2019-10-04: Conesville NY

A bit of a return to form. After looking through some pictures taken during my Durham roadwalking campaign last autumn, I decided to enjoy the fall foliage in a similar manner this year, before the trees become bare. So last Friday, I walked a stretch of County Route 3 in Conesville NY, in the southern portion of Schoharie County. Conesville is a very isolated town, so small it doesn't even have a post office, and has a rather eerie feel to it, as though I was walking in the aftermath of an apocalyptic movie. However, wide open famland along the Manorkill valley provided beautiful views of the northern Catskills and their foothills.

Cattle graze at the edge of a field. Conesville is a heavily agricultural community.

Cornfield, hayfield, and forest, all in the same shot.

Huntersfield Mountain, Schoharie County's tallest peak (which I climbed back in August), was very prominent from Route 3.

Mount Richmond rises over a forest of larch and pine.

Sunlight dances on Richtmeyer Peak, the southeast border of the Manorkill Valley.

Young, dense beech forest blanketed the steep slopes to the valley's north.

Hayfields roll out under a multicolored mountainside.

Richtmeyer Peak, seen looking east down Route 3.

The peak to the left is South Mountain; the evergreen-covered peak to the right is the Ashland Pinnacle.

A broken fence divides fields beneath the col between Richmond and South mountains.

Close-up on Richtmeyer Peak from over four miles away.

Ditches along the wayside were lines with these periwinkle flowers.

Sign at the end of Durham Road in central Manorkill.

The Manorkill Cemetery has been the main cemetery in Conesville for over two centuries.

A view west along the valley shows the mountains of Delaware County, including Utsayantha (L).

View of a farm in the center of the valley.

Mount Ustayantha watches over the farm and its surrounding foliage.

Fall colors interspersed with stoic pine trees on the far side of the valley.

Historical marker at the old Richtmeyer Tavern, now abandoned.

A car photobombed this picture of the old tavern, but I thought it added character to the image.

The majority of Conesville's buildings are in a state of disarray, including the historical tavern.

Sunset and clouds light a rainbow of colors on Huntersfield Mountain.

I found this mosaic pained on the road-facing door of the above barn.

Mount Richmond's many colors seen through a break in the trees.

Long after the aspens have given up, the larch trees retain their yellow needles, while dark green hemlocks remain unchanged.

This old trailer had smoke coming from its chimney. Its decrepit state, like much of the town, was somewhat reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic movie or TV show.

Sunset's beams light the northeast slope of Huntersfield Mountain.

Colors at sunset along the Manorkill, upstream from the bridge on Haner Road.