Hey xnktx,
It's not just you. I've over a thousand miles backpacking, but I also take Pingyp seriously! That route is not one I will attempt in poor weather or southbound. Ascending is easier than descending, and frankly I don't know that my skills are up to descending Pingyp.
I solo hiked S-BM in late fall 2011 as I was considering a hike on the AT. I started at Suffern and headed towards Bear Mountain. I hadn't been backpacking long. The leaves were deep and wet due to recent rains.
I got partway up Pingyp and was thoroughly convinced that one wrong step would lead to falling off the cliff, onto the Palisades parkway, and my dead body would be run over by traffic. Absolutely terrified. Of course, by the time I was scared, I was up far enough I was more scared of climbing down.
I ended up clearing away armfuls of leaves trying to see where to climb. I was so nervous about my pack unbalancing me, I took it off on a ledge, and tied my bear line to it like a leash to haul it up after me. I made it up the face, finally reached the crest. Then I hiked the ridge and the trail took me to a chimney. Slippery wet rock and I frankly had no idea how to climb it. So I bushwhacked off the mountain westbound, used a stream as a handrail, and found the trail again at ground level.
I've climbed it a couple times since then (after doing over a thousand miles of the Appalachian Trail) and now it's a great scramble, with exposure (= you can clearly see the risk as you go).
Glogg
Bookmarks