NEW YORK: KAATERSKILL FALLS

 July 25, 2021

We rented an Airbnb in Kingston, New York, for a couple of nights. It turned out to be a brand new house built specifically to be rented out. We could even smell the fresh paint. It was perfect for the four of us. 

Having an equipped kitchen was very important . . .

. . . as were the extensive woods and trails located behind the house, which produced, among other things, this:

We began our day by going into town for some breakfast (since we hadn't picked up any groceries yet). I was impressed by the number and variety of murals.

Then we made our way to the Kaaterskill Falls hiking trail. SO gorgeous. 

We had some successful mushroom foraging of both edible and non-edible species.

According to my mycologist, this is Turbinellus floccosus, aka scaly vase. Isn't it wonderful?

There was something beautiful everywhere I looked.

This is an interesting comparison of horizontal and vertical lines on trees:

Ghost flower and witch's hat:

Coral fungus:

Whatcha got, Michaela?

She's the Frog Whisperer.

Suillus spraguei, or painted Suillus, which is edible:

I feel like I should be inserting some music here:

This mushroom looks like something out of a children's book. It is Cortinarius lodes, aka viscid violet cort:

On the left is a parasite, Syzygospora mycetophila, aka Collyybia Jelly, growing from the cap of a mushroom called Bymnopus dryophilus. On the right is Trichaptum biforme, aka violet toothed polypore.

And finally, Amanita jacksonii, aka American Caesar mushroom, which is one that we ate for dinner. (I assume it was named for President Andrew Jackson--the "American Caesar.")

Wow.  Just wow.

This is better than any picnic table, right?

If I could only recreate this in my backyard . . . 

Two intrepid explorers on the prowl:

We finally arrived at Kaaterskill Falls, a two-stage waterfall that plummets a total of 260 feet, making it one of the highest waterfalls in New York. The falls have inspired painters and writers alike. Washington Irving mentions the falls in his 1819 story "Rip Van Winkle." Thomas Cole and other Hudson Valley artists painted the falls. 

William Cullen Bryant wrote a 19-stanza poem entitled "Catterskill Falls," which begins:

Midst greens and shades the Catterskill leaps,

     From cliffs where the wood-flower clings;

All summer he moistens his verdant steeps

     With the sweet light spray of the mountain springs;

And he shakes the woods on the mountain side,

When they drip with the rains of autumn-tide.

According to one mountaineering website, there have been over 200 deaths at these falls over the past 200 years, making it one of the most deadly waterfalls in the world and certainly in the United States. Most deaths have occurred from falling off the top of the falls or being swept over the falls. That must explain the forest service employee whose job appeared to be watching out for dumb tourists.

We definitely weren't the only ones marveling over this beautiful spot.

I should mention that there are 181 wooden steps that lead to the bottom of the falls--not easy either descending or ascending. 

Parking is at a premium.  We had to park some distance from the trail head.

When we got back to our Airbnb that evening, the feast preparation began.

Andrew and Michaela had brought along their pasta machine. 

I felt like I was in a five-star kitchen, watching the evolution of a masterpiece.

Homemade pasta with two types of mushroom sauces and an arugula salad. YUM.

Michaela created a beautiful centerpiece from forest flora. This is what being spoiled looks and tastes like.

READING / AUDIOBOOKS

The perfect Audible book for this segment of our trip was the short story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving  Published in 1819, it tells the story of a colonial Dutch immigrant who falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains and awakens 20 years later, after the American Revolution and after many changes. Ironically, when Irving wrote the story he had never visited the Catskill Mountains. No matter--it was a fun listen.

The perfect companion piece is another of Irving's famous short stories: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," also published in 1819. The main character of this story is the infamous Ichabod Crane, a  gangly, popular, but highly superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut. One night after a dance when he fails to win his beloved's hand, he runs into a horseman who is carrying his head in his lap, terrifying Ichabod. He races away from the ghoul, but when he turns around to see if he is being followed, Ichabod is hit by what he thinks is the hurled head of the other horseman. The next morning Ichabod is gone, never to be heard from again, and his erstwhile love interest marries Ichabod's rival for her affections.