| Hike #37 7/22-723/1 Millbrook-Blairstown Road to Wind Gap The first overnighter since the one at the Water Gap the previous Summer. Tea Biscuit, Alf, and I were dropped off by my grandmother and Aunt Bonnie on Millbrook-Blairstown Road at about 10:00am Sunday morning. The incline just after Rattlesnake Swamp seemed quite easy. The low humididy made walking along the Kittitinny Ridge easily tolerable. We were able to climb up the lookout tower for a marvelous view of Warren and Sussex Counties, as well as northeast into Pennsylvania. At this time we turned on the walkie talkies (which Cathy gave me for my 21st birthday) to contact Rich and Eric Pace, who planned on meeting us at Mohican Gap at 11:00. After reaching the open rocky ridges, we could hear a voice that sounded like Rich. We would later find out from him that he had been trying to contact us from his car. Soon we heard Eric's voice over the radios, and met up with him and Rich not long after. Rich and Eric joined us for the section of the A.T. as far as Sunfish Pond. Very little haze in the sky allowed for excellent views from Raccoon Ridge and Mt. Mohican. At Sunfish Pond we went for a swim for maybe an hour. Which was quite therepudic considering we were carrying heavy frame packs. Rich and Eric parted ways from us just east of Sunfish Pond at around 4:00 pm. Since we had plenty of daylight, we decided to ascend Mt. Minsi. On the way we stopped at Dunnfield creek where Tea Biscuit went for a dip. Also, we stopped at the Kittitinny Point Info Station where I found a new set of $12 trail maps! After trying to call Cathy a few times we moved on across the Route 80 Delaware Bridge. We did'nt make a long stop in the town of Delaware Water Gap before picking up the A.T. ascending Mt. Minsi. Tea Biscuit was extremely tired by this point, and he fell behind. We stayed in contact with the walkie talkies. We also took a break at the top of Mt. Minsi just before reaching our campsite at the former site of the fire tower. We talked to a through hiker, on his 180th day of hiking, about the trail ahead. He informed us that the walk to Wind Gap was a tough one. We hoisted our food into a nearby White Pine tree before going to sleep. In the morning I learned that Pine and other evergreens are not a good tree to hoist food into. Coniferous trees have many branches, and our rope became stuck in them. It took a bit of time, but we finally got it down. We woke up at 6:30 and were hiking again by 7:30. Not too bad. We had a good, easy hike to Totts Gap, as the trail follows a woods road. Beyond Totts Gap was new to me. Viewpoints such as the Lunch Rocks and Nelson Vista were breathtaking. We stopped to refill water at Kirkridge, where there is a shelter and a nearby retreat. We also ate here. |
| The walk from Kirkridge to Fox Gap went fast. Even beyond Fox Gap we had thought the descriptions we recieved the night earlier were merely exxaderations, as the trail was easy to walk, following another woods road. Soon after reaching the Wolf Rocks, a spectacular panoramic viewpoint, we met the toughest challenge. The entire trail in to Wind Gap seemed an endless obstacle course of small rocks that kill the feet. After descending at Wind Gap Tea Biscuit and Alf insisted on going down into town to get real food. Unfortunitly, after arriving they decided they could'nt go on, and I called Cathy to pick us up. It may have been better this way, as I felt sick after eating a foot long sub. Hike #38 Portland to Washington This time we brought Tea Biscuit's friend Luke Davis (aka "The Squirt) out again to do our standard hike. There were some surprizing changes this time around. First, the existing tracks in Portland were the most overgrown with weeks I have ever seen them. Second, after crossing the Delaware bridge there was a fill of dirt covering part of the right of way, along with a yard that appears to belong to a large new house not far from the railbed. Third, some of the railbed in the town of Delaware itself had been cleared of the brush that has covered it as far back as I can remember, allowing for a clear view of the railroad ties that are still imbedded in the ground. There was also a wooded fence across the railbed. Next, to our surprize and disappointment, the section of right of way between Delaware and Ramseyburg has been blocked off by a fence on the south side, and the north side weilds a sign that reads "no" followed by anything that I can think of that we could possibly do there. Unfortunitely this meant skipping the bush of might for the first time in a long while. We may need to find a new bush of might. I found a sight just south of Ramseyburg that would be suitable, but did'nt feel right starting it on a new spot without Conrad present. Next, the south portal of the Manunka Chunk Tunnel was particularly dry, as was Catherine's Run. We were able to walk along the creekbed with no problem. The Squirt drank some of the little water there was which I objected to. At Bridgeville Tea Biscuit took a funny no hunting sign, two of them actually, with him. Also different, the sandpit, at the new place we adopted to cross, was surprisingly well overgrown with weeds. It seems that most of the work is again being done closer to Route 46. By the time we reached Buttsville, The Squirt, who had been complaining for some time now, finally quit and called for a ride home. We waited for his stepdad to pick him up before continueing toward Oxford. At the border to Oxford Township we met Kevin Denker, another Port Colden native, drinking with a friend near the site of the old farm house. It turns out his friend used to live there. We talked to them for a while before moving on. |
| In Oxford, we stopped at Rita's as usual, where Tea Biscuit met some of his school friends. We stopped and talked again for a bit, then moved on. The railbed north of the Oxford Tunnel was very overgrown. Fortunitely I had brought a walking stick this time which cleared the was with ease. The had a bit less water than usual. As I began walking in I though there was no water at all, but soon hit the drop to just above my knees. It did'nt seem very bad at first, but it ended up being one of the coldest it's ever felt to me. We took a break on the raft to let our feet warm up. The railbed was clearer than usual between the south portal and Washington, and we finished hiking in about 7 and 1/2 hours. It was dark by this point because we again started late. 8/26/1 Kitittinny Hike Another new hike, this time taking place on the Appalachian trail and it's sorrounding trails in the Kitittinny Mountains between Worthington and Stokes State forests. We began hiking on Millbrook Blairstown Road This time joined by only Tea Biscuit and Peeps. Ron did'nt have comfortable enough shoes and Alf had to go home. We followed the Appalachian Trail from here to Stokes state forest's border. The trail was not very wide and could have been blazed better, as not long after passing a pond on the ridge, we came to a fork in the trail not marked on my current maps. One trail was marked by black and white oblong things, the A.T. had minimal white blazes compared to the rest of the trail. After making a couple wrong turns we found our way. The ridge, particularly where the powerlines cross, supplied great views of Sand Pond at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco and Fairview lake. The walking for this section was rather easy, as the trail follows a woods road for much of the way. The road led out to Skyline Drive where there was a parking lot with a water pump much like the one at Dunnfield creek. We refilled our containers while dodging Yellow Jackets. After crossing the road we soon came upon an interesting dried lakebed full of rocks. We wandered around in it, then moved on. There is a wealth of woods roads in this area; some of which the A.T. follows for short distances. There were a few steap inclines with RDFs (Rock Discouragement Factor, scale of 0-10) of 10, but they were never very far. At the top there was a nice view of nearby Crater Lake. We continued along the trail across Mt. Paradice, and had some excellent views on Rattlesnake Hill and Bird Mountain. At bird mountain we were looking for a woods road that would bring us down the ridge. Unfortunitely we missed it and walked three miles extra to Stokes. We then followd Shay Road to Woods Road, out to another connection with the road we were looking for. This particular old woods road was not at all maintained and sometimes hard to walk. It winded down the ridge through an ancient farmer's field complete with stone rows to the dirt road between Wallpack Center and Flatbrookville. We walked along this to Hidden Falls trail, which leads no more than a half mile to this tall water fall (also know as "Silver Sprays Falls":). We took a brake while Tea Biscuit went skinny dipping in the shallow waters. We then had to backtrack to the road, which we followed to Buttermilk falls. There were a couple of girs in a car on the way that kept driving past us and slowing down. Continued on Next Page..Click Here |