Today we went back to the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap. There seems to be more options here for routing longer day hikes and also more challenging terrain. I also really like the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mohican Outdoor Center. The ladies who work there are super nice and they already remember us. We parked at the MOC. My plan was to hike the 5 mile loop from the MOC, up to the ridge on the Rattlesnake connector trail, follow the ridge northeast on the AT passing by Catfish tower and circle back through Rattlesnake Swamp.
We had perfect weather. The hike along the ridge in this direction was lovely. We reached Catfish tower and climbed up it as far as we could go to look at land from above. The winds were fairly strong today, but the sun was shining and it was a great day for hiking. After descending from the ridge, we hopped off the AT and onto the Rattlesnake Swamp trail. The area through the wetlands offered a variety of ecosystems much different then the dryer sections of trail on the ridge.
Once back at the MOC, we stopped for breakfast. They make the best cranberry orange pancakes. I highly recommend stopping here after your hike.
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Today we hiked in Hickory Run State Park. It had been a while since we’d been here, and I knew the fall foliage would be starting to change into autumn color.
Hickory Run was once territory of the Lenape, Susquehannock and the Iroquois Nation. When the colonists arrived, they named the area Shades of Death due to the rocky unfarmable soil and swamps.
We started on the Gould Trail which took us through the woods and down to Hickory Run via the Switchback Trail. Hickory Run was beautiful and the leaves were starting to change to golden color. We headed north on the Fireline Trail which took us up the hillside overlooking the Lehigh River and the distant State Gameland 149. I particularly enjoyed the Pitch Pines along the trail. We passed an overlook with a clear view of Lehigh Gorge. Heading east on Fireline, we turned south to take the Skyline Trail back to Gould to make a lollipop loop. But before reaching the trailhead, we found a comfortable log just off the trail to stop, make coffee and have light breakfast on our campstove. I miss camping. We haven’t been since we left California. Most of the campgrounds in our area are very developed and mostly made for large campers. I’m not a fan of this type of camping, so I haven’t had much luck finding more remote space.
It was a lovely day. As we reached the trailhead the sun began to hide behind the clouds and we headed back home.
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The Lee and Virginia Graver Arboretum of Muhlenberg College is a great place to come for a quick walk. I’ve come to know the conifers here quite well over the time I’ve spent visiting. I particularly enjoy the Pitch Pines and also the Bald Cypress with its unique roots or “knees” as they’re called.
The arboretum serves as an outdoor laboratory for course activities and field work for the students of Muhlenberg College. It’s also free for the public to enjoy. Autumn is a particularly beautiful time of year here, as the trees change into their fall colors.
Dr. Lee and Virginia Graver were nature lovers and conservationists who cleared thick brush and woods to create this beautiful environment. Here you’ll find ferns, mushrooms, rhododendrons, wildflowers, native and rare trees and over 150 species of conifers.
Today I was super excited to come across a large patch of Jack-o’-lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius). These mushrooms are poisonous if you try and eat them, but they’re a wonderful sight to see considering this time of year.
Just a short forest bathing walk around Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary. The leaves are starting to change color and the trees will soon be taking their energy down into their roots for the winter. It’s always a bittersweet time of year for me. I love the smell of the decaying ferns. It’s a unique smell that I’ve only experienced on the east coast.
It felt so good to be back out on the trail! The humid summer weather is finally starting to let up, and I’ll be able to get back out there and put some mileage on my hiking boots. Today we headed out to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to the Copper Mine Trail. We’ve done this one several times before, but there are a lot of connecting trails you can pick up and make the day as long or short as you want. We headed up past the mine, crossed the bridge over a small waterfall and then began to ascend up the ravine. It was one of those misty mornings where the sun’s light shines down through the mist, making the trail look extra pretty. We continued to the top of the waterfall and entered into a forest of mostly hardwoods where the trail leveled out. Soon we reached Camp Mohican Road and decided to check out the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mohican Outdoor Center. It was a nice surprise that we’d never been to before. The center has coffee, food, outdoor picnic tables and also a recreation and rest area for weary A.T. thru hikers. After checking out the center, we decided to head further up the road where we would climb up the Rattlesnake Swamp Connector Trail to the top of the Kittatinny Ridge, follow the A.T. Southwest and then loop back to the Mohican Outdoor Center to get some food. The loop trail Rattlesnake Swamp started out on flat boards crossing a wetland. It soon climbed steeply up to the top of the ridge where we had mostly unobstructed views along the A.T. We followed the A.T. about 1.5 miles until we were back at the road to the Mohican Outdoor Center. I had my eye on the pancakes I’d seen when we were there earlier. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing better than finding a place that serves coffee and pancakes in the middle of a hike. The ladies working at the center were super nice and we chilled out at one of the outdoor picnic tables and ate before heading back on the trail. Before hiking out, we checked out some of the campsites in the area for a future overnight stay. We then headed back along the ridge on the A.T. and took the longer route via the Kaiser trail back to the trailhead. We ended up with about a 10 mile day. It felt so nice to be back out there. Now that the weather is cooling off, I’m looking forward to spending more time doing longer hikes with more mileage again.
It had been a long time since we visited Thomas Darling Preserve. The first time was back in January of 2021. Thomas Darling Preserve is part of the Wildlands Conservancy Land Trust and was named after conservationist, Thomas Darling Jr. The area has one of Pennsylvania’s largest spruce forests and is made up of 2,500 acres with glacial wetlands, meadows, bogs, and forest. Two Mile Run traverses the preserve before spilling into Tobyhanna Creek. The hike around the preserve is a short 2.5 mile loop, but it really packs in the scenery. Today the forest was filled with so many different kinds of mushrooms. Luckily the day wasn’t super humid, so the bugs were pretty minimal. My favorite part of this hike is the boardwalk which takes you right through the wetlands. It’s a place you’d never see otherwise and having the privilege of walking through this unique ecosystem is simply magical.
