Backpacking the Devil's Path - Most Dangerous Hiking Trail?
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2020
- Some say it’s the Toughest, most Dangerous Hiking Trail in the east. We set out on a backpacking trip to find out how tough the Devil’s Path trail really is.
Set in New York’s Catskill Mountains, the Devil’s Path is a 24.6 mile long end to end hike on steep, rocky terrain with around 8,500 feet of elevation gain and and 9,000 feet of elevation loss.
The mountain range that the Devil’s Path traverses is basically one large plateau with a handful of deep notches carved into it. The result? Almost all of the elevation change is crammed into a handful of 1 mile or less stretches, with little to no distance in between each ascent and descent. Scrambles, loose rock and mazes of gnarly roots add to the challenge.
Myself, Kyle from the Trail Tails Podcast and Flossy packed up our backpacks with some tents and hammocks and hit the trail on a mid-August morning to find out if this hiking trail would live up to it’s devilish reputation. (Gear list at bottom)
Kyle’s Podcast trailtalespod.com
For an easier read & GPS data:
www.sintax77.com/backpacking-...
There are 5 Major Summits (Catskill 35ers) on this hike
Indian Head Mountain 3,573′
Twin Mountain 3,652′
Sugar Loaf Mountain 3,806′
Plateau Mountain 3,840′
West Kill Mountain 3,880′
Starting Trailhead Used (East): Platcove Trailhead
Prediger Trail Road, Elka Park, NY 12427
Accessible parking lot with room for a decent amount of cars, but it does fill up by early morning on weekends.
Trails Used, Day 1
Follow the red plastic trail markers for the Devils Path.
At the Mink Hollow intersection (mile 8) take the spring side trail for water.
Continue on the DP trail
Grab water near Devil’s Acre Lean-to
Continue for 1/4 mile
To the left there will be a herd path to Southwest Hunter Mountain (Leavitt Peak)
After a tenth of a mile you’ll find some nice campsites on the right side of the herd path. Note: The left side of the herd path is just above 3500′ & not legal to camp on.
Day 1 Mileage: 14.5 miles
Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 6,694'
Day 2 Gross Descent: 5,205'
Trails Used, Day 2
Head back out on the SW Hunter herd path
Continue west on the Devil’s Path trail.
Keep following those red discs until you arrive at the Devil’s Path Western Trailhead on Spruceton Rd.
Day 2 Mileage: 10.1 miles
Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 2,210'
Day 2 Gross Descent: 3,968'
Grand Total Mileage: 24.6 Miles
Grand Total Gross Elevation Gain: 8,904'
Grand Total Gross Descent: 9,173'
Ending Trailhead Used (West): Spruceton Road Trailhead
1589 County Rd 6, West Kill, NY 12492
Check out Kyle’s UA-cam Channel / @kylehateshiking
Notable Backpacking Gear:
ULA Ohm 2.0 Backpack www.ula-equipment.com/product...
Dutchware Pack Cover dutchwaregear.com/product/wat...
Dutchware Gear Half-Wit Hammock dutchwaregear.com/product/hal...
Dutchware Whoopie Hook hammock suspension w/ kevlar tree straps. dutchwaregear.com/product/who...
Hammock Gear Burrow 40 Top Quilt www.hammockgear.com/premium-b...
HG Phoenix 40 Underquilt hammockgear.com/premium-phoen...
Dutchware Folding Sit Pad dutchwaregear.com/product/fol...
Hammock Gear Dyneema Hex Tarp www.hammockgear.com/dyneema-f...
DIY Cat Can Alcohol Stove
Light My Fire Mini Fire Steel Striker amzn.to/30S3rxm
Vargo Windscreen Pot Stand amzn.to/2M3uRuG
Toaks 750ml Titanium Pot amzn.to/2GR7AJX
Sea to Summit Long Handled Spork go.magik.ly/ml/v9xv/
Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets amzn.to/2EMQDSA
Outdoor Research Helium III Rain Jacket amzn.to/2BiSnB1
Outdoor Research Helium III Rain Pants amzn.to/2MkuI5F
Outdoor Vitals Satu Adventure Pants satu-adventure-pants-comfort....
La Sportiva Wildcat Trail Runners amzn.to/3hyKrMi
Nitecore NU25 Headlamp amzn.to/2YVsp0A
Casio ProTrek FR-30 Smartwatch amzn.to/3dtY7Xj
Mountain House Southwest Breakfast Hash amzn.to/3gHedx8
Korean Coffee Sticks amzn.to/2VXijcS
Camera & Nav Gear:
GoPro Hero 8 Black amzn.to/2D8n6lL
GoPro Shorty Tripod Grip amzn.to/2MPhGOM
128GB Sandisk Extreme Memory Card amzn.to/2YWsFIB
Garmin Oregon 650 GPS unit amzn.to/2WFzsps
Spot Gen3 GPS Messenger & SOS device amzn.to/2EJLQhC
FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.
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YES I'M OFFICIALLY IN A SINTAX77 VIDEO
That was a butt kicking hike very rough. Next time slow the pace just a bit for all us views. Cheers
Kyle Hates Hiking WTF Kyle is in this. 😂😂😂 JK
Kyle hates this
But you hate Dan Becker... oh wait... you hiked with Shawn. Never mind.
I vote you being in more!
Kyle's video of the trip
(and his is actually a reasonable length!)
ua-cam.com/video/SHfByCi2t9g/v-deo.html
And here's a couple of episodes I did on his Trail Tales podcast. Stay tuned for a new one we did about the Devil's Path experience as well.
trailtalespod.com/sintax77-on-the-adirondacks-hammock-camping-and-much-more/
trailtalespod.com/sintax77-on-the-white-mountains-winter-hiking-and-much-more/
UPDATE: Here's our podcast episode talking about doing the Devil's Path
trailtalespod.com/sintax77-on-hiking-the-devils-path-in-the-catskills/
When trail names get satanic, it's time to panic
I live in the PNW in WA state , the land of awesome hiking trails. I have been watching AT thru hiker videos as well as videos like this and I can't believe the conditions of what they call "hiking trails".
They are more like "climbing trails" than hiking trails at too many places.
So much knee punishing boulders and wicked tree roots in the NE section in ME and and adjacent states SOBO.
Thank you for sharing these trails I would never be able to physically do.
I was living in Pennsylvania for a few years and wanted to hike in the Catskill's because my dad grew up in the area (I'm from NC). Picked Devil's path on a whim. Read it was kind of hard but I'd done a ton of backpacked the rural smoky's, Linville George, etc so figured it'd be fine. It kicked my ass. I couldn't believe how hard it was.
I enjoyed Kyle's snapshot of this hike and his take on the trip. But I am a fan of the longer trip videos and really liked your version. It was always enjoyable hearing you on the Trail Tails podcast with Kyle, but doing a trek with him is even better!
Totally agree with you. With Syntax it feels like you get a workout from watching!!
I like both Shawn's long form and Kyle's short form video.
I agree HikerX. With the longer vids you get a great feel for the trail and the experience of the climb. Thanks Sintax.
That hike looks awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience with us
Really enjoyed this video!! I day-hiked part of it some years ago but this enhanced that experience a lot. An you showed more of Kyle that he had on his own video! Thanks for sharing this!
The Catskills were where I started hiking. Finished the 3500 club, then the Adirondack 46ers. That first year I did the Devil’s Path as a day hike, definitely an awesome hike. The FKT is crazy fast.
I love the Catskills! Such a great range of mountains in the NE so close to the City and near myself in NJ! Happy hiking everyone. Great video Sintax!
Glad you all made it out fine! Once again, fabulous editing and narration. Thanks.
Awesome that you agreed to go hiking with Kyle and Flossy, Shawn. Thanks for the great video.
I'm happy they allowed me to tag along and let me slow them down, haha. It was an awesome time. Thanks, Stitch.
@@sintax77 Cheers, mate. I have truly enjoyed all of your videos. Keep on keeping on.
The Catskills were where I first got into hiking & backpacking. Devils path is an awesome trail & I’ve brought a few friends on it, some of whom hated it while others loved the challenge of it.
Great travelogue! Enjoyed very much seeing what the Catskills are all about. Looking forward to watching more of your trail travels!
Great hike! Thanks for taking us along.
So amazing to watch both views of this hike!
Sweet trip guys, thanks for posting.
What a big difference from your last video on trail navigation, A+ to NY for maintaining the trail well marked too 👌🤙🏼
Dude! I am loving your videos. And this trail looks heinously awesome! Thanks for sharing!
always like seeing uploads from one of my favs. Cheers from Canada
My wife and I managed to do a trip up to Canada in February 2020, like 2 weeks before the lock down hit. We can't wait to get back up there. The scenery is beautiful, but real talk - I need some poutine in my life.
We’ve done this twice. I’d call it fun but challenging. Great trail and highly recommended it! Thanks for sharing!
SUPER enjoyable. I subscribe to both channels and it was particularly interesting seeing the take each of you made on the same exact hike. You each have such unique styles and some of the “behind the curtain clips in your videos was neat to see. You are the OG backpacking tuber, and always deliver great content. Thank you!!
Wow nice video! What a hike! Thanks for taking us along! ❤️😬
Found your channel a few weeks ago and I'm loving it!!! I just moved right near Gatlinburg TN, and as soon as I can gear up my 2nd oldest and I want to start hitting up some overnight backcountry. This vid reminds me very much of the royal arch trail near the flat irons in Boulder CO. Shorter, but feels like miles longer due to all the gains and losses. If your ever out that way I highly recommend red rocks, mt.sanitas and the flat irons areas, stunning views. Thanks for keeping me motivated!!!!
I have a similar horrible hiking story.
My car broke down and I had to walk a half mile to the liquor store in the Floida heat. Almost killed me.
Never again.
How many faces did you have to eat on the way?
LOL!!!!
LMAO!!!
I am so glad you made it back. It must have been touch and go. I don't blame you about never trying it again.
Hello my Outdoors friend, thank you for sharing another beautifully filmed video. I really enjoyed it. The very best to you for your good health and safety. 🤗
Great video and adventure as always! I am only a few hours from the Catskills yet have never backpacked there. Very cool to see the collab with Kyle and Flossy - thru hiking is a BIG DEAL!!!
Yeah, they're some strong hikers. You should definitely hit the Catskills some time. The Slide and Table mountain area is cool too.
Hey Seantax, you guys played nice together!!! Great video...thanks as always!
I just did a 10 miles piece in the Gunks and there were some very steep up and downs. Just like you said your legs turn to jelly. I give you guys a ton of credit for finishing this hike so strong. You guys make it look easy in the video, that trail looks like a beast.
Always enjoy your vids great job to all. As they say don't stop don't ever stop
Going to keep the stoke up, and just going to send it. Got me to smile. Happy you had another video up Sintax77. You do a great job of filming and narrative for you videos. Hope all is well with you and your family and friends. Take care and be safe :)
Thanks for taking us along. I'm actually moving to the Catskills in a few months. I might have to try this difficult hike :)
Great trail 🤙
Nice collab.
Fun to watch!!
That's a hike alright! Definitely out of my league. Thanks for taking us along. Always enjoy ur adventures!
out of my league right now, but I'm gonna put it on the calendar anyway. I'm only gonna live once. lol
@@vasocreta you do that and you'll make it too! My list has to be a little more modest right now.
Very well done, thanks for the info!
Kyle rocks love his vids
Now you're ready for the ADK Great Range Grand Traverse! The backside of Haystack and Basin are more cruel than anything on the Devil's Path. Killer video man
Thanks, Ben. I've had a few other suggest the Great Range as well. I may have to take a serious look at that.
I have heard that’s a brutal hike... Great job displaying the difficulty... I can’t wait to try it
Hi, Shawn 👍🏻👍🏻 I enjoyed watching your hiking adventure along with Kyle & Flossy, there were some cool rock formations and some steep downhills, I’m surprised you didn’t bring your hiking poles with you But when your filming it is kinda hard to use hiking poles plus a lot of places were difficult to climb. The campsite and the plateaus looked amazing along with the waterfalls 👍🏻 Shawn thanks for sharing, enjoy and have a Great weekend !!! Danny
I’m a new subscriber and I am truly enjoying all of your videos! Thankyou for sharing 😀
Hey! For about 10 years I grew up in the northern Catskills, so I'm glad to see you came here! I hiked some of Hunter Mountain and part of the loop i did was the devil's path, wasn't fun.
Love the collab with kyle🤙 I’m guessing him and flossy are fun to hike with! Looked like a killer trip👍
They're super fun to hike with. It was a great time :)
Nice, planning on doing this in the spring. Great video
Awesome video. Love it.
I left NYC 10 years ago but I grew up there and my parents have a house in Johnstown upstate NY and every chance I got I would drive upstate and just hang out or go fishing camping hiking it’s a really great place so much to do
I plan on doing this hike this year, definitely filming that too…getting ready for some pain 😂. thanks for letting me know what to expect!Great job guys! 💪
Love the videos my man.
Good stuff! Catskills are my home turf. Technically drive from Long island which is 2.5 hours but so worth it.
Cool collab.. The start in your car with the trail tales podcast was awesome ..good seeing that ya made it out to N.Y. ....the facts on the trail sounds neat for sure
Nice video...as always! Funny to be following the Red Blazes. In my neck of the woods, we have White Blazes. About 1 mile away from the AT in Virginia.
Looking forward to hitting the Tennessee trails again soon! Great NY hiking! Thanks
hmmm, ...I've got to get back down to TN...
@@sintax77 The Cumberland Trail system is growing every year!
That is some rugged trail, epic views though, i think with that trail i could do it no problem , but would be at a slower pace for sure . love the falls if hot out id be in there. Reminds me of some trails around New Brunswick Canada . found your channel last night , now a New Subscriber love the two adventures I've watched so far. Thanks for bring us along Sue Ontario Canada
Tough trail. My brother and I have done it a few times, first time as a backpacking trip, second as a day hike, and the third we backpacked and combined the Long Path with the Escarpment Trail for an even more grueling trip!
Great video mate, looks absolutely awesome, saying that, after reading the Missing 411 books by David Paulides there's no chance I would do it, hehe
Great video of a great hike! To bad you are on the other side of the world. I just finished the Lycian Way thru hike. You would love that one for sure.
Was just there on Wednesday 26, you EARN your respect on the Devil 😈 💪👍😜
Messing around board on you tube.. Boom Sintax drops a new video
Hey Sean, nice hike. The trail is very cool at some points. I'll need to keep this one in mind when covid is in the rearview. You should consider the Fundy footpath when you able to come over to east coast Canada.
Yes we have poutine ! 👍
Loved that ending... You guys all work well together. Do more trails together.
I second this!
Yeah man. I watch a lot of sintax videos and really enjoyed this video with the three of you. Well done! I third it.
Fantastic channel!
Have hiked several of the trails in the Catskills, but not this one, love the vistas you see
Love this spot
That looked cool! Had no idea that was there.
Long time viewer since the beginning of the channel. Its awesome to see you collaborating with another you tuber the only thing better would be Mike aka trail slippa hiking with you guys.
I'm adding this is to my list. I am a sucker for hellish hikes.
Great hiking video as usual. Never watched a Devil's Path hiking video before and was happy to see that you chose this trail to do.
In your opinion, did the trail live up to being one of the top 10 most difficult hikes in the US?
Daaang. New subscriber here. Sintax77 just started playing on my TV tonight - Thanksgiving Eve. I'm about 4 hours into a Sintax marathon now....good stuff. Just subscribed. Happy Thanksgiving.
Ah Saugerties. Rings of memories of August 94 Woodstock. Good times.
All of my childhood was in the Catskills even though I live in CT, this is definetly something I want to do with my brother one day
WOULD DEFINITELY NEED TO BE IN SHAPE LOOKS LIKE ! A LOT OF ANKLE TWISTERS BETWEEN ROCKS & ROOTS .GLAD THE WEATHER WAS GOOD FOR YOU ALL & MADE IT BACK TO THE VEHICLES & CHEESEBURGER TIME ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! HAVE FUN ! GOD BLESS YOU ALL ALWAYS ON YOUR JOURNEYS ! ENJOYED !
Thanks, David. It was a challenging trail for sure, but well worth the memories and post-hike meal :)
Great Vid as always. Still no prob keeping up with the thru hikers. Keep the stoke meter at full!
As always love the videos bro. Question about your recording....what do you use as a mic? Just whats stock on the GoPro or do you have something else?
Catskills used to be home turf and first, I really miss it- watching the video was like going home ❤️ but second, I feel like the trail mileage on catskill trail markers are all wrong lol Great video!
NICE!
This is a tough one. Did it in one day in 2015. Stashed water at half way point. It’s a one and done hike for me, but glad I did the one.
That was a tough trail but another one you attempted awhile back appeared just as bad or even worse not having good blazes and was well over grown. You made the call to turn around and backtrack out on it which was the smartest thing to do. However, the Rock Star of Hiking to a pretty good beating on this one. Cheers.
2 summers ago I left a bike at the end of the path and I biked back from spruceton to prediger trail head to challenge my self after I finished the path. I'd like to do this all in 1 day though. Only the first "half" of prediger is difficult. Once you get to the half way road close to the devils campground, it is fairly easy going.
Excellent video cool that you hiked with kyle as trailtales is one of my favorite podcasts. You should try the great range traverse as it has really rugged terrain but in my opinion much better views than devil's path.
Argh! You were so close! I hope to run into you one of these days. The Finger Lakes Trail runs thru my town (hint)
Did part of this trail a few years ago. Definitely brutal. It is one of the hardest in New York. There are crazy people that hike this trail as a day hike. The elevation change is no joke.
While preparing for the trip I downloaded all the gps tracks I could find. One of them was a woman who trail ran it. That's impressive enough, but then I wondered why the mileage was doubled... She yoyo'd the whole thing in one day :o
The Devil's Path is one of the Northeast Ultra 8 hikes. Complete each of the hikes in 24 hours or less to earn a unique patch. My husband's done it many times 😊
The fastest known time for the hike is actually 4 hours and 36 minutes.
I did this as a day hike back in June.
It was a lot of fun, but super brutal. At the end of it, my friend and I agreed that we’d do it again, but as a 2-day trip instead.
@@RossnerTom Really? Who was it?
Wow, that looked like a brutal hike!!
Admittedly, I think I enjoy the solo videos more. This one seemed like lots of walking and talking compared to your usual commentary style.
Already looking forward to the next one 👍
those dudes "over night" backpacks are enough to make me cry. My multi day backpack must be 2...3 times the size...and im trying!
It’s all about preference. Ultralight can be fairly inexpensive if you are savvy, but can be done just as easily by throwing money at the problem. I’ve gone to do it cheaply and over the course of a few years have dropped my base weight from 30 to about 13
they are severely sacrificing comfort though. I want to build a lighter setup too because doing colorado peaks with 30+ lbs is brutal. These ny peaks are pretty easy. I've done them with heavy packs no issue
@@steverox13 This so much. I actually think Sintax77 does this explanation the best. He's not a hype brand dude. He's practical and logical about reviewing gear.
One of the keys is just carrying less clothing. That cuts so much weight so quickly.
I agree with Ryan Komons. It's long and arduous. I did it in August 2017 amidst a drought. Went a couple hours with no water.
Good to see a kyle hates hiking collab!!!
Loving this and would love to give it a go. How many miles from NYC and is there accomodation near start and finish? Is there a good bar/pub at the end?
I did this with a buddy a few years back. I wouldn't say it's dangerous, but definitely difficult. pretty cool video
I'm going there very soon with a hot tent and my DIY stove, im sure ill have a fun time.
Back in the Cats!!
Almost to 100k!!!!
Excellent video. Consider the Empire State for a moment, There's the Big Apple, Long Island, Hudson River Valley, The Catskills, The Adirondacks, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Canadian border, the 1000 islands seaway, the St. Lawrence River, the Vermont border, the Finger Lakes, the baseball hall of fame, and other stuff too....
This reminds me when you were trying to find that crashed bomber.
I like this. this looks like typical Korean mountains. Not much high. Steep vertical climbing. But all rocky trails.
Preface this is awesome trip
Great hike , I’ve done that hike with my dog it’s a butt kicker !
How’d your dog like it?
Lol she loved it I had to left her up about 200 times those scrambles are no joke
Swiznak I believe it! Me and a friend tackled it as a dayhike back in June!
There's no way, I could do that! Wicked!
NO WAY!!! KYLE and SINTAX77??? I fucking love this!!!
Yep I am a hiking nerd also.
For warmth consider a vest. Especially if you’re counting ounces.
Interesting, a real ankle buster of a trail. I grew up Upstate (Sherrill NY) but didn’t do much hiking there. Now live in Northern California (now full of fire and smoke) and the scariest hike I ever did was Clouds Rest in Yosemite. Not hard physically but just massive amounts of exposure on a knife edge. Check out Clouds Rest on you tube. Would like to hike Upstate some day.
Great video as usual Sintax . Just wondering what hiking shoes you were wearing ? Love the blue color. Keep up the entertaining videos
Thanks, Duke. They're La Sportiva Wildcats that I picked up right before this trip. They did well. Light weight, dry quick and good grip- which really came in handy on this trail.