As the leaves begin to turn, we are reminded that this is a warning of things to come.

Soon, autumn will give way to winter, and our outdoor activities will be limited. So on Wednesday, my wife and I decided to head down to the Catskills and hike up Slide Mountain.

This is the highest mountain in the Catskills, rising 4,180 feet above sea level. The only other peak in the Catskills that reaches the 4,000-foot mark is Hunter Mountain, but that is far more difficult to climb.

Getting to Slide Mountain is easy. Just take State Route 28 south to Margaretville, continue over the mountain to Big Indian and turn right on County Route 47. The trailhead is about 10 miles south on the left.

After signing in at the registration booth, the trail continues over a rocky brook. It's all uphill from there.

For a couple hundred yards, the yellow trail wanders through a beautiful stand of old hardwoods before hitting the rocks. Once you leave the level, the trail steeply climbs up a rock-and-boulder-strewn path. From glacial debris and broken ledge rock to unstable cobbles and heavy rough gravel, the path rises through the old, yellow birch and huge hemlocks.

Large stone steps have been laid in steeper spots to help adventurous hikers, but every step is still definitely up. Luckily, a break comes along after a quarter-mile of steady climbing, when you reach the grown-over jeep trail that once led to the old fire tower. The tower has been removed, but the eroded, two-track road still lingers along the hillside.

A few hundred yards along the level is the only break before a steady ascent begins. The jeep trail turns to the left and just goes up. There's no dirt in the old road, just rocks and gravel. Every 20 yards or so, large, flat rocks stand on end, diagonally across the trail to stop the water from further erosion.

As we climbed, we noticed that the trees were getting shorter; we were getting closer to the top.

At the 3,500-foot mark, a sign warns hikers that fires and camping are prohibited. It didn't matter to us. We were carrying our lunch and only planned on reaching the summit before returning home.

The trail soon started to level out. We stopped a couple of times and admired the views of the other mountains, but good lookout points on Slide Mountain are limited.

As we walked the easy part of the trail, the sweet, spicy fragrance of balsam fir filled our nostrils. Beautiful red berries hung heavy on the mountain ash and stood out brightly against dark green spruce. We could see Hunter Mountain off to the north. To the east, the Ashokan Reservoir lay cradled among lower, autumn-colored hills.

We had reached the summit. The old, weathered rocks were warm in the early afternoon sun. We sat to eat our lunch and rest for a while.

On the backside of the summit rock, a metal tablet was placed to commemorate John Burroughs. He was an early naturalist and writer, whose works introduced Slide Mountain to the rest of the world. He'd spent many a night here.

Our descent was quite a bit easier. We still had to watch every step because of loose gravel and possible rolling rocks.

The strenuous trail to the top is 2.7 miles and is a great way to spend a fall day. The trouble with Slide Mountain is the lack of good views. There are few spots where you can see the mountains around you. Hunter Mountain with its restored fire tower is a better peak for good Catskill scenery. By taking the ski lift to the top, the climb is relatively easy. But to climb the whole mountain, be ready for a long, steep, difficult trek.

What's Happening?

The Delchenago Rod and Gun Club will hold a home study education course from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 15.

Most of classroom work is done on home computers, but gun handling and the rest of course is hands on. For more information, call Dick DuMond at 607-865-5969.

Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at robrockway@hotmail.com.