Southwest Hunter Mountain (Leavitt Peak) | |
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 3,750 feet (1,140 m) [1] |
Prominence | 200 ft (60 m) [2] |
Listing | Catskill High Peaks 15th |
Coordinates | 42°09′45″N74°14′37″W / 42.1625°N 74.2436°W Coordinates: 42°09′45″N74°14′37″W / 42.1625°N 74.2436°W |
Geography | |
Location | Hunter, Greene County, New York |
Parent range | Devil's Path |
Topo map | USGS Hunter |
Southwest Hunter Mountain (Leavitt Peak) is a subpeak of Hunter Mountain, located in Greene County, New York. It is considered one of the Catskills' High Peaks in its own right, because of its separation from the main summit, and its topographic prominence. Hunter Mountain is named after John Hunter, who also gave his name to the town of Hunter.
Southwest Hunter is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. SW Hunter is flanked to the northeast by the main summit of Hunter, and to the west faces West Kill Mountain across 800-foot-deep (240 m) Diamond Notch. It is considered a bushwhack, as there are no official trails leading to its summit, in the midst of a dense montane boreal forest of red spruce and balsam fir. Attempts to climb from Diamond Notch, the closest approach of a maintained trail, have led to the creation of a maze of herd paths on the level area west of the mountain's summit, none of which leads to it and many of which dead-end. Hikers have instead been following the bed of a rail line used by a 19th century logging company that begins just off the Devil's Path, 0.1 miles (160 m) west of the Devil's Acre Lean-to, at a small rock cairn. It traverses the ridge at roughly 3,500 ft (1,100 m) for three-quarters of a mile (1.21 km) where another herd path turns uphill to the peak (This upward turn is easy to miss, there are several other junctions prior to it. It is only marked by an arrow scratched onto a nearby rock; it has in the past been marked by another cairn). The summit canister is in a small clearing.
Southwest Hunter stands within the watershed of the Hudson River, which drains into New York Bay. The north side of SW Hunter drains into the headwaters of the West Kill, thence into Schoharie Creek, the Mohawk River, and the Hudson River. The southeast slopes of SW Hunter drain into Myrtle Brook, thence into Stony Clove Creek, Esopus Creek, and the Hudson River. The southwest side of SW Hunter drains into Hollow Brook, thence into Stony Clove Creek.
Southwest Hunter is within the Hunter Mountain Wild Forest of the Catskill Park of New York's Forest Preserve.
Southwest Hunter is unnamed in the GNIS database; there is an effort underway to get the peak named Leavitt Peak in memory of Bill & Elinore Leavitt, two of the founders of the Catskill 3500 club.[ citation needed ]
Hunter Mountain is in the towns of Hunter and Lexington, just south of the village of Hunter, in Greene County, New York, United States. At approximately 4,040 feet (1,231 m) in elevation, it is the highest peak in the county and the second-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains.
Stony Clove Notch is a narrow pass, roughly 2,220 feet in elevation located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, deep in the Catskill Mountains. It is traversed by New York State Route 214, although in the past the Ulster and Delaware Railroad went through it as well.
The Devil's Path is a hiking trail in the Greene County section of the Catskill Mountains of New York, sometimes described as one of the more challenging trails in the New York Tri-state area. It goes across the eponymous mountain range and then three other peaks to the west, offering hikers and peakbaggers a chance to reach the summits of five of the 35 Catskill High Peaks. It draws hikers from not just the region but far outside, due to the challenging climbs straight up and down the steep gaps between the four peaks of the range, which often require hikers to use hands as well as feet to pull themselves almost straight up cliffs and through rocky chutes. These climbs, however, lead to views across the Catskill range.
Blackhead is a mountain located in Greene County, New York.
Thomas Cole Mountain is a mountain in Greene County, New York. The mountain is named after the artist Thomas Cole (1801–1848), who lived in the area and is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School.
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Halcott Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. It is mostly located in Greene County, with some of its lower slopes in Delaware and Ulster counties. Its exact summit elevation has not been officially determined, but the highest contour line on the mountain is 3,520 feet (1,070 m). It is one of the peaks on the divide between the Delaware and Hudson watersheds.
West Kill Mountain, or Westkill Mountain, is located in Greene County, New York. The mountain is named after the West Kill stream which flows along its northern side, and is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. To the east, West Kill Mountain faces Southwest Hunter Mountain across 800-foot-deep (240 m) Diamond Notch; to the west, West Kill faces North Dome across Mink Hollow.
Indian Head Mountain is a 3,573 ft (1,089 m) mountain located in the southeast corner of Greene County, New York. The mountain, named for the appearance of its profile, is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. To the northwest, Indian Head is separated from Twin Mountain by Jimmy Dolan Notch; to the southeast, Indian Head is flanked by Plattekill Mountain.
Twin Mountain is a mountain located in Greene County, New York. Twin gets its name from its two summits; the lower, 3,590-ft (1,090 m) peak is about .5 miles (0.8 km) to the southeast of the higher. The mountain is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. To the northwest, Twin Mtn. is separated from Sugarloaf Mountain by Pecoy Notch; to the southeast, Twin Mtn. is separated from Indian Head Mountain by Jimmy Dolan Notch.
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Plateau Mountain is located in the town of Hunter in Greene County, New York, United States. It is part of the Devil's Path range of the Catskill Mountains. Plateau has a two-mile-long (3.2 km) summit ridge above 3,500 feet (1,100 m). The highest point, at least 3,840 feet (1,170 m), is at the southeast end, facing Sugarloaf Mountain to the east across Mink Hollow Notch. It is the 12th-highest peak in the range Devils Tombstone is located west of Plateau Mountain. The northwest end faces Hunter Mountain to the west across 1,400-foot deep (430 m) Stony Clove Notch.
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Diamond Notch is a wind gap located between West Kill Mountain and Southwest Hunter Mountain in the Catskills of New York. The south side of Diamond Notch drains through Diamond Notch Hollow via Hollow Tree Brook to Stony Clove Creek, thence to Esopus Creek and the Hudson River. Water from the north side also reaches the Hudson, but via a longer route—first the West Kill, then Schoharie Creek to the Mohawk, the Hudson's largest tributary.