W2/GC-014 - Cave Mountain

A quick post from a quick hike / SOTA activation.

On 12/13/2025 I hiked W2/GC-014 - Cave Mountain, this was a very easy hike as far as Catskill hikes go.

The hike up Cave Mountain is just an old NYC DEP jeep / atv trail that literally goes almost straight up the back side of the Mountain.

There are two summits West and East Cave Mountain, both of which are part of the Windham Ski resort. I called ahead to make sure I had permission, because the trail takes you right to the top of their ski slopes.

Once at the summit of West Cave, I had to hike over through the resort to East Cave. Because of this, I decided to leave Crimson at home for the day and bring my other hiking buddy, my father in law.

When your almost near the summit of west cave, there is this huge wide open field with some great views of the valley.

The only challenge I faced was when I was in the activation zone on East Cave. The weather shifted and I was stuck in a snow squall. This made operating CW a real challenge since myself and all my gear was getting covered in snow quickly. I once again cut the activation short with only 2 CW contacts and 2 FM contacts. Once I have my 4 QSO’s which took way longer than expected, I stuffed everything in my pack and hoofed it back down the hill.

This was a great winter hike and I plan to give it another go in this spring / summer since the hike up was so mellow.