High Point Loop, October 28, 2026, High Point State Park

View to High Point

Although 40 states have higher highest-elevation points, New Jersey isn't totally flat. The northwestern "highlands" are home to the Kittantinny Mountains, the forested ridges of which afford the opportunity to piece together undulating section hikes with decent elevation gain. Not Adirondack- or White Mountain-level gain, but hey, at least it's not Florida. Opting to burn a vacation day midweek, I recently set off on a 15 mile, 2,000-foot-gain hike that incorporated the highest spot in New Jersey, aptly named High Point. You can actually drive a car to within a few feet of the summit, but that's definitely not the best way to visit High Point. Hiking north on the Appalachian Trail from Deckertown Turnpike is.

Autumn sunrise on the Appalachian Trail

I got up at 4 a.m. sharp to make the 2 hour drive to the trailhead, arriving before the sun came up. The Appalachian Trail runs along this ridge and there are many east-facing viewpoints. I caught a splendid sunrise just 10 minutes into the hike. Using a combination of the AT and the Iris Trail, I made it to Lake Rutherford while it was still basked in early morning light and took a second breakfast break on its pretty western shore. My entire hike was inside the boundaries of High Point State Park, which unfortunately has quite a number of auto roads both traversing the park and leading to various parking lots, camping areas and other attractions. I did my best to follow a route that stayed away from the roads, hoping to avoid people as much as possible. The fact that it was a weekday also helped. With the exception of one super-large field trip of some 30 smiling teenagers, I didn't see anyone the entire six and a half hours out.

Lake Rutherford

There's a huge obelisk memorial to military veterans on New Jersey's highest spot, which is kind of unfortunate. Honoring people like my World War II vet grandfather is great, but why put it in the middle of one of the state's best natural areas? On this autumn weekday, however, the place was eerily abandoned and I had the 360 degree views from the stone viewing platform all to myself. After leaving the high point, I crossed the empty parking lot and took the Monument Trail along the ridge all the way to the New York State line, where a short spur trail abruptly ends at private land and a no trespassing sign. From there, I doubled back and pieced together a route that passed Steeny Kill Lake and its two rustic cabins and then got on the Mashipacong Trail to Sawmill Pond. The campground there was also deserted at this time of year. 

View to the southwest, from the Pitch Pine atop the Blue Dot Trail

 
I realized that it was 11:30 a.m. and I had not had a break since 8, so found a nice boulder in the woods for a lengthy lunch that involved busting out the camp stove and using up some of my backpacking fare. For some reason, I F&#$-ed up the measurements and wound up with breakfast scramble soup, but consumed it nonetheless. I definitely needed to recharge because the Blue Dot Trail leading east from the pond goes straight up the rocky ridge, with hand-over-hand bouldering needed to reach the top and its compelling reward of a decent vista point. 

Thank goodness it was the off season. In mid-summer, the campers would have been on this neat little trail in droves. 

Peak: High Point 
Elevation: 1,803 feet (Gain: 2,107 feet)
Distance: 15.6 miles roundtrip
Route: Iris Trail, to Appalachian Trail, to Monument Trail, to Steeny Kill Trail, to Mashipacong Trail, to Blue Dot Trail, to Appalachian Trail, to Iris Trail 
Conditions: Party sunny, 60 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Common Ravens, White-tailed Deer

Bald Peak and Western Ledges, October 11, 2026, Eastern High Peaks, Adirondack Park

Bald Peak Western Ledges

Adirondack peak hiking on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day weekend has been an annual tradition for many years. So I know the deal. Avoid Heart Lake. Avoid the Garden. Avoid Upper Works. Avoid the AMR. You know what? Pretty much avoid any of the 46er trailheads. But many years of visiting the 'Dacks means that I've picked up one or two secrets. Rocky Peak, via the East Trail, has some of the best fall foliage views in the High Peaks, but also sees little use, even on super busy holiday weekends. I didn't feel like doing the entire length over to Rocky Peak Ridge, so I decided on an up and back to 3,000-foot Bald Peak.  

View to Bald Peak and beyond from Blueberry Cobbles

 
The trail departs from the north end of the parking area, but there is also a short, grassy trail heading south for about 100 yards that terminates at some historical gravestones. After checking them out (of course), I bushwhacked north through the woods to the main trail and found it to be pleasantly un-Adirondack like, with a fairly easy uphill grade, no rocks, no roots, and solid footing all the way to the first two outlook spurs. I visited them both, but especially liked the view to the north where you can see the rocky outcroppings of Owl's Head Lookout and Iron Mountain. Next came the equally-rewarding views from the Blueberry Cobbles. No blueberries at this time of year, but the many plants strewn about the cobbles had turned their familiar flame red color. It was neat. 

View from the Western Ledges of Bald Peak

I only encountered a few hikers on the day, and two of them were camped out for lunch at the summit when I reached the top. I touched the cairn and quickly moved on. If Bald Peak itself is a secret, sleeper of an autumn hike, then secret #2 is that one should not miss its western ledges. Adding just 8/10th of a mile and only 100 feet of elevation gain, the out-and-back passes a huge glacial erratic and offers a wide, rocky ledge with sweeping panoramic views. I mean, the view is pretty much the same as that from Bald Peak summit, but this spot is somewhat hidden from the trail proper and rarely a destination for hikers. Solitude is pretty much guaranteed, even on Columbus Day weekend. Just the way that I like it.

Peak: Bald Peak and Bald Peak Western Ledges 
Elevation: 3,060 feet (Gain: 2,931 feet)
Distance: 7.6 miles roundtrip
Route: Rocky Peak Ridge East Trail 
Conditions: Party sunny, 40 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Golden-crowned Kinglets, Common Ravens, Eastern Chipmunks

Thunder Swamp Loop, September 30-October 1, 2026, Delaware State Forest

Spruce Run Beaver pond and wetlands

The summer lingered this year. As always, I'd been saving my vacation days for the cooler temperature days of fall. By the end of September, they still hadn't come and I decided that I couldn't wait any longer. It was time for a two-day, 20 mile loop of the Thunder Swamp trail in Delaware State Forest that I had been visualizing for some time. Added incentive was the fact that Pennsylvania hunting season would be opening on the coming weekend and I guessed (correctly) that I'd have the trail to myself on a couple of weekdays just prior. I needed a few days to sort through all of my older gear, some of which hadn't been used a quite a while. I went with my 15-year-old Osprey Kestrel 68, the largest-volume pack that I have, in order to carry the load. It turned out to be nearly 35 pounds. A big chunk of that was water weight. In the past, I'd only done the northeast and northwest sections of Thunder Swamp, so wasn't sure what the water sources would be down south and decided to carry 3 liters. Better safe than sorry. For the belly... not the back. 

Trail break near Pennel Run

I started out from the parking area near Lake Minisink on a clockwise loop. My departure was announced, almost immediately, by the call of a Great Horned Owl. Owl sounds would turn out to be a recurring feature throughout the two-day hike, mainly at night of course. Thunder Swamp Trail is notoriously challenging due to the rocky surface, which I also encountered from the get-go. Well-positioned orange blazes guide the way and I had no trouble navigating the path for a few hours until a lunch break near Red Rock Run. The creek turned out to be a rapidly-flowing stream and most certainly could have been a water source. There was also a very nice creek-side campsite along this stretch.

The Bushkill at dusk

However, my plan called for camping along the Bushkill Creek so I pressed on through the increasingly humid afternoon. By the time I reached my campsite location, I was totally drenched in sweat and needed a quick splash down from the chilly Bushkill before setting up camp. It was a little buggy, so I set up my mosquito net and camp chair reading area next to my tent in order to have a place to escape the annoyance. It was a picture-perfect spot, with close access to the water and pleasant site lines through the pretty forest. The only downside, I soon discovered, was the noise pollution from a Pocono mini-development and access roads that looked far enough away on the map but turned out not to be. Target practice and hours of droning muffler noise put a huge damper on the evening.

Old metal blaze badge in the orange of Thunder Swamp

The next day, I was up at my normal hour of 5 a.m. and needed a headlamp for breakfast and other morning business. It was still dark as I struck camp and geared up for day two. The next part of the trail is all ascending, with rocks aplenty, as well as too-many-to-count blow downs across the trail. Though difficult, this section really proved to be the most interesting and memorable part of the trail as it passes through pleasant woods (with fewer invasive species than along the Bushkill) and near beaver-dammed wetlands and numerous small streams. I also passed several really nice campsites and resolved that next time I would surely flip-flop my route in order to camp here instead.  

Sunlight on spider web

It was slow going all day, with my face constantly brushing through thick, sticky spider webs, the telltale sign of a lesser-used trail. I needed three long breaks, one in which I even took the time to bust out the camp stove for some hot tea, in order to shake off the fatigue of a huge pack and finish the hike. 

Time to invest in some ultra light. 

Destination: Thunder Swamp Loop
Elevation: 1,803 feet gain
Distance: 19.25 miles roundtrip
Route: Clockwise Loop, Thunder Swamp Trail
Conditions: Partly Sunny, 50-70 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Black Bear scat aplenty (no sightings)