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A long, steep, tough out-and-back bushwhack Trailhead info at bottom of this post.

Hiking Trail Description

Beginning at Moonhaw Road, this out-and-back route to Rocky and Lone mountains passes over the summit Balsam Cap.

This route makes for a long day, but the trailhead is conveniently located on the eastern side of the range, not far from the Ashokan Reservoir. For a lot of us, this means less time driving and more time hiking.

If you want to make this day longer and harder, you can add in the summit of Friday Mountain, as well as the B-25 bomber wreck that lies in a gully between Friday and Balsam Cap.

Lots of excellent adventures in this part of The Catskills—but please bear in mind that you must have solid backcountry navigation skills to tackle these steep, densely forested and unforgiving mountains.

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Table of Contents

Find your dream getaway in the Catskills

Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Hike Time

Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Elevation Gain

Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Trail Notes & Gallery

Climbing Friday…

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Hike Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw

This Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw route includes…

An immediately steep and unrelenting climb up Friday Mountain

Fantastic views from all mountains

Confusing herd paths galore

No water sources

A deep backcountry wilderness experience

You must have very strong backcountry navigation skills to tackle this hike

A full breakdown is provided in the hike notes below, with 17 crackin’ photos from the route.

Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Hike Time

Allow 8-10 hours for this hike.

Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Elevation Gain

The elevation gain for this hike is 3,800 feet (apx 1,150 meters).

Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Trail Notes & Gallery

This was a very special hike for me. Rachel and Jack reached out via my Instagram as they were planning their 3500 finish on Rocky and Lone and asked if I would accompany them. Well, it was a super fun day for all of us, an honor to accompany them, and a delight to document their finish.

Climbing Friday…

There are so many great points and views along this route…

You’ve got the basic details, but there’s so much more…

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These peaks can also be hiked from the west via the incredible Fisherman’s Path .

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Rocky & Lone from Moonhaw Trailhead

Small trailhead with unreasonably good cell service (Verizon)

Google Maps Location: 41.983882, -74.327352

The map below shows the exact topographic location of the trailhead

Cell Service

The trailhead for this hike is in a hollow that faces east toward Kingston so there is good cell coverage down low. However, you will lose and regain coverage many times on this hike, depending on the exact patch of terrain you’re in. My network is Verizon. YMMV.

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The parent mountain for this hike is Lone .