Hey PA people

“Hey guys and girls I am looking for an easy beginer level hike in Eastern PA. Something with not alot of elevation gain and loss but with some rewards ie waterfalls, views, rivers, lakes etc. Maybe a Friday night spot near a trailhead and a Saturday spot about 5-10 easy miles. Then an easy out for Sunday. A loop would be great.

I am trying to get a couple of my buddys into backpacking. So I do not want to push them too hard.”

“What you don't want to take them over the Dix Range. ;-)”

“a couple loops in this area: http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/ChokeCreek_0000.asp”

“Haven't hiked it but is on my list of TTD for '07. It's supposed to be about 23 miles that can be broken into 2 loops should you want to trunkate the trip. I believe one vista and a couple of streams.”

“The Thunderswamp trail in the Poconos is a good beginner trail. Has real nice camping along Bushkill creek.
http://www.kta-hike.org/thunder.htm

Or the Pinchot trail, which you've done before.

Anything else you would have to go farther west.
last edited: 3/13/06 9:11:27 AM”

“Lumberzac, you're such a Dix.”

“The Pinchot Circuit is the same as what I linked to. I've hiked it.

It's fine for beginners - but if you don't want to stress them - plan on keeping your bags in the cars so you don't have to hike with the packs. Otherwise, they will be strained if you do it in 2 days.

3 days would not stress them.

(I'm assuming you do the 2 main loops)

email me if you have questions”

“You could do a loop to the Pinnacle on the AT (about 9'ish miles). Blue Rocks Campground is a good place to use as basecamp.

What about Rickett's Glen?”

“or... start at Rt 191 on the AT, already up on the ridge and hike into the Delaware Water Gap. Cross the I-80 Bridge in the NJ, there is a foot bridge and hike up the AT to the Backpack Campsite near sunfish pond. Nice spot to camp, grassy, mileage for the day would be about 8-9 miles, but not hard miles. There are several water falls and awesome views.

Then sunday, you can hike around Sunfish Pond and take the turquoise trail over to the Mt. Tammany Fire Road and take the fire road over to the vista on Mt. Tammany, best views in the Water Gap and hike the red dot trail down to I-80.

I think that would be an awesome hike and it's doable for a beginner, because there is no steep climb, some good descents, but nothing buttkicker about it and plenty of eye candy. The worst part would be the mile road walk to get from PA to NJ, but that wouldn't last too long. You could have pizza in the town of Water Gap.

The first day would be 8-9 relatively easy miles, plenty of views, some waterfalls and Sunfish Pond, plus hiking in two states. The second day would be about 7 miles, still easy. The hardest part would be the descent from Mt. Tammany. But the view from Mt. Tammany is amazing.
last edited: 3/13/06 9:57:07 AM”

“The WRT from Colton point state park to Ansonia would be perfect. Views at Barbor rock, places to camp and aproxamately 5 miles.moderate”

“Isn't Worthington State Park close to that route? I was redoing my files yesterday and found a New Jersey DNR envelope with info that I asked for 5 years ago.”

“part of that hike is in worthington SF”

“I remembered reading about Sunfish Pond and Tammany. That's good ... the mind isn't totally gone yet. I can still remember the important things!”

“Thanks for the quick responses. I'll have to check these out. I am trying to keep it in NE PA since they are coming from DE and I am in CT. The Pinchot trail is an easy one but if I remember right it was sort of boring as far as views go.
Thunderswamp is somewhere I would like to go but the fire ban is on during our time. Got to have a fire.

WRT is too far away for this trip. If I am ging to drive all the way there I am going to hike the whole thing.


ENS how far would it be to hike up to Sunfish pond on Friday and then over to Mt Taminy on Saturday and down on Sunday? Can you do that in a loop? That is where the wolf rehab place is right? That would really freak them out to camp near that one night! Hey was that a wolf?”

“to do easy and not have it boring. I need to put Worthington on my 2007 list of things to do but will probably car camp and do day hikes. Some of my friends might want to do canoeing/kayaking.”

“Yeah that is the tough part. Most of the great views come with a big climb.”

“it's 4 miles to the campsite near sunfish pond and then about 7 miles if you go around Sunfish pond and over to Tammany on the fire road and down the red dot trail to complete the loop. the waterfalls are on the dunfield trail, but the dunnfield parallells the AT. The entire loop is 11 miles. If you want to give them a good hill, take 'em up Mt. Tammany. That's 1200 feet in a mile and a half, some pretty steep sections. Either way you do it, it's a good hike for a beginner.”

“Any camping over near Mt Tammany? I am thinking 4 miles on Friday late afternoon how far is it to Mt Tammany from Sunfish pond?

I know I'm a pain but I don't have the maps.”

“the only camping there is backpack campsite #2, which is a quarter mile from Sunfish Pond. It is about 5 miles from Sunfish Pond to Mt. Tammany.”

“The stretch we did on the AT last weekend would probably fill the bill.

Friday: You can park at PA 645 and hike in about two miles to the Applebee Campsite, or park at PA 501 and hike in about half a mile to the Applebee Campsite.

Saturday: It's about 6 miles to the Hertlein Campsite: A dam with a small pond (fishing & swimming) and a glacial boulder field, several very nice views along the way and two pretty streams running around either side of the campsite.

Sunday: Four miles out to PA 183.

You'd have to shuttle a car . . .
last edited: 3/13/06 3:06:28 PM”

“hey Lt, would you be able to do a trip to the catskills for the evil bushwack peaks on 4/7-4/9? Crazypace and I are talking of heading up there that weekend to do those peaks.”

“Lthiker? Who IS this stranger? ;o)

If a fire is a must, than forget about the Tammany loop. Fires aren't allowed in that area and pretty much all of northwest jersey.

It is a great 11.5 mile loop though. I've done it well over 100 times. The 4 mile Dunnfield Trail (green), from the rte 80 parking area to Sunfish Pond, is one of my all time favorite trails. It's a gradual 1100 foot ascent with lots of nice cascades and small waterfalls.

The only legal camping up there is at the backpacker campsite, on the AT about 1/2 mile south of Sunfish Pond. I'd suggest doing the loop via Mt Tammany for a few reasons. One, if you are starting early on a Saturday (8am or earlier), you might have the fantastic Vista all to yourselves. Sunday afternoon, there will be a bunch of people up there. It's a stiff climb, but except for 2 small climbs later on, it's the only climbing on the loop.

Once on top, where the red dot trail ends, you'll pick up the blue trail for 1/2 mile, and where the blue trail turns left, you'll go straight on the unmarked Tammany Fire Road Trail. The next few miles is a very nice forest hike along a ridge, and since it's seldom used, you'll have good wildlife opportunities. You'll walk past an old helipad (they call it a helispot), and you'll soon see a sign telling you how far you are from the GAP and Yard's Creek. At that point, you'll be directly above Camp Taylor, which is the home of the Lakota Wolf Preserve. Stop there and start howling, and if you're lucky, you'll get to hear 22 wolves howl back at ya. It's worked for me a few times. Very very cool.

Go about another mile and start looking for a left turn onto the Turquoise Trail. You'll see a turquoise left arrow and a few blazes painted on a rock. If you miss it, you'll go about 3/4 of a mile and run into a fence at Yard's Creek. Time to about face.

Stay on the TQ Trail and you'll descend some rocks and cross the very upper section of Dunnfield Creek. You'll then climb for about 100' and soon come to a T. Hang a left and you're now on the Sunfish Pond Fire Road Trail. Go about a 1/2 mile and look for a right turn into the woods marked with turquoise blazes. If you miss this turn, you'll end up at the southwest side of Sunfish Pond, thus bypassing the Sunfish Pond loop. You don't want to miss the loop, because there is a beautiful overlook on the TQ trail. Soon after the overlook, the TQ terminates and you'll run into the AT. Hang a left and go south on the AT, which hugs the shoreline of SP. Check out all the cool carins that people have built through the years.

When you get to the far side of the Pond, there's a monument and a bench where you can take a break and enjoy Sunfish Pond. If you wanted to take the Dunnfield Trail down, turn left and you'll see it in a few seconds. Otherwise, stay on the AT and you'll soon run into the campsites on your right.

I strongly recommend going down the Dunnfield rather than the AT. However, if there has been a lot of rain, some of the stream crossings can be dicey. The trail was closed for almost 2 years following hurricane IVAN. Most of the bridges were washed away as well as part of the trail. They have since rerouted the section of washed out trail and rebuilt one of the bridges at the bottom. Under normal conditions, the crossings are fine.

I probably posted all this for nothing because of the no fire issue, but I never get bored "talking" about this trail.

All that said, how about the Loyalsock - Link 17 mile loop at World's End State Park, or is that to far?
last edited: 3/13/06 6:12:10 PM”

“EarthNsky is a nice enough guy, but PA sucks!”

“yeah, the Loyalsock-Link loop is another good option. The campsites along the Loyalsock Creek are fabulous and there is plenty of great scenery along the way. That loop is a good intro to backpacking.”

“You'll find that Pennsy makes people run away when he walks that area.”

“"When you get to the far side of the Pond, there's a monument and a bench where you can take a break and enjoy Sunfish Pond. If you wanted to take the Dunnfield Trail down, turn left and you'll see it in a few seconds. Otherwise, stay on the AT and you'll soon run into the campsites on your right.

I strongly recommend going down the Dunnfield rather than the AT. However, if there has been a lot of rain, some of the stream crossings can be dicey. The trail was closed for almost 2 years following hurricane IVAN. Most of the bridges were washed away as well as part of the trail. They have since rerouted the section of washed out trail and rebuilt one of the bridges at the bottom. Under normal conditions, the crossings are fine.

I probably posted all this for nothing because of the no fire issue, but I never get bored "talking" about this trail."

This is my stomping ground too. I agree with everything Pennsy says. I hiked up the Dunnfield Creek trail back in Nov. all bridges had been washed away, as had much of the dirt banks. The trail was rerouted higher up the mnt. and was confusing at some points. Don't let that stop you though. The only thing I would add is: go up the Tammany Trail, hike over to Sunfish Pond, camp there. Hike around the pond the next day, then hike down the Dunnfield Creek Trail. The benefit of hiking the AT is that there are a couple bail out options that are less obvious on the Dunnfield. Oh, yeah. You might consider the campsites along the Delware accesible from the old Mine Rd.”

“Need Fire! Camping without a fire to stare at isn't as fun.”

“the Loyalsock Link Loop s your best bet then.”

“I suggest the section of the west rim trail from bradley wales north or the loyalsock link loop, or a section of the old loggers path. Or the worlds end loop with side trip to ketchum run gorge.

Geez, you want an EASY hike with views, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, streams, and good camping???? Don't we all!”

“Hey jmitch--

I offered up the easiest hike I know with viewsand great camping. The campsite comes with: a nice waterfall, 2 streams, a good-sized pond, a glacial boulder field and some mighty big fire rings. It's also probably the closest to him, assuming he's coming from the greater Philly area ;-)”

“What am I asking too much?

Nogranola, were is that section of the at?”

“Well, to some degree, maybe I'm a little biased against the AT. Sorry, I need to work on that.

Though I can't recall any notable falls along PA's AT.”

“lol ... lol

the best section of PA AT is in Micheax State Forest and Caledonia State Park from the MD border to Boiling Springs.

Lt, the loyalsock/link has everything you're looking for and it's in north eastern PA.”

“A lake, a few waterfalls, two streams and a nice vista exist on the new property that was added north of the Pinchot trail. The problem is for someone that doesn't know the area there isn't any trails into the property and there's no established maps available. It's a nice hike that requires some bushwhacking, but like I said if you don't know where to go you won't find it.”

“PA 645 or PA 501, about 25 miles NW of Reading.”

“The loyalsock might be a little farther than you want to go, considering you are coming in from CT and your friends from DE. DWG has everything you're looking for.”

“except for no fire. Beginners need a fire.”

“ENS got any maps on line showing the Loyal sock with the link trail? How many miles is that?
I need something short, how about starting at the picnic area near High rock run and hiking into Alpine Falls.”

“the entire loop is 17 miles. There are two climbs, the climb to High Rock, which is hella steep and rocky, but short and the climb to Canyon Vista. the rest of the hike is pretty easy.

I think you should hike right on by Alpine Falls, that's a good lunch spot. I would camp on the Loyalsock when you turn onto the Link near the Horsehead bridge. the campsite along the Loyalsock are really nice.

It's a little more mileage than you were looking for, but it's not hard mileage. The first day would be 10 miles and the second would be 7.

I don't have any maps unfortunately.
last edited: 3/15/06 7:49:42 AM”