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| Autumn Views of New Jersey from the AT near Catfish Mountain |
Having spent so much time in New England over the past two years, K and I realized that we had fallen behind in our hikes on the
New Jersey 1000 list. That's the list that a couple of Garden State hikers created a few years back of the highest "peaks" in New Jersey. We like the list because the hikes are all located within 1 and 1/2 hours from home and allow us to see some the really beautiful, rural parts of an otherwise urban state. The hikes are also of moderate elevation gain, making them perfect for a leisurely day out or winter hiking route in sub par weather conditions.
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| Catfish Mountain summit fire tower |
On Halloween Day, we decided to revisit our NJ 1000 list with a loop hike to Catfish Mountain. We used our local branch of the AMC - the
Mohican Outdoor Center - as our starting point. Nestled on the banks of Catfish Pond, the Mohican Center is a great point of departure for the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey and other hikes in and around the northwestern corner of the state. Even better is that it is just over an hour from the house.
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| Descending the fire road to Rattlesnake Swamp Trail |
Heading northeast from the parking area, we quickly climbed a spur trail from the Center to the Appalachian Trail and followed the AT past multiple vista points. A short, pleasant but rocky Kittatiny Ridge walk brings you to the summit of Catfish Mountain and its famous fire tower. Not yet ready to break, we headed down off the ridge and took a fire road to the intersection with Rattlesnake Swamp Trail. Turning sharply back to the southwest, we followed the trail through a pleasant wetlands and hundreds of mature rhododendrons. After a lesiurely trail lunch, we continued along the trail through the rhododendrons and across several stream crossings and arrived back at Catfish Pond.
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| Among the Rhododendrons in Rattlesnake Swamp |
All in all, we encountered only five people the entire day... a definite plus (and highly uncommon) for a hike in the Water Gap.
Peak: Rattlesnake Mountain
Elevation: 1,560 feet
Distance: 6 miles round trip
Route: Loop; Rattlesnake Swamp Trail connector to Appalachian Trail to Fire Road to Rattlesnake Swamp Trail
