Into the woods, part 2
After breakfast on Friday, we spent some time exploring the nearly-deserted campground, and then went hiking at Mount Tammany, the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap. Here's a view from the top:
Now, let's get there!
There was a creek running through the campground behind our cabin, so once we had finished with our traditional pancakes, the kids went for a creek walk, hoping to catch some frogs:
Next we made our way to the playground:
We've never seen this kind of swing before... it was so cool, even the adults had to try it:
From the playground, it was a short walk over to the farm, where we saw all manner of creatures:
We even got to play some mini golf:
As I've mentioned, we had the place to ourselves. In fact, the campground was eerily quiet for much of the weekend:
We were there pretty early in the season, to be sure, and we also observed that many of the sites were occupied by seasonal campers who had brought their rigs to the campground, but had not yet fully set up shop.
After lunch we made our way over to the Delaware Water Gap national park - a recreation area, technically, I think. (The distinction is lost on me.) Our hike for the day was a 2.5mi/4km climb up to the peak of Mount Tammany, covering 1,250ft/380m of vertical rise. We came down the steeper side of the mountain on our return, for a rocky descent over 1.5mi/2.4km.
The start of our climb met up for a stretch with the Appalachian Trail. At the trailhead there was a water pump, which kept the kids occupied for a few minutes while they figured out how to work it:
It's amazing how long two and a half miles can feel when you're going uphill instead of traveling on flat ground. We hiked, and hiked, and hiked:
At last we reached the summit. It was worth the effort!
So, what is the Delaware Water Gap, you ask? It's the channel cut into the Appalachian Mountains by the Delaware River over many, many millions of years. Mount Tammany in New Jersey represents the eastern side of the gap, and Mount Minsi in Pennsylvania (pictured here) is on the western side:
We hung out for a while, eating snacks and enjoying the view.
With about two hours of daylight left at this point, we decided we'd better start back down. I mentioned that the descent on the shorter trail was steep and rocky, right?
We got a fresh reminder at the base of the trail that we hadn't been alone out there... we saw a couple of black garden snakes, but nothing more interesting than that:
All that hiking had the desired effect on the kids... and on us, for that matter:
We made our way back to camp, had a late dinner, and crashed.
Now, let's get there!
There was a creek running through the campground behind our cabin, so once we had finished with our traditional pancakes, the kids went for a creek walk, hoping to catch some frogs:
Next we made our way to the playground:
We've never seen this kind of swing before... it was so cool, even the adults had to try it:
From the playground, it was a short walk over to the farm, where we saw all manner of creatures:
We even got to play some mini golf:
As I've mentioned, we had the place to ourselves. In fact, the campground was eerily quiet for much of the weekend:
We were there pretty early in the season, to be sure, and we also observed that many of the sites were occupied by seasonal campers who had brought their rigs to the campground, but had not yet fully set up shop.
After lunch we made our way over to the Delaware Water Gap national park - a recreation area, technically, I think. (The distinction is lost on me.) Our hike for the day was a 2.5mi/4km climb up to the peak of Mount Tammany, covering 1,250ft/380m of vertical rise. We came down the steeper side of the mountain on our return, for a rocky descent over 1.5mi/2.4km.
The start of our climb met up for a stretch with the Appalachian Trail. At the trailhead there was a water pump, which kept the kids occupied for a few minutes while they figured out how to work it:
It's amazing how long two and a half miles can feel when you're going uphill instead of traveling on flat ground. We hiked, and hiked, and hiked:
At last we reached the summit. It was worth the effort!
So, what is the Delaware Water Gap, you ask? It's the channel cut into the Appalachian Mountains by the Delaware River over many, many millions of years. Mount Tammany in New Jersey represents the eastern side of the gap, and Mount Minsi in Pennsylvania (pictured here) is on the western side:
We hung out for a while, eating snacks and enjoying the view.
With about two hours of daylight left at this point, we decided we'd better start back down. I mentioned that the descent on the shorter trail was steep and rocky, right?
We got a fresh reminder at the base of the trail that we hadn't been alone out there... we saw a couple of black garden snakes, but nothing more interesting than that:
All that hiking had the desired effect on the kids... and on us, for that matter:
We made our way back to camp, had a late dinner, and crashed.
