Congratulations to everyone who completed the Harriman Hike! That was a full day of hard work, fresh air, and trail navigation. Our stats varied depending upon tracker, but we clocked somewhere between 10.2 - 11.2 miles, enjoyed an elevation gain between 2,100 and 2,600 feet, and get this ... took 27,500 steps, at least according to Stacey's tracker. Regardless, this hike squarely ranks first in length, total ascent, and duration - the sun was just setting behind the mountain as the last group was crossing the field to the Elk Pen parking lot.
Highlights were extensive, here are just a few
Everyone made it back! A few got a little lost and at one point Lou headed down the wrong trail, but for such an extensive trail system we did very well. Special thanks to Sheila for her keen eyes and Barbara for her cartography skills.
Everyone completed the rock scramble, awesome job! Not sure if it was peer pressure or willpower, but many hikers take the side route so we'll pat ourselves on our backs.
Lichen Trail for the win. We were originally planning on skipping this section as no one in the group had tried before, but a few hiking websites mentioned how great it was and it did not disappoint.
Group tea-pot stretches at Bowling Rocks
Finally, the last section of trail along the river was quite lovely, hopefully folks weren't too tired to enjoy it.
Some pictures below (click to enlarge), but be sure to look here at the full album, some really great photos. This one and all albums are also permanently linked to the right. As usual, please share any pictures and will add them.
The reward for first up the initial incline was a break atop this rock
Island Pond, definitely a place to come back to in peak foliage next year
Unfortunately a dark photo, but look closely and you will see our group trekking up the hill.
The stony faced fellowship heading into the Mines of Moria - courtesy of Stacey
The "lemon squeezer" - courtesy of Lee
The rock scramble after the lemon squeeze
Crossing a stream on the Long Path
A stream crossing on Long Path - courtesy of Stacey
Jeff either contemplating the meaning of life or thinking on chicken pot pies
Lunchin' on Lichen - courtesy of Stacey
The Fire Anchor - courtesy of Stacey
"Bowling Rocks" courtesy of Stacey
Bob attempting the tea-pot
Lee exploring the abandoned iron-ore "Boston Mine"
One of several cascades along the route (courtesy of Stacey)
Hike Date: Saturday, July 10 Postponed Our last route was intentionally on the easy side to help get everyone back into the swing of hiking. This time we up the difficulty a full notch with an 8 mile route through Bearfort Ridge and into Wawayanda State Park. The loop is called Terrace Pond north has some rock scrambling, a few nice viewpoints, and a scenic (though sometimes crowded) pond. Neither Lou, Jeff, or Karen have hiked this one so let's discover together! Start Time - 9:00 AM Length - Appx 8.0 miles Elevation Gain - ~1,100 feet Difficulty - Moderate with Difficult, rocky sections Expected Duration - 4-5 hours Park Trail Map - Trail Map Parking Location – Side of the road on Warwick Turnpike, West Milford, NJ: 41.15744782812143, -74.36746903484052 Restrooms – None at the trailhead, best option is one of the Gas Stations on Route 511 Our Route:
Great first hike of 2020 - good trail, great weather, superb people. Thanks everyone for joining us! The good news - I clocked 5.2 miles with 1,130 feet of elevation gain. The bad news - my net calories by the afternoon was a gain of 200 after that lunch at the Sycamore Grille. Also of note this the first hike that came in with few miles than expected, we're getting better at this. The photo album is linked to the right and please contribute if you can. Or if easier you can send me directly as well. Obligatory Relive Video (Viewing in Full Screen is Much Better Photo Highlights Our first automated selfie A selfie that wasn't outsourced to google or siri As fire roads go, this was not to shabby View of Mt Tammany The AT The Delaware Water Gap The most dangerous stream crossing of the day Table Rock
Hike Date - Saturday, February 22nd For this hike we'll head back to where it all began.... sort of. Instead of hiking to the summit of Mt Tammany as we did in our first hike, we'll take in some great views of Tammany as we hike to the summit of her sister, Mount Minsi. This hike is entirely on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware Water Gap and additional highlights of this route include a few minor rock scrambles, and a lovely Rhododendron tunnel (or 2, or 3), and a better than average fire road. We'll also test our navigation skills by ending on a lovely un-blazed section called Table Rock Start Time - 9:00 AM Length - Appx 5.9 Miles (It's winter!) Elevation Gain - ~1000 feet Difficulty - Moderate to Challenging Expected Duration - 3-5 hours Park Trail Map - NPS Trail Map Our Route - Our Route Parking Location - A gravel lot off of Lake Road in Bangor, PA. GPS Coordinates: 40.979850, -75.142087 and Google Maps link Restrooms - There are som
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