Overlook Mountain Hike, June 9, 2016
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Trish and I hiked the Overlook Mountain Trail in Woodstock, NY.  It's 2.5 miles up, and by "up", I mean the trail is about a 30-45 degree incline for 2.5 miles.  It was a tough one for me.  I guess I wasn't conditioned enough by the time we did it.  After all, it was still only the middle of June.  Fortunately it was very cool and fairly breezy.

About 2 miles up is an abandoned hotel~~The Overlook Mountain Hotel.  It was built in the late 1800s and experienced two fires over the years.  After the 2nd fire, plans were made to rebuild, but the owner encountered some financial difficulties and it was never finished.  The original hotel could accommodate 300 guests, so it must have been quite impressive.  By looking at the remaining ruins, you can just imagine how elegant and beautiful the facility must have been and why it was so popular. 

The bathtub below is the only remnant of human habitation that I could see.  According to one website, all other materials were removed on purpose or by vandals.

A second nearby structure still contained some window frames.

A half mile beyond the hotel is the "overlook".  It offers a beautiful 180 degree view of the Catskills.

There is also a fire tower, but the very top level was blocked off.  Just like the tower on Kane Mountain, there are 9 sets of steps of 9 steps each~~total of 81 steps.

Before heading out on the hike I decided I was going to try to work up the nerve to ask other hikers if I could take their photos.  The inspiration came from the facebook posts and book by Brandon Stanton "Humans of New York" better known as HONY. 

 I did manage to get some photos.  As time goes by I hope to ask a few questions so I 

can have a little story to go along with each image.

"This is her first hike.  It was enough for her.
We're not going to the overlook.  We'll head back down now."

We met this couple again at the overlook and talked a little about cameras
and photography.  He only had his cell phone this day, but had a
Canon back home.

"I'm retired now.  I'm from Ireland, but after I retired I moved to Spain.
My daughter still lives in Ireland.
All of this green is making me home-sick for Ireland."