Hike Breath Hill Trail from Peekamoose Road |
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| View of Ashokan High Peak & Little Rocky from the Breath Hill Trail |
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OVERVIEW |
| | Type of Trail: | 64% DEC trails - 36% Bushwhacking |
| | Parking Area : | Parking off Peekamoose Road (4.9 miles from Rt 28a) |
| | Camp sites: | 2 Camp Sites |
| | Winter Access: | Parking Area is NOT Plowed in the Winter |
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| | | Trail Length: | 1.77 miles (one-way) or 3.54 (round-trip) |
| | Trail Type: | 2-track trail on logging road |
| | Hiking Time: | Average 2.5 hours round trip |
| | Summit Elevation: | 2,563' (A) |
| | Elevation Gain: | Gain of 2,589 feet |
| | Views : | 1 spot about 1/3 mile from the Parking Area |
| | Difficulty: | Easy |
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| | | Breath Hill Summit: | 41.936167, -74.349283 (DEC-WGS84) |
| | Breath Hill Summit: | N 41 56.170, W 74 20.957 (GPS) |
| | Breath Hill Summit: | 18N 553945 4642894 (UTM) |
| | Breath Hill Summit: | N41 56 10, W74 20 57 (Degree, Min, Sec) |
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| | | USGS Map: | USGS West Shokan Quad Maps |
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| | | DEC Trail Map: | DEC Slide Mountain Wilderness Map (free) |
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| | | Digital Mapper: |
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Maps for Breath Hill in the Sundown Wild Forest |
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Notes About Hiking to Breath Hill from Peekamoose Road |
| SUMMIT of Breath HILL |
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There are actually three mountain summits next to each other. Some consider (included the USGS), the center summit to be Breath Hill. The USGS also does not have a Decision Card on this summit, so there is nothing official. The actual summit of Breath Hill is the east most summit. The summit with the highest elevation is considered the true mountain. You should also be noted that the center summit and west summit are privately owned. |
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| About this hike of Breath HILL |
| The hike up to the Breath Hill Trail is different from other hikes in the Catskill Mountains. The trail does receive maintenance, but not on a regular basis. You will find grape vines growing across the trail. Trees and branches fallen across the trail. As you hike further up the trail, the trail will become more difficult to follow. Finally, the hike turns into a bushwhack to the summit. You should have a map and the ability to bushwhack in the forest. Much easier to bushwhack when the leaves are not on the tress. A GPS with maps is very useful. |
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| OTHER INFORMATION |
| Very few people hike this trail. So, most likely you will be the only person on the mountain. There is NO view at the summit. There is a spot near the beginning of the hike where there are nice views of Ashokan High Peak and Little Rocky Mountain.
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| | DIRECTIONS to Breath Hill Trail Head from Exit 19 (Kingston) |
| | Peekamoose Road Parking Area WGS84 (DEC): 41.895333, -74.393767 - Elevation is approximately 1,666 feet |
| | Peekamoose Road Parking Area Deg/Min/Sec: N41 53 43, W74 23 37 - Elevation is approximately 1,666 feet |
| | Peekamoose Road Parking Area GPS: N 41 53.720, W 74 23.626 - Elevation is approximately 1,666 feet |
| | Peekamoose Road Parking Area UTM: 18N 550289 4638333 - Elevation is approximately 1,666 feet
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| | Get off New York State Thruway at Exit 19 (Kingston). |
| | Take a RIGHT out of the NYS Thruway onto Route 28 West. |
| | Go approximately 16.1 miles on Rt 28 West |
| | Take a LEFT onto Rt 28A just before Boiceville |
| | Go approximately 3.0 miles on Rt 28A |
| | Take a RIGHT onto Rt 42 in West Shokan (Watson Hollow Road which turns into Peekamoose Road) |
| | Go approximately 4.9 miles on Rt 42 (Peekamoose Road) |
| | DEC Parking Area is on the RIGHT side of the road on the sharp left turn. |
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MILEAGE CHART from Peekamoose Road to Breath Hill |
| | Mile Point | Altitude | Notes |
| | 0.00 | 2,031' | Breath Hill Trail Head |
| | 0.69 | 2,257' | Continue past side trail on the right |
| | 1.14 | 2,288' | Logging Road and Trail ends - Bushwhack to the top |
| | 1.77 | 2,563' | Summit of Breath Hill |
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Hike to Breath Hill from Peekamoose Road in the Sundown Wild Forest |
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This is the entrance to the DEC Parking Area. When you go past the two larger trees, you will see space for 3 cars. This entrance is located 4.9 miles from Rt 28A in West Shokan. It is located on a sharp turn on Peekamoose Road. Look for the DEC sign on the Telephone Pole on a sharp turn.
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This is where you can park approximately 3 cars. As you can see, the Parking Area is NOT plowed in the Winter months.
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At the end of the Parking Area, you will see two trails.
The trail on the LEFT is Breath Hill Trail. It has some boulders at the entrance. This Trail is an old logging road, and will take you to the summit of Breath Hill, and well beyond. Oddly enough, this trail is not well maintained.
The trail on the RIGHT is a short logging road that is very well maintained. It is less then 2/10 of a mile long. It ends abruptly. We suspect that they created this road to get to the top of Breath Hill, but discovered that they could not get past the steep hill beyond the end of the road. This trail is basically worthless.
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Not far after you start hiking up the old logging road, you will come to a section that has lots of grape vines clogging the path. While this is undesirable, it has killed a number of the trees around them, and opened up a nice view spot. Actually, the only view spot on the hike.
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Just past the spot where grape vines are clogging the logging road, you will come to several opening in the forest. In this picture, Ashokan High Peak is on the left, and Little Rocky Mountain is on the right.
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The image on the left is a water ravine that only flows after a large rain storm.
The image on the right shows you the Breath Hill Trail looks like.
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The image on the left continues to climb the hill.
After approximately 7/10 of a mile, you will encounter a side trail on the right side of the logging road. While this trail is very nice, it leds to nowhere. It comes to an abrupt end in a steep ravine filled with rocks and moss. Not a good place to bushwhack. Another worthless trail.
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There is a weird rock on the side of the logging road part way up the Breath Hill Trail. It is just an oddity that you will encounter.
Continue up the old logging road. When the logging road disappears, bushwhack the rest of the way to the summit. Follow the ridge line with the highest elevation.
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