View Full Version : Delaware Water Gap Hanging?
Anyone know if hammock camping is allowed at the backpackers campsite in Worthington State Forest on the AT in NJ between the Delaware Water Gap and Sunfish Pond?
The backpackers campsite is the only place on the trail you're allowed to camp, but if hammocks aren't allowed you have to hike about 10+ miles so that you're no longer in the state forest, then you can camp along the trail again.
10 miles isn't much to experienced hikers, but I'm new to this, have bad hips and it's an uphill climb. I'm worried that we'll reach the backpackers site only to discover we can't hang and my hips won't let me go any further.
Would love to hear from those who know.
Thanks
just carry a closed cell pad, then you should be able to "go to ground" for one night. Just set your tarp up, lay out your hammock/bug net underneath and use as a bivy.
take-a-knee
06-09-2009, 18:26
Anyone know if hammock camping is allowed at the backpackers campsite in Worthington State Forest on the AT in NJ between the Delaware Water Gap and Sunfish Pond?
The backpackers campsite is the only place on the trail you're allowed to camp, but if hammocks aren't allowed you have to hike about 10+ miles so that you're no longer in the state forest, then you can camp along the trail again.
10 miles isn't much to experienced hikers, but I'm new to this, have bad hips and it's an uphill climb. I'm worried that we'll reach the backpackers site only to discover we can't hang and my hips won't let me go any further.
Would love to hear from those who know.
Thanks
Just head off in the woods out of sight and hang your hammock and wait until nearly dark to put your tarp up.
Old Grouse
06-09-2009, 18:29
I'm sure it won't be a problem.
Thanks everyone. Posted the same question at Hammockforums.net and a couple people wrote about hanging at this site. It infuriates me that NJ limits camping in this section. How not in the spirit of the AT!
mooseboy
06-09-2009, 19:39
It IS a somewhat restricted section, though you'll find plenty of camping opportunities a little farther along...
See this thread for more:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50794
JokerJersey
06-09-2009, 21:15
Thanks everyone. Posted the same question at Hammockforums.net and a couple people wrote about hanging at this site. It infuriates me that NJ limits camping in this section. How not in the spirit of the AT!
It's New Jersey, what did you expect? Anywhere you go you need a permit, have to pay an entrance fee, pay to park, validate your ticket, provide a DNA profile, provide proof of insurance, sign a waiver, and then maybe...just maybe...they'll let you do it.
It's one of the main reasons we've been looking at moving our hiking trips into PA ASAP.
It's New Jersey, what did you expect? Anywhere you go you need a permit, have to pay an entrance fee, pay to park, validate your ticket, provide a DNA profile, provide proof of insurance, sign a waiver, and then maybe...just maybe...they'll let you do it.
It's one of the main reasons we've been looking at moving our hiking trips into PA ASAP.
I hear ya brother. I've got a lake house in the Poconos. Just by crossing the line into PA I breath a sigh of relief.
I had no problem hanging my hammock at Backpacker's Site #2 a couple of years ago. Don't know if rules have changed since then.
stillbill
06-10-2009, 13:37
If youre allowed to pitch a tent in the ground what could be the big deal hanging a hammock in a tree?
jersey joe
06-10-2009, 14:32
I have heard that the stretch of AT from the DWG to Sunfish Pond is the most heavily traveled section of the entire AT. Even if you question it being the MOST heavily traveled, you can't deny it is ONE of the MOST traveled sections. That being said, the camping restrictions are in place for a reason, to protect this section and not have it turn into an overused dump.
mooseboy
06-10-2009, 14:59
On a side note, for some reason from the title of this thread, my first thought was that someone had been hung from a tree i.e. a "hanging" in DWG... morbid, I know. :rolleyes:
If youre allowed to pitch a tent in the ground what could be the big deal hanging a hammock in a tree?
Some state parks (CT I think) don't allow hammock camping because they want to keep campers away from falling branches. The tent sites have minimal or no tree coverage.
On a side note, for some reason from the title of this thread, my first thought was that someone had been hung from a tree i.e. a "hanging" in DWG... morbid, I know. :rolleyes:
You probably didn't notice it was in the Hammock Camping forum. :)
warraghiyagey
06-10-2009, 18:07
Phew!!! . . . the title of this thread freaked me out for a minute. . .
Some state parks (CT I think) don't allow hammock camping because they want to keep campers away from falling branches. The tent sites have minimal or no tree coverage.
And a lot of condensation in tents :D
Here's the trip report. We ended up doing the hike from north to south.
------
My daughter and I completed a 3-day, 25 mile hike on the AT in NJ from Culver Gap to the DWG. This was the first real backpacking trip for both of us and we had a great time.
You can see all the pics and where they were taken in my Picasa web album. Really love the way Picasa lets you map your photos on Google maps. http://picasaweb.google.com/ron.mehr...eat=directlink
I took a Hennessy Hammock Explorer Deluxe with Super Shelter and Lindsay took an HH Expedition with a Walmart blue ccf pad. Each of us had a Mountain Hardwear Lamina +20 mummy. Our cook kit consisted of a self built Caldera Cone, the inner pot and lid from a Coleman Solo and a Trangia burner. Oatmeal and raisins for breakfast. Landjäger (German dried sausage, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landj%C3%A4ger) for two lunches. Two dinners and one lunch were backpackers meals and some Thai noodle dishes. The culinary highlight of each day was when we'd share a Snickers bar on the trail.
My pack weighed in at 29lbs and my daughter's was 20lbs, before water. Each time I hoisted the REI Flash 65 pack it seemed heavy, but once on I hardly noticed the weight.
My fears of bad hips limiting our distances proved unfounded as we covered over 11 miles on the first day, moving at a nice clip. Rain showers and thunder storms stayed out of our way until we reached camp 1. Had to spend about 20min squatting on a rock in the rain as we waited for the lightning and rain to pass. When it did we were treated to the beautiful site of sunlight filtering through the trees and mist. We put up the hammocks using one common tree and got food out for dinner only to have a bear approach the camp. We blew our whistles like crazy and she finally decided to move on. Note to self: remember to cook downwind, not in, camp.
It poured all night and may have even hailed. Upon waking the foot of my bag was a bit wet and so was the SS ocf, even though I used a space blanket over it. Hard to know if it was condensation or rain. Lindsay was a bit confused about how to position the ccf pad in the hammock but otherwise stayed warm. Temp went down to about 50F.
We hit the trail late, around noon, on day two. The weather was threatening but held off. This was our shortest day with maybe only 7 miles. One knee started to get sore but not enough to slow us down.
We found a beautiful grassy site on a bluff looking east. Again a 3-tree hang. Even though it was grassy, this was a hammock only site because under the tall grass was nothing but big rocks. Thai noodles cooked at the edge of the drop so we could enjoy the view. Oddly the wind was coming from the east and the temps dropped making our breath easily visible in the light of our headlamps. We trimmed Lindsay's pad to have a tapper at each end for a better fit. I decided to go without a space blanket and I untied the bungee in the SS entrance slit because I was tired of the way it pushes the hammock up when you're not in it. We set an alarm for 5am to view the sunrise. Sure enough we got a beautiful one but both of us decided to view it from the comfort and warmth of the hammocks. Lindsay slept great that night. She says the pad in the hammock is not a bother now that she understands how the HH works. I could feel some cold spots, probably because of the SS entry slot gaping open w/o the bungee. Still I slept well. It was a humid and cool night and inside of SS was covered with condensation by morning.
The oatmeal was good and the coffee terrible. My GSI insulated plastic cup had picked up so much scent from two previous curry dishes even though we were just using the cups to hold the freezer bags the food had been cooked in. The scent permeated everything. Maybe it's time for Ti.
The scenery was beautiful and so was the weather but my now both knees were hurting. About 3 or 4 miles from the end I took a step down that made me wince. Paused for a moment then kept moving. My knee ended up very swollen, looking like water on the knee, but my doc simply prescribed some NSAIDs and the swelling went down. I am so thankful for my trekking poles. They're my new favorite thing. The knee situation would have been much worse w/o them.
I'm very enthused by this whole backpacking thing and look forward to my knee getting better and then strengthening it for future hikes.
Godxilla
07-08-2009, 20:11
I have been hanging my Hennessy every year at the BP site on the way to sunfish pond for 5 or 6 years now. Always see bears and use the bag poles. This year the parks dept installed new bear proof containers. From the DWG to the BP site is such an easy trek that it often is populated by entire families with their dogs out for a stroll. I always use this section as a warm up in the spring to test out my knees and arthritic feet. This year I met other hammock hangers at the site. I had hiked the entire trail 40 years ago and am in the proces of section hiking it again. I have never stayed at a shelter and have always pitched camp wherever. I had to stop in CT a few years ago while my hiking buddy's kids grow up. Hopefully we can resume the trek while I am still able to hike.
bustedchucks
07-10-2009, 10:14
Awesome report, Ron! Thanks for writing it up. Yeah, sunrise from the hammock is nice.
Thanks Godxilla and bustedchucks. My goal is to get my wife out on the next trip. If we keep the pack weight down and the distances short I'm sure she'll love it.
Of course you're allowed to hang a hammock at the backpacker site, i just did it about a week ago. Anywhere you're allowed to set up a tent, you're allowed to set up a hammock...