Annual Ephemeral Wildflower Hike at Kelly Hollow | Saturday, May 1st at 11:00 AM
What better way to begin the restart of CMC in-person events than with our Annual Ephemeral Wildflower Hike at Kelly Hollow? This perennial favorite comes when the forests are springing back to life, with budding trees and early wildflowers galore.
This a chance to find and identify the beautiful Spring ephemeral wildflowers which are so named because they appear in early spring when they flower and fruit and then die back, all in a short period before the trees have had a chance to leaf out. Most hikers never see these flowers because they wait for late spring or summer to get into the woods. We will look for Trillium, Spring beauties, Trout Lily, Hepatica, Violets, Squirrel Corn, Dutchman's Breeches, Jack-In-The-Pulpit and many others. We may also find some early mushrooms and ramps.
Kelly Hollow is one of the most beautiful short trails in the Catskills with rocky streams and waterfalls. It has a combination of coniferous and deciduous forests with a lovely abandoned beaver pond near a lean-to at the top. The trail is an easy to moderate loop of about 4 miles. Bring lunch and/or snacks to have at the lean-to (there is a privy nearby.)
We will continue to follow social distancing protocols, with masks on in the parking lot and optional on the trail. Please maintain safe distancing at all times.
Event Duration: About 3 hours
Level of Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Leader: Howard Raab
Bring: hiking shoes, snacks/lunch, bug repellant, and something to drink.
Registration required by April 30th. Register by contacting the leader. See below.
Group size is limited to 12. As it is a very popular event, I would suggest that you register early.
Leashed or well-behaved dogs are welcome.
Additional Information: In case of steady rain the hike will be moved to Sunday, May 2nd . If in doubt, call before 10:00 am on Saturday.
Covid-19 Guidelines: Wear a mask while congregated in the parking lot or at other sites. Hike single file, following social distancing protocols. Avoid carpooling except with members of your household. Use your own pen when signing in, or use hand sanitizer. Note: As vaccination rates rise, risks decrease. We will phase out these guidelines when rates improve significantly. In the meantime, please protect others and yourself by following these simple, CDC endorsed guidelines.
Questions about this event can be directed to: howardjraab@gmail.com, or
(845) 586-3112.
We will meet at the trail-head at 11:00 am.
Directions:
The Kelly Hollow Trail is located on Millbrook Road in the town of Middletown, NYNJ Trail Conference map #142, F-5,6.
Directions to trail-head: 2.2 miles West of Margaretville on Rt.28 go left across from the Old Stone School house and then right on the NYC reservoir road (BWT10) for 3.7miles. Then left on Millbrook Road for 5.3 miles to the trail-head parking area on the right.
GPS: 42.079007, -74.649885