Appalachian Trail (21-Nov-2015)

Many times I have hiked throughout the Delaware Water Gap. Never had I hiked the Pennsylvania side of the of the gap on the AT. That was my goal and once I completed this I have hiked every water gap along the AT in PA. For me that is an accomplishment and cleaning up everyone has made it even better. Out of respect for other hikers and those who maintain the trail you should always read the rules if they are posted at trailheads. 

As soon as I crossed 611 from the parking lot I was greeted with this small waterfall. The trail splits here and neither one is well marked. I chose to take the one going away from the waterfall because many times side trails got to the top of falls and just end. 

The first decent overlook on the trail up and the trash the surrounds it. I knew the 7-Up bottle I found here was old, but I didn't realize how old until I looked it up. I found multiple sources online that indicate the last time that specific label was used was in 1953. It boggles my mind that this bottle could have sat in plain sight right off the trail for over 60 years without a single person bothering to remove it.

Up, up and up. This has been a common theme in the past week. 

A long way down to the river and still a long way to the top. 

The green leafs of the rhododendron allow me to imagine it was much warmer and still summer through this section of trail.  

I have hiked that face of the mountain multiple times. I liked seeing it from a different vantage. 

Gatorade bottles are one of the most annoying items I find. There is at least one on almost every trip, they are larger than most bottles and because they are made with a thicker plastic they cannot be crushed down before being put in my bag. This one was left at the lookout in the photo above it. 

A view down the Delaware. New Jersey to the left good old Pennsylvania to the right. 

Two of my favorite conifers! The photo on the right is a species of Juniper, along this section of the Appalachians they are found on the southern face, at higher elevations, in steep rocky sections where other woody vegetation is sparse. The photo on the right is a Pitch Pine. One easy way to distinguish a Pitch Pine from other conifers in this area is to look at the trunk of the tree. If needles are growing out of the trunk and not just on the branches it is a Pitch Pine. Pitch Pine cones need fire in order to open and deposit seed, this means in places where you find a lot of these trees fires are a common occurrence. Sometimes forest fires are a good thing.

Coming up the trail there were a number of people enjoying a rest at this waterfall, I waited to take a photo until the trek down. 

Somehow I missed a turn in the trail that would take me directly back to my car. Instead I was lead to this pond which feeds the small waterfall at the beginning of this post. The resident Beavers here are currently working on a massive construction project to deepen this water body. 

The work they are doing is truly impressive. Not only did they block the outflow culvert that runs under the trail, they also damed up the entirety of one side of the pond. The trees in this photo have been flooded due to their work and just a little further down the pond there were some benches that you would now need to get your feet wet to sit on. 

By the time I made it to the I had one hand full of bottles, my front sweater pocket was full of bottles and my backpack was overflowing with these items. I should have just used a garbage bag. It is always sad to see this much trash in an area that is part of our National Park System. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash