.  My palms felt a bit abraded, but the only damage was a little cut on my left elbow which I discovered that evening.

At one of the turns in the path, there was a turkey vulture hanging out on a dead branch, just 10-15 feet away from us.

Up close with a turkey vulture!

We pushed on, soon finding to our chagrin that we were not staying on the ridge to which we ascended (the west side of Schunemunk); rather, we descended part-way and then ascended to a parallel ridge (the east side).  Careful examination of the topographical maps might have revealed that to us either.  Or actually reading the full trail description in my hiking guide - that would have done it, too!

In any event, the walk was challenging but good, with excellent views to reward us.

The other thing I might have been aware of (had I read the trail guide beyond, say, the first two paragraphs... or even if I had read my own post from five years ago) was that there would be snakes.

Andy, for one, is not scared of snake skin!!

I'm certainly cautious and respectful around snakes (especially ones that might be venomous), rather than brave or bold.  But I'm willing to assume (until proven otherwise) that snakes are generally not likely to attack unless they feel trapped or in danger, and I figure that calmness will allow me to deal with whatever might happen. So that's my strategy, for now.*  

Snake #1: This one literally went into reverse when he saw us.

No trip to Schunemunk is complete with a detour to see the Megaliths (which are spelled "Megoliths" on the park map and "Monoliths" in my prior post).

Post-lunch siesta

On top of the world!

After a nice lunch break and lots of photos, we went on.

The blazes were not always easy to spot -- many marks had faded, or were far apart.  But throughout the ridge, we found that people had marked the true path not only by building cairns, but also by creating little guiding walls (generally one or two rocks high) to point the right direction.  These were often only a foot or two long, but sometimes longer.  As long as you are mindful enough not to step right over them as if they were natural formations, but instead allow yourself to be herded by them, you'll be fine.

They really did not want us to miss this turn.

With the recent rain, there were some muddy spots (though nothing too deep or troublesome) and also (drum roll please) ... some fungi!  My favorites were the lavender ones.

Lavender mushroom!

As the afternoon wore on, we reached higher and drier ground, with smoother rock slab ledges (rather than the conglomerate type).  High, dry, smooth rocks in the afternoon sunshine.  Great for snakes!

My companions saw a timber rattlesnake coiled at the side of the path.  It startled them, and they startled the snake - which suddenly zipped out right in front of me and then under a ledge, rattling lightly as it went.  It was really pretty, but moved too fast past me for a photo.  But I used the flash to capture a shot of the snake under the ledge:

Snake #2: timber rattler.  Coincidentally, this is exactly the kind of snake my
guidebook mentioned we might encounter on the hike.

So we all survived that encounter (although arguably it was a close call, because one person jumped backward toward someone who was close to the edge!).  

Just a few minutes later, after a scenic overlook, we saw another rattler.  This one was a diamondback rattlesnake.  A big, chunky one.  Right on the path, and really not that interested in moving off of the path in honor of our approach.  Sort of a "stand your ground" snake.

The locals we met said that the diamondback is more aggressive/dangerous than the timber rattler; apparently, the diamondback does not feel the need to flee, and does not rattle in warning, but simply strikes.

So this was a bit tricky.  But we went around to the far side of the path and gave it a wide berth.  

Snake #3: diamondback rattler - This guy wasn't going anywhere fast, and didn't bother to rattle at us.  

Soon after the third snake, we began our final descent.  Note the aqua blaze(s) on the trunk of the tree on the cliff's edge:

This last part looked pretty steep as we approached...

I usually love to play mountain goat on the descents, but I went very slowly this time because I had managed to twist my left ankle a bit earlier in the day, and it was painful to mis-step.

The path finally took us down to a train track, which we followed along to reach Highway 32.

This photo is dedicated to my mom, who used to collect these glass insulators (albeit not "in the wild" like this!)

Troublemakers

FN*  Of course, now that I've read a bit about the effects of snake venom, maybe I'll buy a snake bite kit as a back-up plan.