Fun Facts about Patherkill Mountain

Here is another installment of the The Pantherkill Report from WCA member Dennis Havel.

"Things I have learned from Google:

Early Dutch settlers named many of the places in the Hudson Valley. The word "kill", as in Pantherkill, Catskill, Fishkill, is a Dutch word meaning "waterway" or "stream" and doesn't mean we have it in for felines and fish.

The elevation of Panther Mountain at it's peak is 3,720 feet above sea level or, 1,134 meters. Many maps publish elevations in meters. In comparison, the Kingston-Ulster Airport at the Rhinebeck Bridge on the Hudson is 149 feet above sea level The hamlet of Phoenicia is 840 feet above mean sea level. The peak of Panther is 2880 feet (a tad over 1/2 mile high) above mainstreet in Phoenicia.

Are there panthers on Panther Mountain? The folks at Cornell University inform me that no panthers have been sighted in the Northeastern U.S. since the late 1800's. However, there have been a few alleged sightings in Woodstock recently. A local "river adventure" outfitter claims to have spotted one some years ago, if you want to take the word of a guy who rents out old inner tubes to people from New Jersey for as living. :)

How did Woodland Valley get it's name? From all the trees made of wood, growing out of land, in the valley. Duh!"