2Adamswalking’s Trip Reports

We found the parking area and when we arrived, there were still plenty of spaces available. It was a beautiful day for hiking so we expected to have company on the trail. It was exciting to think we would be hiking on part of the infamous Appalachian Trail with it's white blaze guiding us on our journey. We stopped at the trailhead kiosk to peruse the map and I was impressed that it was also in Spanish. We headed down the trail that was as wide as a class 6 road until we passed a small pond and came to our first junction in the trail. We decided to head down the bank to the left instead of continuing up. We needed to use the rope that was installed there to assist our descent. It was easier than it looked, but it helped build my anticipation for the adventures that I was hoping for ahead. This trail is so close to the highway at the Delaware Water Gap and we had hoped that by hiking early in the day we would have heard less traffic noise. Sadly this was not the case, we did get quite a bit of traffic noise as we hiked in the beginning, but as the trail ascended the noise was less offensive. We got some beautiful views of the Gap below and really enjoyed being able to hike next to and through some enormous Rhododendron bushes. At home in NH they are quite small, but here they towered over us, so it was easy to imagine you were magically transformed into a being the size of a mouse as we made our way along the trail and through these tunnels of green. We took a short detour to a rocky outcrop to rest, hydrate and take in the views of the Gap below. It was sunny and bright and we were able to watch what appeared to be turkey vultures soaring below and catching the thermocline lift that rises along the steep sides of the Gap. Back on the trail we encountered a very large Northern Copperhead Snake crossing the trail. Although it's always fun to see wild creatures, respect and distance are the best ways to deal with an encounter. We loved this hike.