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Jul 04, 2023 — With an empty afternoon, I looked at my options in the Mohonk Preserve. I laid my eyes on Bonticou Crag even though I'd been there before, mostly because I couldn't believe the last time I hiked this was 9 years ago, such a wild amount of time that I felt I wanted to revisit this famous New York scramble. I'd also never had a chance to check out Table Rocks, a neat-looking fissured rock formation north of Bonticou Crag, so I drove to the trailhead with more excitement than I usually do for repeat hikes. I'd already purchased the steep $15 Mohonk Preserve entrance day pass so I rolled right in and set off along the Crags Trail.
The trail to reach the Bonticou Crag scramble is often poorly marked, mostly because the trail uses a variety of intersecting gravel roads, grassy meadow perimeters, and singletrack. While major junctions have a blaze marking the right way, I still think there could be more to help hikers avoid taking one of the many incorrect spur trails. After only about a half mile along the weird trail system, I made it to the base of Bonticou Crag, a steep sea of boulders ending with a short cliff face. The easiest route is marked well with red painted blazes on the rocks, so getting lost in the expanse isn't going to happen, but the scrambling could be burly for someone who hasn't experienced it before. A series of Class 2/3 moves led up the talus, using ledges and cracks to gain elevation. It was good fun, but too quickly I reached the Class 3 crux that uses a weakness in the cliff face in order to gain the rim above. I remember it being a bit longer for some reason.
A trail leads to the high point of Bonticou Crag, where the views south are lovely. After enjoying the Shawangunk views for a bit, you could return the same way for some added scrambling, but the majority of hikers continue north along the ridge since it makes the hike longer and also allows for an alternative descent to heading back down the talus field. I followed the ridge, well-marked and viewless for a bit. I reached the junction where most leave the ridge to descend back to the car, but it made more sense to just continue along the ridge since my next goal was to reach Table Rocks and that was farther to the north. The ridge views improved a bit past here, where clearings offered great overlooks from the west cliffs' rim toward the surrounding greenery.
Enjoying the nice scenery as I descended along the trail, I eventually reached another junction where I took a left on an old trail labeled Clearwater Road. This trail plopped me onto the Table Rocks Trail, really just a wide repurposed road that took me north for about a mile. I had a few minutes of being less stimulated to think about how much time had passed since I was here ( and about mortality and whatnot, never a great thing) while walking through this forested section. A junction took me away from the wide trail and west toward the Table Rocks feature. This short spur trail opened up to the top of Table Rocks as well as a view. It's a fun time navigating the rock monoliths separated by deep crevices. Angled downward slightly, the cross-hatch pattern was unique and I was happy to have taken the detour. If the rocks are wet, they could definitely be particularly dangerous due to their high angle and subsequent drop into one of the crevices. I backtracked along the Table Rocks Trail, then continued along the Spring Farm Road Trail back to my car.
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