This section begins at the small parking area on the west side of PA 191 in Fox Gap, south of Stroudsburg, PA. At .6 mile, the trail reaches the Kirkridge Shelter. I enjoyed chatting with several people there, including a balding man, whose gray/white beard was braided into a more than foot-long "ponytail". At 1.4 miles, the trail reaches Lunch Rocks, with a view north along the ridge into New Jersey. At 2.5 miles, the trail reaches Tott’s Gap. This is probably the place/road I reached, after descending a steep one-hundred feet or so over large rocks, only to discover that I was off the trail. As I pondered how to find the trail again (not wanting to climb what I had just descended), I noticed two hikers about to cross the road, about 50 yards off to my right. It was immediately clear that they were on the trail. I quickly joined them on the trail, continuing north from that point. So I missed a short bit (perhaps, at most, a few hundred feet) of the official trail.
At 4.4 miles, a short trail to the east leads to a view to the south overlooking the Delaware Valley. Just thereafter, at 4.5 miles, the trail reaches the summit of Mt. Minsi. There is some sort of communications installation here. There was also a nice, small grassy area among trees with a nice rock on which to sit. While there, another hiker took a picture of me, which he later sent to me.
The trail then begins to descend, at 4.8 miles reaching a panoramic view of the Delaware Water Gap, between PA and NJ. At 5.5 miles, a side trail to the east leads to Lookout Rock. At 6.3 miles, the trail reaches Council Rock. Both of these rocks provide a view of the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap. I think it was at Council Rock that the same hiker, unknown to me at the time, took another picture of me. At 6.6 miles, the trail passes Lake Lenape. At 6.8 miles, there is a hikers parking lot, then just ahead the intersection of paved Lake Road and Mountain Road.
At 7.0 miles, the trail crosses PA 611 (Main Street in the village of Delaware Water Gap, PA). Then, just ahead is the I–80 bridge over the Delaware River. The trail crosses this bridge, along the south side of the road with a low wall separating the walkway from the road. In the middle of the .7 mile (bridge) walkway, there is a painted square area, indicating the location of the PA/NJ state line. At the east end of the bridge, the trail descends to, then follows the service road on the east side of I–80. At 8.2 miles (about .2 mile from the end of the bridge), the trail reaches the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Information Center – with parking, along the right side of the road, the end of the section.
This was a generally pleasant section to hike. Descending from Mount Minsi, the trail is among rhododendron and is often steep. The views from the east side of the trail during this descent, are significantly disrupted/diminished by trees blocking the view. Nevertheless, it is a very nice section, and one I would enjoy hiking again – especially if I can catch it when the rhododendron is in bloom.
This section also was the last section of a four-week hiking trip, covering all of the AT between PA 309 and NY 17A, a distance of 128 miles (actually 127.9). I arranged for this to be the last section so that I could complete (the Appalachian Trail in both) Pennsylvania and New Jersey on the same day/hike. Doing so brought me to the point of having completed 6 of the 14 AT states.
This section begins at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Information Center, along the I-80 Service Road. Here, with the permission of their security office, overnight parking is permitted.
At .1 mile, an underpass takes the trail underneath I-80. At .2 mile, the "Dunnfield Creek Natural Area" is reached. The trail leaves the northern end of this parking area and then ascends 1000 feet along an old carriage route to Sunfish Pond, the southwest end of which is reached at 4.0 miles. For the next three quarters of a mile, the trail follows the shore of the pond, mostly among large, oddly angled rocks. At 4.5 miles, there are interesting rock sculptures along the shoreline. At 4.7 miles, the trail leaves the shore of Sunfish Pond. At 6.5 miles, a large pile of rocks provides an excellent viewpoint over a reservoir to the east and the Delaware River to the west.
At 6.7 miles, the trail leaves the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and enters Worthington State Forest. At 7.6 miles, the trail crosses open rocks with views to the east over a reservoir. At 9.3 miles, the trail reaches Camp Road, at a point several tenths of a mile from the Mohican Outdoor Center. The trail steadily descends several hundred feet in elevation among/across rocks, often large over the last three quarters of a mile before reaching Camp Road.
The climb at the beginning of the section was very pleasant – steady, but gradual for nearly four miles on relatively smooth trail. After that, the difficult rocks around Sunfish Pond were rather a shock. After the pond, there were a lot more rocks, especially on the final descent, and in the short level area around Yards Creek, just before reaching Camp Road. I lost a rubber tip from one of my hiking sticks among the rocks on the descent. But all in all, it was not a bad hike for the next-to-last one on this particular trip.
The Mohican Outdoor Center, one of the properties of the Appalachian Mountain Club, provided a nice base for hiking the sections between the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Information Center and Culver's Gap (US 206) over a period of four days (including a zero day). This section begins where the Appalachian Trail crosses Camp Road, the access road to the Mohican Outdoor Center. The trail crossing is close to the center, about .3 miles from the entrance.
The section begins with a sustained climb, reaching ledges with a view at 1.4 miles. At 2.4 miles, Catfish Fire Tower, and a nice view, is reached. For the next mile, the trail is on and off of the fire tower road. At 3.4 miles, the trail reaches Millbrook–Blairstown Road and briefly follows it, then turns right and enters the woods. At 4.2 miles, the trail crosses under, then follows a power line along the ridge with views of the Wallpack Valley and Pocono Plateau. At 5.7 miles, the trail reaches an old dirt road, which it follows for the next 1.6 miles – to the end of the section. At 6.6 miles, a clearing to the east of the trail provides a view of Fairview Lake. At 7.3 miles, the trail reaches Blue Mountain Lakes Road and the end of the section.
The climb at the beginning of the section and the level 1.6 mile long road at the end were the highlights of this section. As noted below, it appears as though the lakes after which the road is named are on the east side of the ridge. There is a large parking area on the north side of the road on the west side of the mountain. I did not check, but perhaps there is a lake there as well.
I began this section at the small communications installation adjacent to the Appalachian Trail on Blue Mountain Lakes Road. Some of the lakes after which the road is named are east of the ridge – I caught a glimpse or two of them as I hiked the section prior to this one. The trail follows the road east for 100 feet, then turns left into the woods. At 1.1 miles, the trail crosses the steep face of a smooth rock. At 1.8 miles there is a viewpoint overlooking Crater Lake. At 2.9 miles, is (supposedly) the blue blazed Buttermilk Falls Trail, however, I could not find it. It didn't matter much because I didn't have time to add 3.2 miles to the hike. At 4.8 miles, following a steep rocky climb, the trail reaches a rock outcrop marking the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain, with very nice views. It was a joy to pause there for a breather after the steep and not particularly pleasant 200 foot climb, in and among large rocks.
At 5.9 miles, the trail leaves the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and enters Stokes State Forest. Shortly thereafter, at 6.3 miles, the trail reaches a cleared area, with sweeping views. At 7.0 miles, a blue blazed trail leads west to the Brink Road Shelter. At 9.4 and again at 9.8 miles, there are views of Culver's Lake and US 206 to the northeast. At 10.6 miles, the end of the section is reached – at US 206. As referenced below, I actually continued another .2 mile to the parking lot to complete the days hike….
Aside from the Rattlesnake Mountain area, this section was reasonably pleasant to hike, especially the last third. The views were especially nice. The trail drops close to 400 feet in elevation as it descends from the ridgeline to US 206.
This section begins where the trail crosses US 206 in Culver's Gap. At .2 mile, a short trail to the east leads to a large parking area. This is where I actually began the days hike…. At .4 mile, the trail reaches Sunrise Mountain Road. At 1.9 miles, the trail reaches the Culver Fire Tower, with a nice view. At 3.0 miles, a blue blazed trail to the west leads to the Gren Anderson Shelter. At 5.4 miles, the trail reaches a day use pavilion at the summit of Sunrise Mountain, with a parking area just beyond.
At 8.3 miles, the trail reaches the southern boundary of High Point State Park (northern boundary of Stokes State Forest). At 8.8 miles, the trail reaches Mashipacong Shelter. There are other trails intersecting at the shelter – the northbound AT route makes a left turn to pass the left side of the shelter, and gradually descend away from the back of the shelter. At 8.9 miles, the trail crosses Deckertown Turnpike, with a parking area on the north side of the road crossing. I had hoped to use this parking area to break up this section, but was not able to because overnight parking is not permitted there. So, on to 14.3 miles for the day.
At 10.1 miles, there's a view over farm landscape in the Wallkill Valley. At 11.7 miles, Dutch Shoe Rock gives views to the northeast of High Point and the Wallkill Valley. Another viewpoint at 11.9 miles overlooks Lake Rutherford, the water supply for the town of Sussex. At 12.9 miles, a viewpoint overlooks an interior valley with the Pocono Mountains visible in the distance. At 13.3 miles, there's a view to the west over Sawmill Lake. At 14.3 miles, the section ends at the High Point State Park headquarters on NJ 23.
The climb to Sunrise Mountain was very pleasant – fairly smooth, easy to walk trail. Thereafter, the trail became increasingly more rocky. The last 2 miles of this section were characterized by steep up and downs, including the descent of a rather steep rock face.
It should be noted that there is an overnight parking area on the south side of NJ 23, about .2 mile from the High Point State Park headquarters. I actually ended this hike (and began the next one – see below) there, using several tenths of a mile of a side trail to connect the parking area to the Appalachian Trail. Overnight use of this parking area, and the one near US 206 can be arranged with the park headquarters office.
I was well rested and got an early start, nevertheless covering 14.3 miles on this day was somewhat of a stretch. While lengthy and tiring (especially by the end of the day), by God's grace, I was able to successfully complete it.
This section begins at the High Point State Park headquarters on NJ 23. Heading north, the trail crosses a lawn, then enters the woods. At 1.0 miles, the trail reaches a wooden observation platform. This first mile of the trail is very rocky – one of the more memorable rocky sections of the AT. At 1.2 miles, the trail intersects with the High Point Monument Trail. Having gotten much the same view from the platform (that I would get from the monument), I chose not to go to the Monument (which sits on the highest point in New Jersey). At 1.7 miles, a short side trail leads to the High Point Shelter.
At 3.0 miles, the trail crosses County 519, below Kittatinny Mountain. This portion of the trail crosses many stone walls, also crossing and/or skirting several fields and even crossing a fence or two. At 5.0 miles, the trail crosses Ferguson Road (Mount Salem Rd. in New York), then enters woods and begins to descend. At 5.6 miles, the trail turns right and briefly follows paved Gemmer Road. At 6.9 miles, the trail reaches the crest of Wolf Pit Hill in an open field. At 7.1 miles, the trail reaches the southern end of Vernie Swamp. The trail follows puncheon across the swamp for .2 mile. At 7.9 miles, the trail reaches Unionville Road (County 651), the end of the section.
This section begins on the ridgeline of Kittatinny Mountain. Once the AT passes its intersection with the High Point Monument Trail, it steeply descends the side of the mountain, then much more gradually until it reaches Unionville Rd. Once off the mountain, the trail in the rest of New Jersey is usually crossing ridgelines rather than following them. In between the ridge lines/knobs are woods and fields – more fields than are generally found on ridge lines. The East-West/northern section of the AT in Vermont is similar to this, although the elevations are higher there. Sections like these are necessary along the Appalachian Trail in order to cross from one mountain range to another…. They add variety and interest to the trail.
This section begins at Unionville Road (CR 651). At .2 mile, the trail crosses Quarry Road. At .9 mile, the trail turns right on the paved Lott Road/Jersey Avenue. At 1.1 miles, the trail follows a railroad grade – for .5 mile. At 1.9 miles, the trail reaches and crosses NJ 284. The trail then follows puncheon through swampy thickets, crosses a road, and at 2.5 miles reaches the top of a hill, then descends, crossing a field. At 3.0 miles, the trail turns left onto a private road, then at 3.2 miles, turns right onto Oil City Road. At 3.7 miles, the trail reaches the bridge over the Wallkill River – the end of the section.
This again, is a section of swamps and some fields, along with a couple of small knobs. It was a fitting conclusion to the day, arriving back at the bridge across the Wallkill River and re-walking the same part of the Liberty Loop Trail that I had walked earlier in the day, to get to the wildlife refuge parking area – see below.
This section begins at the bridge over the Wallkill River on Oil City Road. I parked at the parking area for the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge and used part of the Liberty Loop Trail to reach the beginning of the section.
The trail follows the Wallkill River for the first mile of the section, then makes a 90° turn to the left for .5 mile, at which point it makes another 90° turn to the left. At 1.8 miles, the trail turns right into the woods and follows puncheon (bog bridges) for about .4 mile over swamp. At 2.3 miles, the trail reaches (and crosses) Lake Wallkill Road. At 2.8 miles, the trail reaches Pochuck Mountain Shelter. At 3.0 miles, the trail reaches the western ridge of Pochuck Mountain, then descends. At 3.6 miles, the trail crests another rise with views…. At 4.1 miles, the trail crosses more puncheon. At 4.3 miles, the trail reaches the summit of Pochuck Mountain. Between 4.6 and 5.2 miles, the trail crosses more puncheon. At 5.5 miles, the trail reaches County 565, the end of the section.
The trail in the first 1.8 miles of the section traces two and one half sides of the edge of the swampy part of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. During this portion of the section, there are views of the hills and fields that surround it. After leaving the wildlife refuge, the trail gains 700 feet in elevation in a bit less than a mile to reach the ridge of Pochuck Mountain. Over the next mile, it is up and down a bit before descending 400 feet or so. In the last .2 mile before reaching CR 565, the trail regains a couple hundred feet in elevation.
A number of birds were present in the Wildlife Refuge, near Oil City Road. Swamps, and a field or two made for interesting and somewhat unique variety in this section. The map of the trail along the sides of the swampy area of the wildlife refuge is very striking – straight lines, at 90° angles – looking like three sides of a square.
This is one of the more interesting sections of the Appalachian Trail. It includes the famous section of trail that locals refer to as the "Vernon Boardwalk". Northbound from County Road 565, the trail ascends steadily to the top of a rise, then descends to County 517 at 1.5 miles. Shortly after this road crossing, the trail begins following boardwalks over Pochuck Swamp – 3100 feet over the next .6 mile. At 2.2 miles, the trail crosses a suspension bridge over Pochuck Creek. Then follows another 850 foot long stretch of boardwalk. At 2.8 miles, the trail reaches Canal Road, turns right to cross a bridge, then turns left to cross a field. At 3.1 miles, the trail crosses a bridge over Wawayanda Creek. It then passes through fields, reaching railroad tracks at 3.6 miles, then crosses a cow pasture on bog bridges to reach NJ 94, and the end of the section.
Boardwalks, which cover three quarters of a mile in the middle of this section, make up one of the most celebrated parts of the Appalachian Trail. I'm not sure what the trail in this area was like prior to the construction of the boardwalks, but the trail had to pass through this part of New Jersey for many years before they were built. Most of the low vegetation on either side of the boardwalks is made up of dry stalks – not very pretty when I passed through. Perhaps when the weather is wet, the vegetation greens up – photos I've seen generally look nicer than what I found. The suspension bridge was particularly striking – made of wood and cables. All in all, it was a very interesting mile or so of trail, unlike any other part of the Appalachian Trail.
This section begins on the east side of NJ 94, across the road from a farm and farmers market. The trail gradually ascends from the trailhead, to the foot of Wawayanda Mountain, which is reached at .5 mile. The trail then steeply ascends the "Stairway to Heaven". This is a long series of rock steps, set among the much larger rocks which characterize the steep slope. At 1.4 miles, the trail reaches the crest of the mountain, and a nice overlook. No, it's not heaven, but the overlook is nice.
At 3.1 miles, the trail crosses Barrett Road, then follows a wide woods road with an open field. At 4.2 miles, the trail crosses an iron bridge over the Double Kill stream. At 5.0 miles, the trail reaches Wawayanda Shelter. At 5.5 miles, the trail reaches Warwick Turnpike. At 6.9 miles, the section ends at Long House Road.
The trail in much of this section is in woods, but it also often crosses/skirts fields, especially in the first half-mile and the last mile and one half. I particularly enjoyed the climb up the "Stairway to Heaven". It is obviously a popular short hike for locals, who told me their name for it, and with whom I had several pleasant interactions.
This section begins where the Appalachian Trail crosses Long House Road (Brady Road) in northern New Jersey. In the first mile and one half, the trail crosses several low ridges. At 2.0 miles, there is a viewpoint looking east over Surprise Lake and Sterling Ridge. At 2.2 miles, the trail reaches the state line, which is marked by a painted line between the initials NJ and NY. At 2.6 miles, the trail reaches Prospect Rock with views over Greenwood Lake. Starting about 1/2 mile before the NJ/NY state line, and lasting until reaching Prospect Rock, and then intermittently thereafter, rock slabs form what I would call a "sidewalk in the sky". The tops are wide, smooth and generally close enough to level to make for very pleasant walking.
At 3.8 miles, there is a steep climb with a wooden ladder (according to the trail guide) near the top of the climb. This may be the spot where I found five iron rungs embedded in a steep rock face (I never saw a wooden ladder). Then for the next .8 mile, there are many short but steep ascents and descents.
At 5.9 miles, the trail reaches rock outcrops on Bellvale Mountain, with nice views of Greenwood Lake to the south. At 7.7 miles, the trail crosses through a power line clearing with a view to the east. At 8.2 miles, the trail reaches NY 17A.
This was a nice section – especially nice was the "sidewalk in the sky". Also, the views of Greenwood Lake were very nice and I got some photos of it. Reading the warnings (in advance) about the short steep ascents and descents left me somewhat "on edge". Fortunately, however, there were adequate footholds to make it fairly easy to go up and down these steep places/rocks. They made the section very interesting and, while making it more difficult than average, it was a generally pleasant walk.