Panther Mountain

Back on a certain day in February, on the coldest day of winter, Vitaly and I climbed Giant Ledge on Panther Mountain. It's about a 7 mile hike with about 1,600 feet of elevation gain. Not the longest or highest hike, but it is on a mountain that sits on top of a 375 million year old meterorite hit...so, that's different.

Vitaly and I drove up to the Catskills (first time, for me!) for the hike. We didn't plan on going when it was in the negative degrees, but we sure weren't going to cancel.

Prep for the hike! About 5 base layers and a wool beanie that I may have purchased in the children's sale section of REI...

All packed up! Someone got me a bear and a rose for the trip :)

 I call this the "marshmallow look." So flattering. Teddy came along for the hike :)

 Rock scramble up, and up, and up!

 View from one of the ledges. So peaceful.

 Don't believe me on how cold it was? Vitaly's eyelashes froze.

 Beautiful.

 New York, you're pretty!

We made it!

Naptime.

 Taking in the view.

Hanging with Teddy.

Fresh powder...

 Checking out a small (frozen) waterfall.

 So cold my hair froze!

 I call this picture "showing some skin"

 Ice!

 Micro spikes! We bought these right before the hike. They were AMAZING.

 Pretending to die.

 Frozen solid.

Post hike! Checking out the map.

It was a perfect hike and the cold wasn't even that bad. We had enough base layers, plus hand warmers and foot warmers. The only time we noticed it was at the summit, when we attempted to eat sandwiches without our gloves on. Bad decision! Within a minute, we couldn't feel our fingers. Luckily, hand warmers work magic and we didn't lose any appendages. I'd say it was about -10 at the summit with wind chill. Believe it or not, we weren't the only people out there!

Definitely would love to come back to check out the hike in the spring and/or fall.