Appalachian Trail: Millbrook Road to Camp Road (Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area)
Distance: 6.6 miles
Elevation: 915 feet
Time: 3 hours, 3 minutes
Hiking Challenges: New Jersey Appalachian Trail; 52 Hike Challenge
Another day and another section of the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey! I have hiked to Catfish Firetower before, but never the remaining section to Camp Road. The original plan today was to park on Millbrook Road, take the AT to Camp Road, walk to Mohican Outdoor Center, and then to take the Rattlesnake Swamp Trail back. Naturally, I changed my mind during the hike, but we'll get there. I parked right at where the AT Southbound reenters the woods, and got to it!
The trail alternates between a fire road, footpath, fire road, footpath, and one more fire road leading up to Catfish Firetower. The road first passes a stream that was covered in beautiful blue dragonflies (or dragonfly looking insects) and then a bunch of campsites before turning right to begin the climb. The road got wet here, and right after the wet area is where the AT first goes onto a rocky footpath (and the first time I questioned going on a trail with the word "swamp" in the name). This was the steepest part, but the climb never got to be too much. The trail turns back onto the road, then back into the woods, and finally ends on the road that leads to the firetower (this was all the same road, and I imagine the trail was cut to save time and mileage). There were some deep mud divits in the road toward the top. I had wondered if the trail used to follow the road all the way or if the short footpaths have been there a long time. I have the 16th Edition of the guidebook from 2007 and the 7th from 1972 (in addition to others including the current edition). Everything here was as-is in 2007, but (not surprisingly) it appears to be different in 1972.
"Delaware Water Gap Bridge to Millbrook (Blairstown Road). [...]. This entire Section of the Trail is destined to be a part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, with Worthington State Forest being the initial tract. [...]. Continuing along the crest, the Trail leads to Catfish Fire Tower 12.11 m. The ridge line is followed until descent is made to wood road which leads to hard-surfaced Blairstown Road. Oak forests predominate in this Section. Some chestnut oak and spruce may be seen in the area near Sunfish Pond, as well as some white pine and other conifers. Mountain laurel is also prevalent in this section."
"[...]. Beyond outlet of Catfish Pond reach dirt Camp Mohican Road, at 9.77m. (When parking cars on this road, obtain permission from Camp Ranger, 1/8m. left of Trail)"
"North from dirt road, ascend steadily on word trails. At 10.97 m. Trail comes out on southeast side of ledge and continues for short distance along rim. Worn trail comes in, left, on open ledge, with sheer cliffs at 11.14m. (leads .71m. across ridge to Camp Mohican, where campers may obtain emergency assistance. To right faint trail leads down over cliffs to farm road)." (The worn trail on open ledges is, I believe, the Rattlesnake Swamp Trail).
"Beyond, enter woods, follow narrow trail with rough footway and occasional views over south rim of mountain to reach 60ft. steel Catfish Fire Tower and small wooden buildings at 12.11m. where tower affords splendid panoramic view. Turn sharp left here on well-worn trail with rough footway. After .13m. of steep descent, turn right along base of ridge and at 12.93m. turn right again in dense rhododendron where wood road comes in on left from Catfish Pond. (To left, 50 ft. on this road is dependable spring). Road reaches hard-surfaced Blairstown Road at 13.05 m."
The 2004 book "Kittatinny Trails" shows that previously, the trail only coincided with the fire road twice instead of three times.
My main takeaway from those excerpts is (1) that I should have read it earlier in the book where the directions start from where I parked my car (oops) and (2) it sounds like there used to be a different trail that led to the top. I can't be certain, but it seems like one came up the backside of the ridge versus along the gap. Maybe I'll find out later.
Back on topic - there is a partial view from the firetower area, and the firetower is a view in itself. Stark contrast of white and red paint. The tower is apparently 100 years old this year - happy birthday! I was trying to see if I was allowed to climb, and it was very confusing. There was a forest service truck at the top, there was a no trespassing sign, but no gate at the stairs (which I vaguely remember there being when I went last time). Most peculiarly, there was a voice from the cabin up top saying "hello, hey, can you hear me, yes I'm here" over and over and over and over again. Eventually I said "hi" back, but to no response. I later learned through the internet that when staffed, it is okay to climb the tower, and that was likely the watchman trying to make a phone call.
The trail dips into the woods and is truly some of my favorite bits of trail I've hiked recently. Obviously it's not the alpine climb to Mt. Eisenhower, but the trail here meanders through the forest, closely hugging the edge of the ridge with endless partial views, and occasionally opening up to larger views. I passed a few thru hikers, but overall did not see many people. I passed one older hiker and said my classic "hey how's it going" and he said "fantastic, just dancing through rocks” which was truly poetic. I also passed a group of thru hikers that truly had the famous thru hiker scent to them, which truly caught me off guard.
The best vista of this section is from the intersection with the Rattlesnake Swamp Trail where the world opens up. Truly breathtaking. From there, the trail turns into the woods and makes its descent to Camp Road, which eventually leads to the Mohican Outdoor Center. I made it about 10ft. to Camp Road, but turned around because there was a large group just off the road and I didn't want to intrude (or worse, have to be social). I paused to see if I had any service to check for info on the Rattlesnake Swamp Trail, and the two most recent trail reports on AllTrails talk about how muddy the trail was, so I quickly made the decision to turn around and retrace my steps. The climb back to the ridge did hurt a bit, but as usual it was nothing too steep for too long.
The return trip was very calm and uneventful. I took in some of the views again and admired the near-rip blueberries (and possibly blackberries?). The only moment of excitement was when I stumbled upon a truly gorgeous looking snake. Different hues of brown in a near hourglass shape, small dark tail, and truly uninterested in me. I haven't seen a snake like this one before, so I took some photos naturally. I wanted it to get off trail, so I did a little stompy stomp, but it didn't care about it. I then scuffed my feet a little, but still nothing. My last effort was to nudge some dirt and rocks towards it, but still nothing. Like any adult, I did a fully olympic gymnastics-style leap over the snake and continued on my way. It wasn't until I got home that I learned it was a copperhead - one of two venomous snakes in NJ! Glad it was unbothered by my true annoyance.
The rest of the return trip went smoothly and I was back at the car before I knew it! It was nice to do a hike on the shorter side for a change. The weather was classic humid NJ summer but there was constantly a phenomenal breeze that kept me from being as sweaty as I usually am (don't worry, I was still soaked, just not pruny). Interestingly enough, near the beginning/end of the hike, there were pockets of chilled air that hung out in the rhododendron tunnels that were like air conditioning. One major highlight of this hike was hearing some of the thru hikers talk about how impressed they were with NJ - while almost all NJ stereotypes are deadly accurate, the state is also gorgeous.
My drive home had two interesting moments - first I noticed a sign that said "tour busses this way only." Do tour buses come to the water gap? I feel like aside from hiking and other physical recreation, there isn't much sightseeing to be done, but who knows. The second was a few yard signs that said "No National Park - Join us on FaceBook" - naturally I joined. Apparently there is a proposal to turn the National Recreation Area into a National Park. I need to read the proposal, but this group has been working tirelessly to campaign against a transition like that.
- Park along Millbrook Road at AT Trailhead.
- Follow AT on fire roads and trails, following blazes, to Catfish Firetower.
- Continue on a very scenic stretch of the AT that closely hugs the cliffs of the Kittatinny Ridge, occasionally offering views.
- At junction with Rattlesnake Swamp Trail, enjoy excellent views, and continue on AT Southbound.
- Descend into Catfish Pond Gap and turn around at Camp Road. Retrace steps back to car.
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