Thomas Cole

I had rested a bit at the summit of Black Dome, enjoying the view. It was time to be on my way to the second peak I planned to bag on the day’s hike in the Catskills.

There had been a few scrambles that I worked through on my way here, but it would be much easier to continue to Thomas Cole. I would have to descend into the col between the two peaks, but in viewing the topo map, I could see it would be a slight drop in elevation before climbing to the second peak. The weather had warmed slightly, and the sun had broken through the clouds.

Soon I was moving downhill. The trail quickly leveled off, and began to climb again. I faced several more mild scrambles to ascend to the ridge line.

It was a fairly easy trip to the summit. There wasn’t a canister that I could find, and the summit was densely wooded. There were no views. Several herd paths crisscrossed a clearing at the top. I considered exploring them, but soon decided that I could be here all day following these trails that could lead to nowhere. After a water break, I decided to retrace my steps to Black Dome and enjoy the view one last time.

Descending was quicker with gravity on my side. I was soon back at the mountain stream I had difficulty fording on my way up. The waters were running swiftly.

I ventured downstream to the blown down tree that formed a slippery bridge across the water. I sat down on the wet, slick trunk and as if riding a bucking bronco, humped my way across to safe territory.

Soon I was crossing the footbridge to the trailhead and on my way home.

A very nice hike, and two more mountains to cross off of my peak bagging list for the Catskills.