ABOUT THE PARK:
McDade Trail - National Park Service
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 41.24234, -74.86404
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| White Pines Trail Head Parking |
TRAIL MAP:
McDade Trail Map - National Park Service
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HIKE DISTANCE: 9 miles (4.5 miles each way)
THE HIKE:
This is by far my favorite section of the McDade Trail. I heard from a hiker I ran into that the National Park Service wants to do away with the footpath part of this hike and run the trail along Route 209. That would be tragic.
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| A short trail to the right of the kiosk leads to ... |
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| ... the McDade Trail where we turned left heading north along the Delaware River. |
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| The trail soon comes up to Route 209 for a short stretch along the road... |
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| ... before descending and becoming a footpath. |
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| This time of year it the Delaware River is always under a cloud early in the morning so my hope was that the sun would burn through the fog before our return route. |
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| The trail reverts back to wide and flat for a bit. |
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| At this fork the trail goes right; left is another parking area. |
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| This is the Conashaugh Trail Head where I thought we would be turning around. My notes said "3.6 miles" so I figured a total of 7.2 miles. Turns out it was only 1.8 miles and the 3.6 would have been the total out and back. Shawnee and I had hiked from Conashaugh to Pittman Orchard on September 19, 2010 when this part of the trail first opened but what the heck, Brodie had not hiked it and I certainly did not mind doing it again. It's the best part of the trail. So we continued on to Pittman Orchard. |
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| The fog was slowly dissipating. |
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| Somebody lost the trail. |
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| Where did it go? |
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| Ah ha! Found it! |
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| Just in time, the sun is out and the fog is gone. |
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| Cliffs to the left. |
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| Pittman Orchard Trail Head, out turn around point. |
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| Heading back in gorgeous sunshine with temperatures in the 60's. |
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| Just up ahead on the other side of the bridge... |
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| Oh my! Cars zoom down Route 209 and I wanted to be sure I did not spook them with cars coming so we waited. |
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| As soon as I could not see or hear any traffic we started towards the deer but they still did not move. Turns out they were waiting on a third deer crossing Route 209 - you can see her through the railing on the right. |
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| Once the third deer made it over, all three headed off towards the river. They were long gone but Brodie was still looking for them. |
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| Back through the rugged part where bikes are not allowed - for good reason. They trail is way too steep and narrow. |
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| The view looking north with no fog. |
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| Pictures taken in the exact same spot taken 7 years apart. |
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| Waiting patiently while I change batteries in the camera. |
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| Brodie is afraid of these. He jumps back and won't go near them. |
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| Surveying his new world. |
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| Coming back up on the section along Route 209. |
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| If the footpath part of the trail were to be moved along Route 209, this is what it would look like. I packed out as many as I could carry. Looks like there is a lot of drinking and driving going on here. |
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| Back at the White Pines parking lot. |
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| Somebody really enjoyed this hike. |
There's a trail similar to this (but not as long) along the Delaware in the Martins Creek / Foul Rift area. It looks pretty similar to this.
ReplyDeleteHow much does Brodie weigh? He looks small, but my mental scale might be off because of his amazing ears!
Yes, I have done that hike. It was very nice! http://gonehikin.blogspot.com/2012/12/martins-creek-environmental-preserve.html
DeleteBrodie weighs 50 pounds. Although I am totally a large dog person, I wanted to go a little smaller so he would be easier to manage on hikes where I might have to lift him.
Daniela
Hi Daniela -- been a while since I commented on your adventures (i.e. since Shawnee crossed the rainbow into heaven)...so before I do, let me catch up for a second:
ReplyDelete> Congratulations on your new dog, Rocky!
> Sorry Rocky didn't work out...at least you made a *valiant* effort to make his days better before having to put him down.
> Congratulations on your new dog, Brodie! He looks like a keeper to me!!
Wow -- what an absolutely *gorgeous* section of the trail! I've never been on this one at all, but if I ever do, I want to do this section for sure! BTW -- who in their right mind would want to ruin a beautiful trail like this by "repositioning" it along Route 209?? That's just doing things backwards; I think of the Batona Trail (South Jersey) rerouted sections...the trail was moved OFF the roads, not out of the woods and along a highway!! I mean, I can't see where they would propose building anything where the trail is now...or perhaps it runs through private property and the owner(s) are fed up with other hikers abusing the privilege of hiking on the trail?
Loved the butterfly pic...I just got one myself while walking along the Crooked Horn Creek Trail in Ocean City this past Sunday; I believe it is the same species of butterfly that you got! Interesting how Brodie is scared of a Woolly Bear caterpillar, but fine with deer! (Isn't dark brown indicative of a "warmer" winter to come?)
Anyway -- congrats again on finding a new hiking mate, and as others have said -- may you have *many* happy hiking years with Brodie in the future!
-- Jim
Thanks, Jim! From what I understand the NPS is afraid if Route 209 collapses from above it would be dangerous to be on the trails down below but seriously, what are the odds of that happening again? The web site states that section of trail is closed from December through August so there are only 3 months out of the year you can use it anyway.
DeleteDaniela
I guess it goes without saying, that opposite this parking lot is the trailhead for the beautiful Adams creek, there, some of the most spectacular waterfalls are just beyond the end of the "official trail".
ReplyDeleteBrodie looks like a great companion for you for hiking. This looks like a great hike. That's a shame that they are going to cut some of it out.:( I loved the picture of the butterfly! Thanks for sharing! Joanne from NJ
ReplyDelete