Or Is It?

I’d say many people visit Bastion Falls, a roadside waterfall in the Catskills, and call it a day. Not realizing that just a short hike away is an even more majestic waterfall, Kaaterskill Falls.

I originally planned on making this video showing the short and easy hike between the two waterfalls–Kaaterskill Falls and Bastion Falls.

But because of my poor planning, it turned out to be anything but short and easy.

Parking

My plan hinged on the parking lot on scenic NY-23A in the Catskills being just a short, roadside stroll from Bastion Falls. Then, from beautiful Bastion Falls, a short, easy, half-mile, 20-minute hike to another beautiful waterfall, Kaaterskill Falls.

But because NY-23A was being resurfaced when I arrived, the parking lot for Bastion Falls was closed. Only construction vehicles may park there.

Having driven more than an hour to get there, I was now committed to making something of my trip, if I didn’t want to come back home empty-handed. Being that there were no other waterfalls nearby that I haven’t been to, it meant parking at Laurel House another 3.5 miles away, hiking 0.7 mile from there to the top of Kaaterskill Falls, and then descending 300 feet to the bottom of the falls before I can start on my planned hike, the short half-mile between Bastion Falls and Kaaterskill Falls.

Needless to say, I wasn\’t mentally or physically prepared for the much longer and more demanding hike. Indeed, I did not prepare at all. Who prepares for a short and easy hike, anyway?

So this video is now about the long hike from Laurel House to Bastion Falls via Kaaterskill Falls, with an attempt to put emphasis on the short, easy hike between the two falls. I invite those who come to visit only Bastion Falls for its roadside convenience to take a bit of a plunge in Nature and hike to Kaaterskill Falls, too, and maybe learn the rewards—both physical through exercise and mental through solace—of hiking in Nature guided by her constant and comforting motherly presence.