Millbrook Mountain

Since the weather was looking like a clear day at last, Maggie and I drove up to New Paltz Saturday to take advantage of our newly-arrived Mohonk Preserve memberships and go for a hike. We woke up at the leisurely hour of 8 AM and headed up under clear, sunny skies the whole way up. Traffic wasn't bad, but surprisingly crowded in New Paltz and on 299 up to the Trapps - likely due to the ongoing Ulster County Fair.

We had our sights set on heading to the top of Millbrook Mountain, a small peak southwest of the Nears, via a ridge trail with a return along the Coxing Kill. We parked in the stairmaster parking lot and hit the Undercliff Road around noon. The Millbrook Ridge trail starts just west of the steel bridge, and gets interesting right away, quickly gaining elevation up fairly steep rock. In minutes you hit exposed Gunks conglomerate and scattered pitch pines.



Soon you get a view across the valley to the southeast, as well a clear look back at the Trapps. At this time we're atop the ridge that comprises the Near Trapps. Looking northwest, you also are above the narrow valley in which the Coxing Kill runs.


The trail then heads SW along the ridge top, affording clear views to the left across the wide valley (moderate amount of haze today, though). Eventually, the trial leads away from the edge of the ridge, leaning right and leading you into the cooler temps of the shade. Much more variety of vegetation here, and we saw plenty of oaks, acorns, mushrooms, and moss. Most impressive were enormous stands of wild blueberries.

Blueberries (huckleberries?) as far as the eye could see

Cortinarius iodes (not psychoactive, B)

Eventually, the trail heads back to the edge and starts gaining elevation again as it starts ascending the east side of Millbrook Mountain proper. The ridgetop begins to narrow, and the route becomes mostly steeper rock steps between false summits. Near the top, you see large boulder-strewn talus fields to the left, and there's a beautiful promontory jutting out above a 400 ft dropoff that you can perch (carefully) upon.




We saw lots of birds of prey in the air, cruising the thermal currents that rise along the face of the cliff. They were both overhead and below us, often swooping a mere twenty feet away as they circled. Not sure what species they were, there are several kinds that roost along the ridge: turkey vulture, or hawk?


After the peak, you head north for a bit towards Minnewaska then cut back northeast towards Trapps Road. It's much wetter in the forest off the peak, and the trail was often muddy and buggy as it lost elevation to run east again along the Coxing Kill. We saw vast groves of ferns as well as a snake happy on his tree-side perch.

Little fella's a 3+ footer (eastern hog-nosed snake?)

Ground here was way muddier than photos suggest

Wish I had a water filter!

Great hike in beautiful, if a bit hot and muggy, weather - beautiful views, exposed vistas, and multiple kinds of ecological environments along the way. Thought that at its hardest the hike was not quite as tricky as the last hike w/ B and Jade and JK, but the overall sustained level was more challenging (less carriage road, more rock hopping). We brought 2L of water, which in the end was just a little less than we needed. Maggie did awesome on the ~5 mi hike, much of it on steepish rock and edge-hugging trails; we've got to get her out of her tennies and into real hiking shoes soon...