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horicon
02-05-2008, 12:53
How much ice and snow is theer in the Kittaninny Mountains of NJ? A friend of mine wants to go hiking there.

BT

88BlueGT
02-05-2008, 15:34
I couldnt imagine much. I'm from Central Jersey and we havent had any snow here lately. Not sure about there though. I'm doing a trip up there in two or three weeks.

Grumpy Ol' Pops
02-05-2008, 15:49
How much ice and snow is theer in the Kittaninny Mountains of NJ? A friend of mine wants to go hiking there.

BT

There have been intermittent snowstorms there for the past month, so there will be accumulations of snow in the shadier ravines and shadowed sides of the ridges. The temperatures have remained close to freezing much of the last weeks, but warming has occurred the past few days, along with the rain. Any crusted-over snow will have been mostly softened and quite a bit of it melted. This will have raised the water levels in the mountain streams and the various waterfalls along Old Mine Road will be running heavy -- that's enough reason to visit the area in itself!
If your friend wants to use the AT, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but I'd stay off the Red Trails! If the idea is day-hiking, rather than overnighting somewhere along the trail, be sure to start back down with enough time left to safely reach the parking areas. To use a Yogi-ism, "It gets late early up there!" Since the return trip is usually on the south side of the ridge, the sunlight disappears quite a bit earlier than on the north side as the Sun angle drops below the ridges. Nothing is worse than coming down a trail in the dark -- that's happened several times when taking less-capable, unfit friends up to Sunfish Pond and spending way too much time letting them rest and get their wind! Been there and done that....

horicon
02-05-2008, 16:17
Thanks going to Camp Mohigan, AMC Camp, to do some hiking and taking some photos of the area.

emerald
02-05-2008, 18:34
Check your spelling. Kittatinny is a Lenape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenape) word I've always understood to mean endless mountain.

Some A.T. NOBO through hikers fixated on rocks and state lines no doubt agree. What they don't seem to grasp is they haven't left Kittatinny Ridge once they've left Pennsylvania, even if it somehow makes them feel better.

Go to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kittatinny_Mountains) and Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Corridor Overview (http://pa.audubon.org/kittatinny/facts_overview.html) for more information.

Scroll down after clicking on the 2nd link to the photo of raptor enthusiasts at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's North Lookout. That's The Pinnacle in the background on the opposite side of the Eck, which means corner in Pennsylvania German.

I've been threatening to post an image taken from that location here for some time. I think The Green Diamond is one of the most beautiful places and HMS's North Lookout one of it's best features.

Toolshed
02-05-2008, 19:09
Thanks going to Camp Mohigan, AMC Camp, to do some hiking and taking some photos of the area.

Now you are confusing it with the Casino. No gambling there!!

emerald
02-05-2008, 19:33
Since you appear to have a fondness for Dark Side of the Moon, I wonder, do you believe it sounds better on the cold side of the mountain?

DGG
02-05-2008, 20:50
I was part of a group that spent Sat. night near Mohican lodge. That morning everything was extremely icy. Coppermines Trail was literally a sheet of ice; even the road at the lodge was under ice. Traction devices were the order of the day. The trees were gorgeous: every branch covered & glistening. Sunday, we hiked out via Sunfish Pond and the Douglas Trail. There was still a fair amount of ice on the ridge, but by the bottom it was clear. The parking lot, which had been a skating rink on Saturday morning, was completely clear. I live just 45 mins. away. The temperature here is currently 43", so I doubt things are exciting any longer. I'm so glad I got to see it. The ice was beautiful!

Toolshed
02-05-2008, 21:45
Since you appear to have a fondness for Dark Side of the Moon, I wonder, do you believe it sounds better on the cold side of the mountain?
I used to be "Toolshed". before the birth of our daughter I picked up a CD PF-DSOTM to replace my long lost LP. As we rushed to the hospital to give birth, it was playing and now it reminds me of her....
and es!!! I love the Cold side of the mountain. Give me an Adirondack peak with clear views at -10F with 12 feet of packed snow under my feet burying the Krumholz and I am quite happy. (Oh Yeah, a little "us and them" can't hurt either!!!) :D

emerald
02-15-2008, 19:59
I used to be "Toolshed". (Oh Yeah, a little "us and them" can't hurt either!!!) :D

Just struck me as something quotable.:o

Tin Man
02-15-2008, 20:08
How much ice and snow is theer in the Kittaninny Mountains of NJ? A friend of mine wants to go hiking there.

BT

You're from Stone Ridge, NY. Look out your window. Can't be much different. The Kittatinny's are really hills, not mountains by any stretch. I have hiked the "mountains" of NY and CT recently. Slippery when wet is their condition, no biggie. Hiking poles help. Traction devices on your boots might be better, but I have not tried them.

buff_jeff
02-16-2008, 22:29
I was up there over my winter break (around 17 December) and it was iced to all hell. I mean, literally the entire trail was snow and ice. There were points where I actually thought I was going to fall off the side of the mountain. Of course, I was an idiot and had neither crampons nor trekking poles, so...

This part scared the hell out of me, though:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danube/266368613/

That's not my picture, but imagine that with straight ice.

MOWGLI
02-16-2008, 22:33
Now you are confusing it with the Casino. No gambling there!!

Wanna bet? ;)

Tin Man
02-17-2008, 00:45
I was up there over my winter break (around 17 December) and it was iced to all hell. I mean, literally the entire trail was snow and ice. There were points where I actually thought I was going to fall off the side of the mountain. Of course, I was an idiot and had neither crampons nor trekking poles, so...

This part scared the hell out of me, though:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danube/266368613/

That's not my picture, but imagine that with straight ice.

Recent rains and sun may have melted off a lot of it, but there will definitely be places where you will want poles and ice-grabbing foot gear. I was hiking some hills in CT today. The areas that had the most sun exposure were clear, north facing areas were icy.

rafe
02-17-2008, 10:22
This part scared the hell out of me, though:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danube/266368613/

That's not my picture, but imagine that with straight ice.

The Kittatinny wouldn't scare me as much (in ice) as certain sections of the trail above Greenwood Lake. Some very steep dropoffs.

buff_jeff
02-17-2008, 12:34
The Kittatinny wouldn't scare me as much (in ice) as certain sections of the trail above Greenwood Lake. Some very steep dropoffs.

Yeah, like somebody else said those "mountains" are essentially just hills. Falling every other step wasn't fun, though. :D

The Desperado
02-17-2008, 12:45
As of today --very hard cast snow as they used to say. lots of icy patches and the snow all has an ice overcast. Days are in the low 30's and nights have been in the very low teens in the blue mt lakes area and north to Sunrise mt area. Tough walking for this ole timer. As was said before , all north faceing areas are still pretty bad. Happy Trails.

Appalachian Tater
02-17-2008, 15:33
Call the Mohican Outdoor Center and ask them about current conditions:

908-362-5670

http://www.outdoors.org/lodging/lodges/mohican/index.cfm

88BlueGT
02-18-2008, 03:46
I was up there over my winter break (around 17 December) and it was iced to all hell. I mean, literally the entire trail was snow and ice. There were points where I actually thought I was going to fall off the side of the mountain. Of course, I was an idiot and had neither crampons nor trekking poles, so...

This part scared the hell out of me, though:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danube/266368613/

That's not my picture, but imagine that with straight ice.

What a wonderful spot. I was up there a few months ago, I stopped right there and had lunch for about an hour and just looked out. Amazing.