The Jewish Outdoors Club

This hike is full! You can register and be put on a waiting list.

Time to play! The gunks have long been dubbed the Grand Canyon of the east, but now you’ll get to climb it, not just hike it. The splendor and glory of the Shawangunk cliffs make this area a heaven for hikers, bird watchers, professional rock climbers and for crazy rock scrambling JOC’ers!

Note: being that this is a tough hike I will quote some tough words from Moshe’s Slide Mountain Hike description (which should be added to the JOC Bible):  “This will be an extremely strenuous mountain hike and should not be attempted by most readers. This is a trip for the strong hikers. We will be moving at a moderate pace. We will not be taking breaks every ten minutes. We will not be stopping for lunch for an hour. There will be no sweep - you will have to keep up on your own or turn back to the cars.”

Our hike will include many (or all) of these notorious destinations: Humpty Dumpty Trail (wild rock hopping), Giants Workshop (narrow caves), Rock Rift Crevice (underground maze), Bonticou Crag Ascent Path (hiking up a vertical cliff), Labyrinth Trail (rock scrambling ascend).

This hike is for professionals only! We’ll be a small group of 10 fast moving frogs; this will be fun! Mark your calendars and make sure you have no other plans for the day as this sure will be an all-dayer. We will meet at in the Gunks (more info to be emailed) at 8:55am. We should be done by about 5:00pm.

The Labyrinth Trail at the Mohonk Preserve offers a rock scrambling experience up the side of Skylight Mountain, one of the many worthwhile hikes in the Shawangunk Mountains. The trail leads hikers over and under boulders and rocks before climaxing with a climb through the "lemon squeeze," where you scale a ladder up a steep crevasse and surface through the narrow exit. You emerge just below the summit, which rewards you with one of the most stunning views in New York State.

The Bonticou Ascent Path continues over giant talus fragments and steeply ascends the jagged rock face of Bonticou Crag, climbing over ledges and through crevices. This rock scramble - which requires the use of both hands and feet - should not be attempted by those who lack agility and confidence. It is generally considered to be the most difficult rock scramble in the Mohonk area, and it will probably take about 20 minutes to climb to the top of this massive outcrop of white Shawangunk Conglomerate.

Registration is now open for our last 6 survivor contestants. In order to register you must describe some rock scrambling hikes you’ve done in the recent pass.

Please email Sarah at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it the following information:

1.       Name

2.       Cell #

3.       Leaving from

4.       Do you need a ride or can you offer a ride?

5.       Recent rock scrambling hikes

If you are registering for a friend as well, you will need to duplicate the above and include both parties information.

Here’s my usual line: “If you fail to register with the above information, your email will mysteriously end up in my junk folder which I check once in 2 months. I’ll even have the chutzpah to reply to you in a few months saying how sorry I am for not getting it sooner.”

While this hike is not Utah or the Adirondacks, it is still very strenuous and is not for feeble hearted humans. In order to register for this hike you must be ready to walk up, down and between giant boulders, caves, crevices; and leap from rock to rock. You must have good hiking boots in order to survive.

Bring along 2 liters of water, $2 JOC fee, good hiking boots, and some snacks. Note, there is a parking fee of I think $8.

The hike will be canceled in the event of even the slightest rain, due to the danger of slipping.