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| Sunfish Pond in Winter |
For many years, I've strictly followed the one unbreakable rule to New Jersey hiking. Don't go to the Delaware Water Gap on a Saturday. On a recent, super cold (15 F plus windchill) Saturday following a midweek snowfall, I had the crazy idea to break this rule. The plan was particularly audacious because I wasn't going to a remote trailhead. My plan was to start at the most single most popular one in the entire Water Gap -- the Dunnfield Creek Natural Area/Appalachian Trail parking area on I-80. My thinking? With a forecast for sub zero temperatures and a brisk, icy wind, the conditions would be way too cold for most hikers. I fully expected that I'd see some people on the southern end of the trail network. However, if I got out early, I figured that once I looped around Sunfish Pond for the return on the fire road, there would be a very good chance that I'd be the first to break the trail and have the woods all to myself. Fortunately, I was right.
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| Trail break on north shore |
Upon arrival, I found several parties of hikers starting out and actually got stuck behind a large group of 15 people and 2 dogs on the AT route to Sunfish. They didn't stand aside, so I had to do a fast-paced bushwhack around them, with one of their canine companions deciding to stick with me instead of the slowpokes. I sent the friendly Labrador Retriever back to his people with a point and a wave and pressed on past the turnoff to the Holly Springs Trail. I paused there to put on microspikes and saw that the party wasn't going to Sunfish but doing the shorter loop via Holly Springs. Bingo.
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| Coyote tracks |
From there, I continued the long, icy climb up to Sunfish. I always do this trail at least once or twice a season in the autumn, but Sunfish is a beautiful spot in winter, too. At the south shore vista point, I saw that someone had been here since the snowfall as their boot prints went straight out across the frozen pond. It was surely cold enough to make a pond crossing safe, but I nonetheless stuck to the trail and clambered along the rocky shore to the north side vista point for a long break. As I expected, there were no human tracks from this point on and the snow was deep enough for a switch to snowshoes.
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| View to Mount Minsi |
After a short distance along the Buckwood Trail, I hit some tracks once again. Coyote tracks. It was fun to follow them for a good distance down to and then along the fire road with its long, straight approach to Mt. Tammany. This is a neat, rarely-used trail that follows the ridge and offers some good vista points in winter due to the lack of foliage on the trees. I was able to stay with snowshoes all the way to the intersection with the Blue Blaze Trail. Here, the trail was well-worn by the (probably) hundreds of people who did the short loop up to the summit of Mount Tammany after the snow day. The trail condition was a harbinger of things to come. As I continued over to the summit and then down the long, steep decline, I encountered about 15-20 hikers making the climb to the top. The peace and quiet was fun while it lasted.
Despite my good luck on the day, I'll probably continue to avoid Saturdays at the Gap..png)
Destination: Sunfish Pond and Mount Tammany
Distance: 10.3 miles
Elevation: 1,830 feet (gain)
Route: Loop, Appalachian Trail to Buckwood Trail to Fire Road to Blue Dot Trail
Conditions: 15 degrees F not including windchill
Notable Flora/Fauna: Snow tracks - coyote, red fox, squirrel, raccoon and others
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