Winter on Rondout Creek:  American naturalist John Burroughs wrote glowingly about the Rondout Creek.  In his essay “Speckled Trout” he called this headwater brook “one of the finest trout streams in the world."  And in “A Bed of Boughs” he wrote, “The scenery was wild and desolate in the extreme, the mountains on either hand looking as if they had been swept by a tornado of stone.”  Plus, “My eyes had never before beheld such beauty in a mountain stream.”  Yet one wonders if this well-traveled natural historian ever laid eyes on the upper Rondout Creek during the winter months, which seem to fill about a third of any calendar year in this mountaintop valley that lies in the shadows of Peekamoose.

Winter at Morrell's, 8x10:

Somehow the powers to be in state government lost all sense of history calling old Morrell's Field now Trailer Field.  How tacky and insensitive; but those who appreciate what once was, can still visual it in that which exists today.

Mount Jo:  Mount Jo is located in North Elba, New York in the Adirondack Mountains, on property owned by ADK, and has an elevation of two thousand eight hundred seventy-six feet.  The site of Adirondack Loj, the historic lodge built by Henry Van Hoevenberg Sr., and Heart Lake are located at the base of this picturesque mountain.

Mount Jo, 11x14 (Sold):

Five Arches Bridge:  The Five Arches Bridge in Boiceville, New York has long been an iconic landmark for Esopus Creek anglers.  Many a wild rainbow and brown trout have passed under this viaduct on their spawning runs upstream into the Esopus from New York City’s Ashokan Reservoir less than a mile downriver.

Numerous books and stories about fishing this legendary Catskill stream often mention Five Arches, built in 1911, by name.  Perhaps one of the best stories was written by the late Arnold Gingrich in his book, The Well-Tempered Angler.  Gingrich told of fishing the Esopus one cold, twenty-two degree day, on November 22^nd, in the shadows of the arches, falling in and breaking his prized bamboo rod.  Yes, ask any serious Esopus Creek angler where Five Arches is, and they can tell you.

Sadly plans are underway to replace the bridge as it has become a source for flooding the hamlet of Boiceville in recent years.  Nothing is forever.

The landscape below was done from a November photograph of the old bridge taken while standing upstream and flyfishing the Esopus.

Five Arches aflame, 11x14 (DtC):

The Pool:  Long before Ed Van Put’s excellent book, Trout Fishing in the Catskills, was published I explored, wandered, and fished the upper reaches of the West Branch of the Neversink River.  As the title suggests, Van Put's work reveals details of the history of trout fishing in these Catskill Mountains.  And with regards to one stream Van Put wrote, “The valley of the West Branch has long been known as Frost Valley and has a wild and rugged landscape that has been a deterrent to early settlement.”  And even today pristine parcels of the Catskill forest flourish while the cold, clear West Branch remains home to wild brook trout.

One such image graces a portion of the dust jacket of Trout Fishing in the Catskills.  It is a pool on the West Branch lost in the Catskill Forest Preserve, which I was lucky enough to have found and enjoy for many years now.  The seasons and time have changed this hidden treasure a little, but for the most part it's the same today as it was decades ago when I first came upon it.

Trout Fishing in the Catskills by Ed Van Put:

The Pool, West Branch Neversink, 11x14:

B W S Road Bridge:  Not far from the shadows of New York City’s dam, and the first bridge over the legendary Neversink downriver of the reservoir, is the B W S Road bridge.  This location holds special meaning to Ed as it was the first place he ever saw the Neversink back in the early ‘70s.  Throughout all these years since, this location has not lost its charm.

B W S Road Bridge, Neversink 11x14:

An earlier variation of this landscape, titled Neversink, B W S Road Bridge can be found on this blog using the LABEL: Neversink.

September plein air:  Lois took part in a September Landscape Workshop offered by the Woodstock School of Art and Kate McGloughlin.  The workshop emphasized September sunlight on Hudson Valley landscapes.  Once again it was a most enjoyable experience.

On September 6^th students visited the Thorn Preserve on John Joy Road in Woodstock.  This sixty acre preserve is operated as a partnership between the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development and The Woodstock Land Conservancy with views of Overlook Mountain.

Thorn Preserve 8x10 (Sold):

On September 7^th students visited Claudia’s farm on Upper Cherrytown Road in Kerhonkson.

Hay barn 8x10:

Dividing weir:  The Dividing Weir, which is eleven hundred twenty feet in length and consists of fifteen arches, separates the west and east basins of the mighty Ashokan Reservoir.  Autumn is a time of year when walkers, bikers, and bird watchers alike can be found along the Ashokan, New York City’s oldest Catskill reservoir, enjoying the sights.

Fifteen arches, 5x7:

Date day:  Occasionally the artist and angler/photographer of this blog get to share a day together, each doing what they love.  In the case of Lois, that would be painting while Ed prefers a cane fly rod in hand in pursuit of wild trout.  Recently they shared time on the upper reaches of the Neversink, deep in the heart of the Charmed Circle of these Catskill Mountains.

A plein air moment:

Salvelinus fontinalis, a wild brook trout, attached to a Brown Bivisible dry fly:

Flat Brook, the culvert 10x8:

The Flat Brook is a tributary to the East Branch of the Neversink.  It winds its way through the Tison Estate at the end of dirt lane flowing through a culvert under Denning Road before joining the Neversink.

Woodstock School of Art:  During July Lois participated in a workshop offered by the distinguished Woodstock School of Art.  Noted artist Kate McGloughlin taught the practicum titled Simplifying the Landscape.  It was a very enjoyable and learned experience, one Lois truly cherished.

Below are several plein air landscapes that resulted from this endeavor.

Eleanor’s cottage, 8x10:

As part of an “Arts in the Park” joint venture, on July 10^th Woodstock School of Art students visited Val-Kill the National Historic Site of Eleanor Roosevelt’s cottage and her eventual permanent home after FDR’s death in 1945.

Olivebridge barnyard, 8X10:

Sunlit field, 5x7:

The little red barn, 8X10:

On July 17^th students were in Olivebridge, near Tongore Cemetery, wandering the landscape of the Sanchez family farm.

The wedding barn, 8x10:

The woodshed, 5x7:

July 24^th found students in Kerhonkson on Upper Cherrytown Road at Claudia’s farm, a friend of Kate McGloughlin.

Mount Tremper, 8x10 (DtC):

Bearsville barn, 8x10:

Finally on July 31^st, artists met along Cold Brook Road in Bearsville taking in mountain views and other landscapes of interest.

Morrell’s:  With little doubt this run on the Rondout Creek, immediately upstream of the UC 42 bridge over the headwater brook near the former Morrell Field, is one of this angler’s favorite piscatorial settings.  History can be seen in the remains of old stone abutments while the brook runs as clear today as it ever did.  Plus, not far from here the iconic Catskill flyfisher, Edward Ringwood Hewitt, noted the difficulties associated with catching wild brook trout in the legendary Blue Hole when he shared his angling secrets in Telling on the Trout.

Morrell’s, 8x10:

This landscape was painted before from a different photograph and titled:

Above Morrell Field, 11x14:

Shangri-La:  Deep in the very heart of the Charmed Circle, lost in a dead-end valley along Denning Road surrounded by the Catskill Divide--- Red Hill, Woodhull, Van Wyck, and Table Mountains--- plus Wildcat lays a place lost in time, known as Shangri-La.  Days slowly fall off the Gregorian calendar like autumn leafs tumble from Catskill hardwoods; time stands still.  Hemlock and birch line the banks of the East Branch of the Neversink and the sky is uncluttered except for the occasional red-tailed hawk that patrols the airwaves.  Whitetail deer, red fox, and black bear saunter through the forest as your only angling partners.  This headwater stream is cold and clear, with highly polished cobble underfoot, and so transparent that dry flies cast upon it appear to be floating on thin air.  Wild brook trout with bluish-olive wormlike vermiculation on their backs, sagging melon-color bellies, and fins edged in chalky white--- natives of the Catskills--- still abound.

The landscape below was done from a pre-Irene photography; sadly the setting of the Abutments’ Pool has changed.  However, wild trout still prosper here in the East Branch of the Neversink, as do young swimmers from Frost Valley’s YMCA summer camp staying at the farm.

Abutments’ Pool, Shangri-La, 11x14:

Budapest Hotel:  Portrayed below are purple lythrum along the upper Esopus Creek at the site of the old Budapest Hotel waters, still home to wild trout.

Many a trout fisher erroneously referred to this location as the “Budapest Lodge”, but a review of historical records indicates such was never the case.  The grounds and building--- currently known as the Baptist Camp--- are now owned by the Missions Board and operated as a summer camp.  However, this old hotel has an interesting and rich history; it was once a premier Big Indian guesthouse

Originally built in 1872 by the Donahue family it was first called the Forest Home.  Then in 1921 it was sold to Eugene Grossman who operated it as Grossman’s Forest House until repossessed by a bank.   Eventually other owners reopened the old landmark hotel.

The June 5^th, 1949 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle ran a full page add sponsored by the Big Indian Valley Business Men’s Association highlighting lodging in the immediate area.  At the time Louis Green was the proprietor of Hotel Budapest which featured Hungarian cuisine and gypsy music.  Andrew Rohaly, another owner, would call the building and grounds Rohaly’s Budapest Rest.  The guesthouse had at least one other owner, Mr. Feynes, but apparently was never known as the Budapest Lodge.

The particular scene below also once housed a bridge over the Esopus that the Town of Shandaken closed to traffic in 1967.  This angler remembers tangling his leader on that bridge with errant casts over feeding trout during the early 1970s.  And, today if the astute angler looks carefully, he/she will still see the stone remains of old bridge abutments as well as the old historic hotel.

Budapest Hotel waters and purple lythrum, 11x14:

This landscape was originally painted on a 16x20 canvas and called, 

Budapest Lodge, Esopus Creek (Sold):

Woodland Valley:  There was a time when Woodland Valley was known as Snyder Hollow, named after Colonel H. D. Snyder who owned large parcels of land and a tannery in this Catskill hollow during the early 1800s.  Later John Burroughs’ essay, The Heart of the Southern Catskill, which appeared in his 1910 book In The Catskills, fondly recalled pleasant memories of Woodland Valley.  Nowadays many a warm summer afternoon tubers are seen floating down the Esopus Creek from the Woodland Valley Bridge, the gateway to Snyder Hollow.  And normally on the first June weekend of every year whitewater slalom gates for kayakers occupy Railroad Rapids just below that bridge. 

This old Catskill hollow has a little bit of something for everyone, especially flyfishers who actively pursue the wild trout that occupy nearby waters.  The landscape below was painted from a photo taken one such evening as trout rose in the Esopus Creek while the sun disappeared over Garfield Mountain.

Sunset over Snyder Hollow, 14x11 (Sold):

For an interesting read on historical aspects of Woodland Valley, refer to the Winter 2013 issue (Volume 28, Number 4) of Kaatskill Life pages 10 to 18.

Cascade Brook:  Cascade Brook is a Catskill Mountain stream known by three different names.

Some maps, as well as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, refer to this Esopus Creek tributary as the Giant Ledge Stream, perhaps since it’s not far from DEC’s Giant Ledge Trailhead.  Yet the United States Geological Survey (USGS) once maintained a gaging station here.  Station number 01362192 was online from 2001 through 2009 and referred to this brook as the Panther Mountain Tributary.  However, Ulster County may have the proper name of all three.

Following the historic Hurricane Irene, the county built a new bridge over this often minuscule trickle after angry stream flows washed out UC 47 creating a chasm some seventy-five feet across and fifty feet deep.  On that bridge Ulster County placed a memorial plaque referring to this stream as Cascade Brook and this name has historical significance.  The plaque is in memory of Steve F. Fischer, an Ulster County native and employee of the county Department of Public Works.

Richard Lionel De Lisser, in his turn-of-the-century book Picturesque Ulster, included photos of an Esopus Creek tributary he called Cascade Brook, but specific details of its location were lacking.  Essentially the black and white photos depict various waterfalls.  One such waterfall, perhaps Blossom Falls, is located immediately below UC 47.  Another falls, the one pictured in the painting below is located some two-to-three-hundred yards upstream of UC 47.  So perchance this stream is appropriately named after all.

As if three different steam names aren’t enough, some Oliverea locals also refer to this general locale as Crazy Nels.

Cascade Brook, second falls, 14x11:

Brook trout and bamboo (2):  

For the full story behind this landscape, and why it’s called Brook trout and bamboo (2), refer to this link:

http://catskillwatersart.blogspot.com/2014/02/brook-trout-and-bamboo-several-of-eds.html

Brook trout and bamboo (2) 11x14 (NFS):

Blue Mountains:  Native Americans referred to the Catskills as Onteora--- Land in the Sky, while the first European settlers along the Hudson River knew them as the Blue Mountains.  In his epic work, The Catskills: From Wilderness to Woodstock, the late Alf Evers wrote, "They are commonly known by the name of the Blue Mountains, on account of a blueness or haze which they present to the eye when seen from a distance."  It wasn't until the nineteenth century that these mountains, and the region, became known as the Catskills, a representation Evers credits to the tales of Washington Irving and the legendary Catskill Mountain House.

Over time the mountains would inspire a group of landscape artists loosely known as the Hudson River School with Thomas Cole among them.  In Picturesque Ulster R. Lionel De Lisser quoted Cole as saying,  "Must I tell you that neither the Alps, nor the Apenines (sic), no nor Etna itself, have dimmed in my eyes the beauty of our own Catskills."  As recent as the year 2000 the late Thomas Locker published a slender book of Catskill landscapes appropriately titled, In Blue Mountains: An Artist’s Return to American’s First Wilderness.

Yes, much has been recorded about these mountains and this region--- America’s first wilderness, known for its rich history, woody summits, chaste rivers, cherished forests, outdoor recreation, and treasured art.  On occasion these mountains towering over New York City’s Ashokan Reservoir still appear “blue” as seen in the landscape below, perhaps just the way early settlers observed them from afar.

Blue mountains autumn, 11x14 (DtC):

Solitude and John Gierach:  “It’s not likely for a solitary trip to end in a great epiphany or anything.  It’s just that I think the way you fish when you’re alone is the way you really fish: your own personal style, uninfluenced by crowds, guides or friends, and it’s interesting to plug back into that now and again.  Solitude is educational and it can be satisfying.” authored John Gierach in Another Lousy Day in Paradise.

Well the photographer behind this blog lives for solitude while flyfishing, often at the expense of nervous anticipation of the artist; but, that’s just us.

Headwater red rock, 11x14:

Stairway to Cross Mountain, 11x14:

Birch Creek spring, 11x14:

  

These secluded, remote brooks seem to possess one common denominator other than solitude, and that is they are often home to small wild trout.  “Whatever they are and however they got there, they’re the kind of trout that fate put in the stream, they’re only as big as they’re supposed to be, and by now, generations of fish later, many of them have gone ragged-ass wild and are part of the landscape.  If they lack any romance at all, it’s our fault, not theirs.” so wrote John Gierach in At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman.

Hurricane Irene: On the eve of August 27^th, 2011 Hurricane Irene began raining down hell on the region altering the landscape forever.  River flows recorded at the USGS Coldbrook Gaging Station reached historic portions of 75,850 cfs; over a foot of rain fell during a single twenty-four hour period.  The 1895 Nissen Bridge at Coldbrook was carried off its abutments; the Trestle upstream of the Chimney Hole was also demolished.  Homes were destroyed, roads washed out, bridges carted away.  This storm felt its mark upon the region, almost crushing its spirit.

Below are two paintings that were donated to the Ashokan-Pepacton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited for their 2011 and 2012 annual fund raisers to help solicit monies in support of regional stream conservation.  These landscapes were forevermore changed by Hurricane Irene.

The Trestle, Esopus Creek, 11x14 (DtC):

Croldbrook Bridge, Esopus Creek, 11x14 (DtC):

The 1895 steel bridge above, that once crossed the Esopus Creek at Coldbrook, was also known as the Nissen Bridge

Charmed Circle watersheds:  Cecil E. Heacox dubbed a portion of the Catskills the “Charmed Circle” in the March and April 1969 issues of Outdoor Life.  Heacox’s two part classic article was titled “Charmed Circle of The Catskills”, a phrase that has stuck to this region like super glue.  In the March issue Heacox wrote, “I call this region charmed because its fine fishing in the wild, forested settings has survived even though it is with a day’s drive of one-sixth of the total population of the United States and Canada.  The Charmed Circle has not only survived in the face of outdoor-hungry hordes, … but it also offers a whole new generation of fishermen a taste of angling as it used to be.”

Heacox worked in fisheries for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) and rose to the position of Deputy Commissioner before his career was finished.  His articles took readers on a journey along some legendary Catskill Rivers, perhaps just like the landscapes below might.

Roaring Kill spring, Schoharie Creek, 18x24:

This is a small tributary to Art Flick’s Schoharie Creek, lost in the Indian Head Wilderness area.  However, it’s not so lost that Peter Barrett couldn't include a chapter about it--- Old Friends and the Joys of the Worm--- in his book, In Search of Trout.  Conversely Cecil Heacox wrote the following about the Schoharie, "Oddly enough, I remember the Schoharie for what I didn't catch there."  And so it is for many anglers who visit this picturesque watershed.

Burroughs Rondout, above the Blue Hole, 18x24:

If Catskill naturalist John Burroughs ever favored a single stream, it would certainly be the Rondout Creek.  Read Burroughs 1910 essay, “A Bed of Boughs” and you might quickly reach this conclusion also.  And, Heacox wrote “I caught my first trout” where the Merriman Dam stands in his noted articles above.  Even renowned Catskill flyfisher Edward R. Hewitt wrote about frustrating fishing days at the Blue Hole, which is perhaps the most famous pool on the upper Rondout.  However, there are other crystalline pools above the Blue Hole.

Forest plunge pool, 16x20:

A wilderness section of the Esopus, not far from its source on the Winnisook Club.  The angling member/photographer of this Catskillwatersart consortium loses himself here every autumn, and this is where he wishes his ashes be spread after his last breath has been taken.

Maltby Hollow Brook, 16x20:

A tributary to a tributary; enough said.

Herdman Road, Esopus Creek 18x24:

Heacox wrote “The Esopus, because it was more accessible, became the first trout capital of the Charmed Circle” not far from here.

Budapest Lodge, Esopus Creek, 16x20 (Sold):

Esopus Creek waters upstream of the Portal.

Ashokan Reservoir:  The Ashokan Reservoir is New York City’s oldest Catskill water supply.  Construction was completed in 1915 after damming the Esopus Creek and it was essentially built as two separate impoundments--- an East and West Basin--- separated by a Dividing Weir.  The West, or upper basin, serves as a settling bowl to allow the sometimes turbid inflows from the Esopus and Schoharie Reservoir to settle.

At full capacity the Ashokan holds 122.9 billion gallons of water, which based upon volume makes this the second largest NYC reservoir.  It is twelve miles long and one mile across at its widest point, with a max depth of 190 feet.  Both NY 28 and NY 28A parallel the Ashokan; NY 28 on the front or northern shore, NY 28A on its back side. The best views along the Ashokan, and the Catskill Mountains, are found off a NYC Department of Environmental Protection service road now closed to all but foot traffic.

On May 31^st, 1913 Theodore Gordon, who many anglers consider to be the father of dry-fly fishing in America, wrote the following about the Ashokan Reservoir and Esopus Creek: "By the way, the new Shokan dam, in the Catskills, will afford the finest trout fishing in America, if properly treated, and not spoiled by the introduction of other predatory fish. It will be stocked naturally from the Esopus with the rainbow and European trout of good size and quality."

His prediction was spot on. In 1923 T.E. Spencer caught a 19 pound, 14 ounce brown trout in Chimney Hole, which is "technically" the beginning of the Ashokan and end of the Esopus Creek upstream of NYC's reservoir.  That brown trout was a New York State record for some thirty years.

East Basin, Ashokan Reservoir, 11x14 (DtC):

Clouds over the Ashokan, 11x14 (DtC):

Reflections on the West Basin, 11x14:

Catskills/Dividing Weir, Ashokan Reservoir, 12x24:

Chimney Hole fall, 11x14: