Catfish Mountain, October 31, 2015, Delaware Water Gap

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.

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.

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.

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

Great Head, October 15, 2015, Acadia National Park

View from Great Head

We found the short loop trail over the rock outcropping known as Great Head to be one of the neatest little hikes at Acadia. With its rocky coastline, windswept foliage, and magnificent vistas out to sea, Great Head is quintessential Maine. But with that natural beauty comes a price... the crowds.

Break time on Great Head loop trail

Since it was our last day on the island, we opted for a later start time around mid-morning and therefore had to wait through a small traffic jam up at one of park gates. Once through, we passed an overflowing parking lot at the Precipice trail up to Champlain Mountain and then got the very last available spot at the Sand Beach parking area. Once traversing the beach, we climbed up a short but steep escarpment to start the loop of Great Head, which we decided to do in a counter clockwise direction. From the top, one has a nice view of the Beehive. We had our binoculars and used them to follow a number of obviously-scared-out-of-their-wits people slowly making their way up the open ledges of this famous Acadia "ladder" trail.

The Beehive

Despite some slow moving groups and at least one crazed kid who liked to race ahead of his family and check out what we were doing, we soon left the crowds behind and enjoyed a hike of numerous ocean vistas and plenty of open rocks for long, leisurely breaks. We even caught the sporadic boom of the Thunder Hole further down the coast - a place where the surf enters a cleft in the granite cliffs and produces a thunderous cannon-like roar. Continuing our loop after a long lunch break, we connected with the Saterlee Trail and followed it back to Sand Beach, completing the short 2 mile loop.

"Ooooh, what's this?"

We passed the bustling parking area for the Beehive en route and thought about tacking it on to the day.

Nah. Maybe next time.

Hike: Great Head Loop
Elevation: 139 feet
Distance: 2 miles round trip
Route: Loop; Great Head Loop Trail to Saterlee Trail
Conditions: Party sunny, 60 degrees F

Gilmore Peak and Sargent Mountain, October 15, 2014, Acadia National Park

Sargent Mountain Summit Marker

Six trails in Acadia are designated as "ladder trails," named for the iron rungs that a hiker must negotiate along the way. My research on one of these trails - the Giant Slide Trail - found that it ranks among the least-traveled trails in Acadia. That's what I'm talking about.

Lichen forest

I used the Giant Slide Trail as the stem of a lollipop-shaped hike up the summits of Gilmour Peak and Sargent Mountain. Sure enough, I was the first car at the roadside pull off for the trail head. After meandering through an awesome patch of lichen-encrusted rocks, the trail crosses a carriage road and then enters into the so-called "Giant Slide." There are no iron ladders... I guess they just call it a ladder trail because that's the designation for the toughest trails in the park.

Over the boulders and through the caves on Giant Slide Trail

Further, there's not really any trail. The blazes just go up and over boulders, through the stream bed, around exposed tree roots, and underneath rock formations. I quickly stowed the hiking poles. No need for them when you need all fours for the constant boulder scrambles. The trail is strenuous, to be certain, but nothing unlike what one encounters in the White Mountains. All in all, it was a pretty cool trail. Once through the slide, I took the Grandgent Trail up and over Gilmore Peak and then pressed on to the summit of Sargent Mountain, the second highest point in Acadia.

Gilmore Peak summit sign

Sargent is a neat peak, with the same treeless summit and sweeping views characteristic of the other mountains at Acadia. The lack of an auto road to the summit, however, made for much more seclusion than Cadillac Mountain. For the return, I took Sargent Northwest Trail. Just as I was reconnecting with the Giant Slide Trail I encountered the only other hikers of the morning. We chatted for a bit and then I tackled the slide once again.

The return was as interesting as the ascent. I'd definitely visit the Giant Slide again.

Peak: Gilmore Peak and Sargent Mountain
Elevation: 1,030 feet and 1,379 feet
Distance: 4.3 miles
Route: Lollipop: Giant Slide Trail to Grandgent Trail to Sargent Northwest Trail
Conditions: Sunny, 50 degrees F

Dorr and Cadillac Mountains, October 14, 2015, Acadia National Park

Cadillac Mountain, the View from Dorr Mountain Summit

They say that the Dorr Mountain Ladder Trail is one of the best workouts in Acadia. It has a few of the iron rungs characteristic of the other ladder trails, but the real challenge is the unrelenting set of stone steps that runs straight up the eastern side of Dorr Mountain from the pond/wetland known locally as the Tarn.

The Tarn at dawn

I arrived at the Tarn parking area at daybreak and started out along its western shore (a trail known as the Kane Path) with a headlamp. Once past the Tarn, I turned west onto the Ladder Trail and, as expected, had to negotiate hundreds of steep steps up the cliff side. A total of 650 feet of elevation is gained rapidly and I soon found myself taking a much needed break on a rock outcropping looking down on the highway far below. From there, the Schiff Path leads to the treeless summit of Dorr Mountain.

Boulder break after the granite steps

After another break on Dorr's summit, it was steeply down into a col and steeply up to Cadillac Mountain - the highest point in Acadia National Park. Whereas most of my summit experiences on Acadia offered total seclusion (no one seems to wake up for early AM start times), my arrival at Cadillac brought me into the mass of tourists who drive up there (yep, there's an auto road like on Mt. Washington) to experience the stunning sunrises. Upon arrival, I did a quick loop on the paved path to the true summit. Once I spotted the cruise ships in Bar Harbor, I figured it was time to get back into the woods.

Loop trail on Cadillac Summit, View to Bar Harbor

Since the gorges (gole) of Abruzzo rank among our most favorite places to Hike in Italy, I wanted to descend via Acadia's aptly-named Gorge Path. True to its name, the Gorge Path makes its way through a dark, shadowy gorge hollowed out by the steam that follows the trail pretty much the whole way. After that, I turned east onto the Hemlock Trail, which eventually becomes an old forest road and connects with the Jessup Path leading back to the Tarn.

Peaks: Dorr Mountain and Cadillac Mountain
Elevation: 1,265 feet and 1,529 feet
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Route: Loop, Kane Path to Dorr Mountain Ladder Trail to Cadillac-Dorr Connector to Gorge Path to Hemlock Trail to Jessup Path
Conditions: Partly cloudy, 50 degrees F

Hadlock Ponds, October 12, 2015, Acadia National Park

Lunch spot on Lower Hadlock Pond

One benefit of the comparatively short peak hikes in Acadia is that I can be out and back by 10 or 11 AM, thus leaving the late morning and afternoon for another hike or bike ride on the famous carriage roads with K. We found the Hadlock Ponds to be a really neat figure eight-shaped, double loop hike, with nice vista points, wetland boardwalks, babbling brooks, and moss-filled forests. The hike could easily be extended with a trip to the summit of nearby Mount Norumbega and still bring one back to the parking area with no backtracking.

K on the boardwalks along Upped Hadlock 

The Hadlock Ponds Trail starts with a short elevation gain up to one of the island's many carriage roads and then down to the east side of the pond and along an extended boardwalk section. After skirting the upper pond, the trail recrosses the highway and passes through a pleasant section following the cascading stream that connects the two ponds. This second section of the hike completely circumnavigates the Lower Hadlock Pond. We looped around the pond from east to west, ending the loop at a nice rock outcropping that served as the perfect, pond-side lunch spot.

Lower Norumbega Trail

After the break, we finished the loop and got on the lower Norumbega Trail which skirts the east side of the peak through a pretty beech and birch forest with an almost totally-covered mossy floor. All in all, it was a nice little hike. The only downside was the road noise one encounters on the upper pond.

Destination: Hadlock Ponds
Distance: 3.2 miles roundtrip
Route: Hadlock Ponds Trail to Lower Hadlock Trail to Lower Norumbega Trail
Conditions: Sunny 55 degrees F

Penobscot Mountain, October 12, 2015, Acadia National Park

Sunrise at Mount Penobscot

Although its peaks are hopelessly low in terms of total elevation, Acadia National Park offers some of the most dramatic mountain vistas on the East Coast. Many of the summits are above the tree line, offering rocky, barren landscapes reminiscent of the Presidential Range. Heck, that's how the island on which the park is situated - Mount Desert Island - got its name. Since the whole park covers only 47,000 acres, many of the hiking trails are short. But at Acadia, short doesn't always mean easy.

Blue blazes along the Jordan Cliffs

I started off the week with one of the so-called "Ladder Trails." Acadia ranks its trail difficulty with four ratings - easy, moderate, strenuous, and ladder. The latter, ladder trails are the most difficult and are named for the iron rungs needed to clamber up vertical escarpments. If you want to do the ladder trails, the time to visit Acadia is in the Fall. Several of these trails are closed in the Spring and Summer since peregrine falcons use the precipitous cliff faces for nesting. 

Jordan Pond from the Cliffs

I arrived at daybreak at the Jordan Pond parking area and found only one car in the large parking lot that K and I had experienced at overflow capacity just one day earlier. Probably best to avoid Acadia on Columbus Day weekend, we noted. A quick jog on the Spring Trail across two carriage roads brought me to the warning signs for the Jordan Cliffs Trail - signs which cautioned about the open ledges and iron ladders along the route. As expected, the trail hugged the cliffs high above Jordan Pond. For most of the way, tree coverage to my right screened the steep drops down to the water.

Iron rung, vertigo-inducing section on the Jordan Cliffs Trail

At one point, however, I had to drop down a rocky outcropping and negotiate a narrow ledge with nothing but open air blocking the vertical drop. After inching along the ledge, the trail then goes straight up two sets of iron rungs with an unobstructed, wide open cliff behind. At that point and that point alone, I understood why the signs were needed. After this one vertigo-inducing section, the trail soon connects with the East Trail leading to the open, rocky summit of Mount Penobscot. I spent a good half hour on the top. Encountering no early morning arrivals, I descended along the ridge line to the south on a pleasant trail that serves as the summit approach of choice for those wishing to avoid the cliffs.

Peak: Penobscot

Elevation: 1,196 feet

Distance: 3.2 miles round trip

Route: Loop, Spring Trail to Jordan Cliffs Trail to East Trail to Penobscot Mountain Trail to Spring Trail

Conditions: Sunny, 50 degrees F