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Kaaterskill Falls Letterbox
Palenville, New York
Placed by CSCM on 20010810.
A 1.5 mile hike, mostly along a steep and rocky trail, partly along a
mountain highway. Clues are easy.
Background
I've been coming to this spot since I was a little kid and it never ceases to
thrill me.
Located within the Catskill Forest Preserve, Kaaterskill Falls are the highest
waterfalls in New York State. The upper falls is a thin plume dropping
167 feet
into a natural amphitheater of rock. The lower falls drop another 64 feet into
the Kaaterskill Creek stream bed.
Water levels vary significantly at Kaaterskill Falls. In the spring the
falls are a roaring cataract, but in late summer the water flow can fade
to a trickle. In winter it can freeze into a giant icicle.
The majesty of Kaaterskill Falls was a popular subject for Hudson River School
artists like Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand, during the Nineteenth Century.
Today, Kaaterskill Falls remains a pristine and graceful example of the
power of
nature to continually reform our world with the patient perseverance of a
simple
stream.
In April 2001, an independent production called "Kaaterskill Falls" [see
http://www.whiskeyoutpost.com/kf/] was filmed here by Josh Apter and Peter
Olsen.
Directions