I am in the process of looking at maps and google earth to identify places that are off the beaten hiking trails with hard woods for mast potential. it is easy enough to identify the trails and saddles and benches and areas with hardwoods, but its near impossible to identify the spots where you can actually cover ground away from the beaten trails.
i don't mind blow down, but i know there are some spots in the catskills where you can walk around off trail just fine b/c there isn't much ground vegetation, and I know there are other areas where the brush and scrub is so thick you can't walk at all.
right now i am looking around Sundown Wild Forest and Slide Mountain Wilderness.
Does anyone know anything about being able to get off trail in these areas?
thanks in advance