Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast

Welcome to episode 82 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, Stomp from the Sounds Like A Search and Rescue podcast joins me and we chat about his real profession: physical therapy. We discuss how he got into PT, why he enjoys practicing PT and how you can apply PT practices while out on the trail. We also chat about rescues in CO, a missing local hiker and several ot...

Welcome to episode 81 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by the executive director of the Catskills Visitor Center Jeff Senterman! Jeff has been with the visitors center since 2015 and since then, has brought a massive amount of help and attention to the Catskills. We chat about what the visitors center is, how it got started and how big of an impact i...

Welcome to episode 80 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Catskills legend Dick Vincent, creator of the Escarpment Trail Run. The Escarpment Trail Run is an iconic 18.6 mile run with elevation changes of nearly 10,000ft that has been going on since 1977. Created by Dick, it is a rugged run that challenges even the experienced trail runners. We chat a...

Welcome to episode 79 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Abbie Larkin who is a research consultant for Otak. Otak is an award-winning architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and construction project management firm. The NYSDEC hired Otak to do research at the Kaaterskill Clove area and its situations and offer their professional...

Welcome to episode 78 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Charlie Gadol and Matt Smith, who are leaders of the Catskills Trail Crew. The Catskills Trail crew is a volunteer organization who focuses on trail maintenance on much needed areas throughout the Catskills. Charlie and Matt chat about their previous years, how amazing volunteering can be and...

Welcome to episode 77 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Colleen and Lourdes who are leaders of the trailhead stewardship committee for the 3500 club. We recap the past year of the trailhead stewards, chat about their new spot at Woodland Valley and the joy of being a trailhead steward. If you want stickers, send me an email itlcatskillspodcast@gmai...

Welcome to episode 76 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by author, naturalist and environmental teacher Dan Kriesberg. Dan has written and published two books as well as over 100 articles on environmental education and personal experiences in the outdoors. We chat about reading creek levels, how important outdoor education is and how Dan found his bal...

Welcome to episode 74 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Sean Mahoney, who is the supervisor of the town of Hunter. Sean has been involved with the town of Hunter for the past five years and has helped out the town several ways. We chat about times during the pandemic, the new Luke’s Bridge and the connection of rail trails and also the challenges h...

Welcome to episode 74 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Jeremy Apgar, who has been cartopographer for the NYNJ Trail Conference and has been creating the amazing maps for the Catskills for 15 years. Jeremy’s knowledge and expertise on these maps has helped out immensely. We chat about the new maps, mud season and the UMP for the Kaaterskill Clove....

Welcome to episode 73 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by my friend Alex, who has been hiking with me for a couple years now. Alex has a unique view on hiking, a love of music, sports and creative nicknames for the people in his circle. We chat about his first hikes in the Catskills, his fire tower challenge and some local hikes we have taken over th...

Welcome to episode 72 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by my friend Dave, who chats with me about his insane stories while hiking in the Adirondacks and the Catskills. Dave has had personal close calls and is extremely familiar with winter hiking. We chat about his crazy winter stories and some of the instances where he had to rescue fellow hikers wh...

Welcome to episode 71 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by Kim Levinsky, who is attempting to set the record for the female fastest known time (FKT) for the Long Path of New York. We chat about her running career, the planning that goes into this accomplishment and her close calls on the trails with bears! We also chat about recent rescues on the trai...

Welcome to episode 70 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by my friend  geologist Karl Backus. Karl and I chat about some interesting geological features in the Catskills. Trust me, when I’m hiking, I have questions of what I see on and off the trails and Karl tries his best to answer them! We also talk about the new UMP for the Peekamoose Blue Hole and...

Welcome to episode 69 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountains Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by my friends Mike and Stomp from The Sounds Like A Search and Rescue Podcast (SLASAR). Mike and Stomp started SLASAR to give awareness about hiking and many other topics in the White Mountains of NH. They have a fun show and influenced me to start my own podcast here in the Catskills! We chat ab...

Welcome to episode 68 of Inside The Line: The Catskill Mountain Podcast! On this episode, I am joined by executive director of the Catskill Mountain Club Peter Manning. The CMC has been in the Catskills for almost 20 years now and have helped the park out immensely. Peter and I chat about the history of the club, how it has helped the Catskills and what they have going on in the future. We also ch...

Welcome to episode 67 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by filmmaker and documenter Aleksandar Petakov. Aleksandar’s most recent documentary is about mountain lions in the north east, which we all know is a topic I love. Tonight we’ll talk about recent events, hiking, but most importantly, mountain lions and some bigfoot here and there. Also, if you want stickers, sen...

Welcome to episode 66 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by Molly of Outdoor Chronicles Photography. Besides being an award winning elopement photographer, Molly has amazing outdoor experiences with her couples and captures every moment through the lens. Molly chats about her favorite times, craziest times and also her   Also, if you want stickers, send me an...

Welcome to episode 65 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by my friend Ed Smathers. Besides being a co-author of the book "Waterfalls Of New York State", Ed runs a local organization called Dig The Falls who specializes in volunteering for local waterfall clean ups. We chat about his early days, what and how Dig The Falls came about and what they do. Also, if you want s...

Welcome to episode 64 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by my friend John Fellows. John is an off trail adventurer and tonight John shares some of his best and craziest experiences when going off trail. We also talk about the recent extreme cold weather, top national parks with SAR missions and hockey. We also celebrate 25k listens! Also, if you want stickers, send me...

Welcome to episode 63 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by Myself…yeah. I had scheduling conflicts this week and I was also busy as heck the last couple weeks, so I had to fill in the gap with an episode of some of my favorite experiences while out on the trail. This includes a time where I hit my head on a rock on Sherrill, breaking trail on Camels Hump and a couple...

Welcome to episode 62 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by “Ranger” Dave Holden. Dave has been hiking the Catskills for a little over 53 years and has a specialty in exploring and mapping ancient trails and old roads. Having Native American heritage, Dave is also knowledgeable in the Native American history of the Catskills. We chat about ancient trails, the native am...

Welcome to episode 61 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by retired DEC fish and wildlife technician Pete Nye and tonight, we are chatting about the HUGE role he had in the bald eagle restoration project in the 1970s to the early 2000s. In 1976, bald eagles were on the verge of extinction, especially in New York. There was only ONE nest located in NY. Pete’s hard work...

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to episode 60 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by Glenn Kreisberg of the Overlook Mountain Center and tonight, we are chatting about ceremonial stone landscapes built by the Native Americans in and around the Catskills. CSL’s symbolize many things including star patterns, alignment with the solstices, navigational purposes and much...

Merry Christmas everyone and welcome to episode 59 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by Yana and Jake of the 3500 club who did a heroic rescue of a brant goose on Westkill Mountain in 2018. We chat about how they knew about the situation, how they captured it and what happened after they saved its life! Tonight's history is about the towns that were flooded by the mak...

Welcome to episode 58 of Inside The Line: The Catskills! On this episode, I am joined by me and myself and I'm going to chat about the best winter starter hikes that you can do in the Catskills to get you on the right foot for winter. I had an interview planned, but unfortunately they had to cancel. I really don't like doing an episode by myself, but I wanted to keep the weekly episodes going. I a...