Mt. Wismer and Gravel Family Nature Preserves, PA

ABOUT THE PARK:
Hiking the Brodhead Watershed - Pocono Record

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 41.22678, -75.26395

Looking back towards Gravel Road so parking is on the left after pulling in.

TRAIL MAP:
Mt. Wismer and Gravel Family Nature Preserves - Brodhead Watershed Association.
Mt. Wismer and Gravel Family Nature Preserves, PA at EveryTrail

HIKE DISTANCE:  2.7 miles
Hiked together with Paradise Price Preserve (15 minutes away) - 4.9 miles

THE HIKE:

The weekend before I hiked in shorts.  Long undies for this hike!

The hike starts straight ahead at the gate.

There are no blazes or trail markers here, just follow the woods road along the field,  (Yes, that is frost on the field, BRRR)

Watch for red blazes leaving the woods road to the right.  The red trail is the more difficult trail up.  For the easier way up, keep straight and it will become the yellow trail.  For us that was the return route.

It starts off innocent looking.

But then the climb begins.  It's not really that the climb itself is that hard - no scrambles - but there is no defined trail.  You need to make your way from trail marker to trail marker over very loose rocks and it goes down steeply to the left. 

At the top, everything levels out on the blue trail.

A preview of what is to come.

That is the Delaware Water Gap on the horizon.  Mt. Wismer is a bald mountain so once you get up, it's views all around.

Gravel Pond down below.

The trail across the bald keeps going beyond the view back into the woods but we did not investigate further not knowing where the trail went so we backtracked on blue.

We passed yellow continuing on blue for a bit along some pretty rock outcrops.

Back to yellow for the descent.

Passing red back to...

... the parking lot.

Huckleberry Ridge State Forest, NY - Lenape Ridge and Minisink Trails

ABOUT THE PARK:
Huckleberry Ridge State Forest - New York New Jersey Trail Conference

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 41.358542, -74.676233

Parking lot off of Minisink Avenue.

TRAIL MAP:
Kittatinny Trails Map 123 - NYNJ Trail Conference
Huckleberry Ridge State Forest Free Map - NYNJ Trail Conference

Huckleberry Ridge State Forest, NY at EveryTrail

HIKE DISTANCES:
These three hikes all done in one day along with a scenic drive from one to the other.
Mongaup Valley WMA, NY - Mongaup River Trail - 2.3 miles
     drive 8.3 miles/20 minutes to Plank Road Viewing Area (41.52152, -74.76094)
     drive 4.1 miles/9 minutes to Route 43 Viewing Area (41.55491, -74.78505)
     drive 16.2 miles/26 minutes to
Minisink Battleground Park, NY - 2 miles
     drive 24 miles/41 minutes to
Huckleberry Ridge State Forest, NY (not part of the Upper Delaware NPS trails) - 4.3 miles

THE HIKE:

The combined yellow/red trails start to the right of the kiosk.  It's overgrown but just for a few yards then ...

... it opens up.

Already at the tops, these trails follow the ridge but there will be some short steeper sections along the way.

Yellow splits away to the left and red to the right.  I chose to take yellow first since it is a more undulating trail and I like to get the harder part done first.

The trail is gorgeous throughout but you might want to check the Port Jervis High School football schedule before heading out.  If there is a game, like there was on this particular day, you will hear every cheer, every cowbell, every marching band beat, every word the announcer says.  The sound all travels right up the ridge and you'll feel like you are at a high school football game while hiking.

As I was hiking along, something fell out of a tree and landed right next to me.  Turns out it was a 6-inch piece of old bone. Almost hit me in the head, it did!

She still beats me to the top of an incline where she patiently waits.

Views of the valley and Port Jervis with Elks-Brox Memorial Park on the far right.

A helicopter came in ...

... and landed, no doubt at the hospital we had passed on the way in.

When views open up straight ahead you can see the Gunks in the distance.

In the power cut...

... red joins back in so to make the loop, this is where you make a sharp right turn....

... on to red.

Heinlein Lake below.  Yes, the water was green.

In the distance on the next ridge, I-84 and a rest stop.

A white blaze that doesn't belong.

In the distance ...

... High Point Monument in New Jersey.

Yellow joins back in.

Back at the parking lot.