NJ/NY section

[emv081649]

Next month (Aug.)I'm going to be hiking the from Delaware Water Gap north to Bear Mtn,NY. Any info on this section would be appreciated. I'm getting the maps and books in the mail but that doesn't tell me everything.

[TD55]

Pay attention to the water sources. That section is a son-a bitch when the springs dry up.

[10-K]

Pay attention to the water sources. That section is a son-a bitch when the springs dry up.

It's a "son-a-bitch" when there is plenty of water. I totally underestimated this section of trail - it's tough! I hiked this exact same section SOBO last December and it was a butt kicker. All the snow and ice didn't help things but it would be tough regardless.

As opposed to the east side of the Hudson (Bear Mt. and north on the AT) which is relatively easy....

[General Fireball]

Here is the status of water in NJ as of right now (7/10), courtesy of ridgerunner Jim Wright:


Nat'l Parks Visitor Ce Faucet in pavilion area
Dunnfield Creek Parking L Pump out of service-
handle removed
Holly Springs Trail, 0.2 miles east of Slow flow-may dry up
Sunfish Pond Run-off Good Flow-Reliable
Garvey Spring Rarely Flows-Don't
even think about it
Yards Creek Run-off, 1 mile N of Sunfish Pond Slow flow-may dry up
Mohican Outdoor Center-0.3 miles off of AT Faucet by garage
across from office
Rattlesnake Spring, 50-150 feet Good Flow-Reliable
Blue Mountain Lakes Road Pump working, with
effort
Boy Scout Bridge, 0.3 miles north of Rattlesnake Mountain
Slow Flow-Not Reliable
Brink Road Shelter Spring Good Flow-Reliable
Gren Anderson Shelter Spring Slow flow-may dry up
Mashipacong Shelter No Water
Iris Trail Stream, N of Mashipacong Shelter Slow Flow-Filter &
Purify-may dry up
Rutherford Shelter Spring Slow flow-may dry up
High Point State Park Office, Route 23 Faucet by office
Monument Shelter, High Point Good Flow-Reliable
(to the right of 1st bridge)
Secret Shelter, 5.5 miles N of HP Shelter-Goldsmith Rd
Faucet from well-Private property
Unionville, NY via Lott Rd & NJ Avenue Faucet at town park, next to post office
Just north of Lake Wallkill Rd Faucet at back of house, sign on the AT
Pochuck Shelter No Water
Trail angel 1.8 miles north of Pochuck Shelter Temporarily out of
service-knee problems
Heaven Hill Farm Faucet at farm, and Ice Cream
Wawayanda Shelter, blue blazed trail off of AT to park office
Faucet on park office&
maintenance buildings

[Raul Perez]

Here's some info from NY 17 to Bear Mountain

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=63350

[the goat]

Next month (Aug.)I'm going to be hiking the from Delaware Water Gap north to Bear Mtn,NY. Any info on this section would be appreciated. I'm getting the maps and books in the mail but that doesn't tell me everything.

pay careful attention to your footware, the first part of this section will be pretty rocky. also some water sources will definitely be dry this year as the mid-atlantic is well below normal rain fall levels.

[OldFeet]

I actually enjoyed the New Jersey section quite a bit. There's a fair amount of ridge walking with decent, though not spectacular views. The short hikes through the bird sanctuary and the long boardwalk are also a bit different than a lot of places on the trail. New Jersey, especially southern NJ, can be pretty rocky and once you hit New York there are a lot of ups and downs. Definitely keep as well supplied with water as possible.

[Cookerhiker]

It's good you're hiking it northbound so that you'll be trail-hardy by the time you reach Rt. 17A outside Greenwood Lake. I know that others have said parts of NJ are as rocky as PA but my only recollection of rockfields slowing me down was around Sunfish Pond which is not far out of Delaware Water Gap. And BTW, it's not "southern NJ" where there are no rocks, only sand. NJ's entire section of AT is in the northern part of the state.

After easy ridgewalking for 50 miles in NJ, you turn right (east) and cross a couple of ridges, the highest of which is Waywayanda - about an 900' ascent, not bad. In between the ridges is the boardwalk piece in Walkill National Refuge - a nice touch and unique in being the only NWR crossed by the AT.

Once you cross Rt. 17A, things get more difficult with PUD after PUD. They're short but steep. The stretch before Rt. 17 is called "Agony Grind" by some locals. Crossing Rt. 17, you're in Harriman Park where you also encounter some short but steep up-and-downs all the way to Bear Mountain. 10K's experience related above is typical of many thru and long-distance hikers who don't expect as difficult a trail when the highest point is only about 1,300'.

NJ is nice except in hot humid conditions which I experienced on my '04 hike and which current thruhikers are going through now. Have a good hike! Hope the weather cools down by August.

[jersey joe]

Next month (Aug.)I'm going to be hiking the from Delaware Water Gap north to Bear Mtn,NY. Any info on this section would be appreciated. I'm getting the maps and books in the mail but that doesn't tell me everything.

I plan on hiking the AT through NJ this coming weekend(July 16-18) so I'll report back anything that I think might be helpful. General Fireball, thanks for posting the ridgerunner info on watersources...very helpful.

[ExosC3]

as many have said, from DWG to basically high point, its rocky as heck. bad on the knees hips and feet. from high pt to NY is actually an amazing hike. the boardwalk section is nice....enjoy it while it lasts bc after you cross some RR tracks and go thru a cow field and cross the road its a STRAIGHT up climb that is not fun. the view is worth it tho.

[jersey joe]

The veiw that ExosC3 speaks of is Pinwheel Vista. It is actually a very short side trail off the AT, but well worth it for the view. The trail IS straight up, quite a bit of trail work went into building the rock steps going up the mountain.

[fireblaz]

This is pinwheel vista in vernon nj

[ExosC3]

yep heres a pic. cant see it in this pic but at one point you can see the high pt monument and the famrland you walk through as well as the old sod farm you walk through all from that point..the side trail is like 500 feet well worth it after that climb.

[ExosC3]

found the pic. hard to see high pt, but its out there...

[jabroni]

How are you getting to DWG? I'm going to be back and forth to that area from Philly/South Jersey often during August. PM me if I can assist in transport.

[elray]

Did this section the middle of May and have to vote with the "butt kicker" crowd. Water was scarce and that series of rock wall climbs in the middle after High Point was very strenuous. Be sure to stop at Unionville and the Mayors house for some real hospitality, you won't regret it. PS The AT Journeys Magazine had a really nice article concerning the brand new section on the east side of Bear Mt, it's an amazing piece of trail building reminiscent of the the WPA days of the great Depression. This masterpiece is going to last a long time! Enjoy!

[EarthboundGoat]

its a much nicer hike thru jersey and new york than i expected, but you're best bet is to find out what its going to be like as you walk it....

[jersey joe]

I forgot to come back to this thread after my NJ hike last weekend. More info on the thread I started here: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=63588

One important thing to note: The pump at Blue Mountain Lakes Road did not have the handle attached. Without the handle I could not get water from this pump. This made an already dry stretch even drier.

[D-wreck]

I don't know if you plan on staying at shelters or not, but I found Fingerboard, William Brien, and West Mountain to be a little....less than clean? The shelters themselves were very interesting because they were so old and different, but I chose to tent.

Wildcat was a very nice shelter, but then I managed to sleep inside every night I was in New Jersey. Wish I would have camped on the ridge just north of Mohican Outdoor Center though, looked like a great spot!

[ajangiuli]

Im gonna second TD55's reply..... we hiked section 12 this past weekend and outside of a small trickle at Fitzgerald Falls there wasnt much in the lines of flowing water.....obviously little damn and the lake were okay.....didnt even check the spring @ wildcat as we were told it was nothing more then a puddle.....there was trail magic at almost every road crossing from arden valley road to west mobasha road.
other then that we had a great time and looking forward to our next hike....enjoy
AJ