March in the Northeast mountains is known as mud season: melting snow, heavy streams, mashed potato mud, and stretches of hardened ice on the trails. Everyone says stay away. But we couldn’t. The day was too beautiful.
Hunter Mountain is the second tallest peak in the Catskills, but it’s easily accessible by hiking a trail up the backside of the mountain. We were prepared for mud, water, ice, and snow, but instead, we got mostly dry conditions and enough warmth and sunshine that we descended the mountain in short sleeves. It was one of those days where all good things converged and getting into the mountains gave a much-needed boost to my creative spirit.
