Certainly one of the most rewarding peaks of the Catskills range with a few provisos. Children - NO Elderly - NO Strollers - NO Pets - NO Boots - yes - you will welcome the ankle support! Sign the register before you start your hike and remember to sign out before you leave, please. The reason for all the above is that Twin is regarded as one off the most difficult peaks to summit in the Catskills and forms part of the Devil’s Path (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Path_(hiking_trail) ) It took me 4.5hr round trip to complete this route. I’m 52. You’ll be asked to navigate a progressively steeper ‘field’ of tree roots before getting to a Boulder field before finally getting to Jimmy Dolan’s Notch. At this juncture, take some time to go to the lookout and take a few moments to drink in the beauty of the Catskills in front of you. Beware that there is a winter den for bear here, Now the more technical part starts: turning left at Jimmy Dolan’s Notch will take you up to Indian Head, while turning right behind the ascent of Twin Mountain. There are 5 ‘lifts’ on the way to the summit. Some are a couple of metres and others maybe 5m high. Take your time, it’s not a race. After the third one, you’ll be greeted with a sign that tells you you’re at the 3500ft mark. As you approach the South Summit (the lower of the two peaks) you’ll come to a fabulous lookout. The actual summit has a good lookout but it’s a little smaller than South Twin summit. A with the vast majority of Catskills peaks, there’s no marker to tell you that the “peak is here”. If you choose to go down from here, you’ll start down the challenging Pecoy Notch route. Return the same route although when you arrive on South Summit, the route may not be as obvious as you think. Take a few minutes to rest and search for it. Jimmy Dolan’s Notch is next after making your way down the lifts you first mastered. With tired feet be careful in the Boulder field and with what I’ll call ‘Medusa hair’ of tree roots. When you’re tired it seems they always reaching out to snag tired feet.
