Another day hike in the Delaware Water Gap, New Jersey side. We hiked from Millbrook Village on the Orchard Trail which connects to Hamilton Ridge. From Hamilton Ridge we took the Pioneer Trail, then took a spur trail down to the river and back then onward to Old Mine Road where we crossed and hiked through Van Campens Glen. We walked the last few miles back on the road. Old Mine Road is going to be closed for most of the summer due to construction. It should be a nice time to visit the Glen as many people will not want to hike in or walk the road to get to the waterfalls.
At the start of the Orchard Trail I saw Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) blooming. The first spring ephemerals are starting to pop out from under the leaf debris. I also saw a firefly that somehow found my hand. It seems like it’s much too early for them. The day started partly cloudy with some sun, but as we hiked the clouds began to darken the sky. I came across some bright orange Juniper apple-rush, something I’d never seen before. I’ve been using the Seek app (by iNaturalist) on my phone to identify the plants I see along the trail. I love learning as much as I can. As we reached the spur to the river, it began to rain. On the riverbank I saw Yellow Trout Lily and Dutchman’s Breeches. We ate a snack and by the time we were finished the sun was back out. I was glad we didn’t have to cut the day short. We proceeded on to Van Campens Glen. As always the glen was beautiful full of cascades and green moss. We took off our packs and laid on the rocks above the waterfall listening to the wind and soaking in the sunshine. I used my birding app to identify a bird I’d never heard before. I recorded its song and BirdNet suggested what I was hearing was a Louisiana Water Thrush, a new one for my life list.
We hiked out of the glen and then headed back to Millbrook Village on Old Mine Road. Along the way we passed a garter snake basking in the sun. Seems we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of a warm sunny day.
Click “Read More” below for more photos from this hike.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a very well organized layout of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests. The parks can be searched by region and each park has its own map and recreational guide in a downloadable pdf. I’ve been using these resources to find different trails to explore since I’m new to the area. This week I chose Tuscarora State Park. The stunning Tuscarora Lake sits at the foot of Locust Mountain with Locust Lake State Park being just six miles away. The trail I chose today was called “The Spirt of Tuscarora Trail” which was a little under 5 miles. It’s quite an amazing trail. Absolutely stunning scenery with thick, lush forest and wetlands. I still can’t get over how green it is in Pennsylvania. Part of the trail is carpeted in bright green moss with fern on either sides. It looked so magical. With a soft wind blowing through the trees, I truly was enjoying the morning. The single track trail can be done in a figure eight loop which took me up a few steep sections of rhododendron and then down through low rhododendron tunnels. I can imagine how beautiful they must look when in full bloom. The forest here consists of several species of oak, eastern hemlock, white pine, sycamore, birch, maple, ash and tulip trees. The trail looped me down to the edges of Locust Creek where there were late season wildflowers still in bloom. One of the highlights of this trail is the “spirit tree” which stands creekside in all his moss covered glory. I believe this tree was hit by lightening and his shape now takes on a mossy covered goat head. As I took my time taking in all of this great scenery, I saw a good number of very tiny toads hopping about as I walked. This really was a lovely trail. I walked it very early in the morning and did not see a soul. I will surely come back again to this magical place in the future to explore more of these wonderful trails.
