Moses Rock
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:30 pm
Last summer (July 2009), I successfully located Moses Rock using Bob Gildersleeve's excellent book "Catskill Mountain House Trail Guide".
Starting at Pine Orchard, I hike down the Old Stage Road and then veered right onto the horse trail that leads to Palenville Overlook. The horse trail descends rather steeply in a northeasterly direction and then sharply turns nearly 180 degrees to the south.
Shortly afterward, I spotted the old trail that lead to Moses Rock and eventually Palenville. As Bob cautioned, I did not take this trail since it was severed when the Otis Railroad was built.
The old path to Moses Rock is the vague trail heading straight back into the woods approximately a third of the way from the left edge of the photo.
A few hundred feet from the right-of-way of the Otis Railroad, I encountered a large boulder on the side of the horse trail. I have seen at least one map that places Moses Rock just north of the Otis Railroad (Moses Rock is really a few hundred feet to the south of the Otis). Although I cannot be certain, it is possible that the boulder seen below was mistaken for Moses Rock.
Just south of the boulder, the horse trail crosses the right-of-way of the Otis Railroad.
Perhaps two hundred feet south of crossing the Otis Railroad, you will encounter a wet/muddy section of the trail. After a heavy rain, there may even be a small stream! This is where you want to turn left (east) and begin bushwhacking down the escarpment towards Moses Rock. Approximately 300 feet off the trail, you will climb down a ledge on the north side of this rather imposing cliff. My speculation is that Moses Rock split away from here and slid down the mountain side about 200 feet to its current position.
After continuing to descend another couple of hundred feet, you will encounter Moses Rock. It is truly HUGE!! The rock is approximately 80 feet long, 10-15 feet wide, and 10 feet high. No wonder our ancestors were so impressed with it. Curiously, I could find no trace of the path that went by Moses Rock and descended down to Palenville.
Starting at Pine Orchard, I hike down the Old Stage Road and then veered right onto the horse trail that leads to Palenville Overlook. The horse trail descends rather steeply in a northeasterly direction and then sharply turns nearly 180 degrees to the south.
Shortly afterward, I spotted the old trail that lead to Moses Rock and eventually Palenville. As Bob cautioned, I did not take this trail since it was severed when the Otis Railroad was built.
The old path to Moses Rock is the vague trail heading straight back into the woods approximately a third of the way from the left edge of the photo.
A few hundred feet from the right-of-way of the Otis Railroad, I encountered a large boulder on the side of the horse trail. I have seen at least one map that places Moses Rock just north of the Otis Railroad (Moses Rock is really a few hundred feet to the south of the Otis). Although I cannot be certain, it is possible that the boulder seen below was mistaken for Moses Rock.
Just south of the boulder, the horse trail crosses the right-of-way of the Otis Railroad.
Perhaps two hundred feet south of crossing the Otis Railroad, you will encounter a wet/muddy section of the trail. After a heavy rain, there may even be a small stream! This is where you want to turn left (east) and begin bushwhacking down the escarpment towards Moses Rock. Approximately 300 feet off the trail, you will climb down a ledge on the north side of this rather imposing cliff. My speculation is that Moses Rock split away from here and slid down the mountain side about 200 feet to its current position.
After continuing to descend another couple of hundred feet, you will encounter Moses Rock. It is truly HUGE!! The rock is approximately 80 feet long, 10-15 feet wide, and 10 feet high. No wonder our ancestors were so impressed with it. Curiously, I could find no trace of the path that went by Moses Rock and descended down to Palenville.
