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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
