Hike #173
The group at the view above the Indian Head, Del water Gap
5/29/5
Lower Worthington State Forest Hike with Jim Delotto, Brian Rapp, Jude Shabrach, Ira Rubenstein, Bill Jacobsen, Cam Macauley, and Dave Finton
Yet another hike the original journal was lost on. Maybe someone will find a disc along the way that includes it...
View of Arrow Island from Tammany Trail
Heading up the old abandoned route of Tammany Trail
View from the top of Mt. Tammany
Top of Mt Tammany view
View toward a bar in the Delaware from Mt. Tammany
View toward Colombia from Mt. Tammany
View from Mt Tammany, Blue Dot Trail
View from Blue Dot Trail towards Hainesburg
Along Mt. Tammany Fire Road
Along access road to Upper Yards Creek Reservoir
Abandoned picnic area at Lower Yards Creek
Yards Creek Scout Camp
Ridge view at Lower Yards Creek
Brian with a frog
Abandoned building along Kaiser Road Trail
View of Lower Yards Creek Reservoir from Kaiser Road Trail
Abandoned building on Kaiser Road Trail
Lower Yards Creek Reservoir from Kaiser Road Trail
Inside a Pahaquarry Copper Mine
Inside a Pahaquarry Copper Mine
At the Pahaquarry Copper Mines
Wallpack Bend from Raccoon Ridge
Delotto on Mt. Mohican
The group on Mt. Mohican
Lower Yards Creek Reservoir from Mt. Mohican
Mt Mohican summit
A porcupine climbing a tree near Mt. Mohican
A Porcupine climbing a tree near Mt. Mohican
The night before this hike, there was a party at my friend David Noble's house. He was supposed to come on the hike the next morning with me, but ended unable to. While at the party, I ended up talking to a young guy named Brian Rapp, who I had not known was already recruited to join David on my hike. When I told him I was doing a hike tomorrow at Delaware Water Gap he replied "Really? Me too! Dave knows this crazy guy that does twenty mile hikes...."! I replied "DUDE! You're coming on my hike!!!". So that's how I met Brian Rapp.
The next day, Brian rode with me to the meeting point for the loop hike.
Delotto joined from the prvious hikes, Jude and Ira were ready to try another one having met me at Devil's Hole, Bill and Cam joined through AMC, and Dave Finton came through mutual friends with the Paulins Kill Valley Trail group as I recall.
We started heading up the Red Dot Trail up Mt Tammany, the steepest official trail in Worthington. Once at the top we continued along Tammany Fire Road to the Upper Yards Creek Resevoir, then down to the lower one. I think Dave cut out before the descent to meet us later. I did'nt realize that these sites were off limits at the time, closed after 9/11. Still, we had lunch in the abandoned picnic area anyway. We continued down the camp road into the boy scout camp and met a caretaker who directed us to the water pump. We then headed up Kaiser Road and passed the abandoned building on the way to the ridge. We continued to Mohican Camp Road, then followed Copper Mines Trail down hill. I gave the group the option of skipping that since it would involve climbing the ridge again, but they all agreed to do it and I remember they liked it, particularly Ira who commented on how scenic it was. I even took the group into one of the mines. We then ascended the ridge back up to Raccoon Ridge, then to Mt Mohican. Delotto was doing great on this, his toughest hike with me yet, and he was tired but felt a sense of great accomplishment as seen in the pictures.
After a break at Mt Mohican, we hiked through Tocks Swamp to Sunfish Pond, and everyone still brings up how bad the rocks were going along the shore after doing so many miles already.
I recommended to everyone that we continue down Dunnfield Creek Trail rather than the AT because it was more scenic. We went down, and much of the upper section of the trail was badly washed out, but we made it through anyway. It was a bit slow going, but we completed the hike just after dark. It was a 22.5 mile hike, really the toughest one I'd done with a group!
Descending on Dunnfield Creek Trail in the dark
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