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. |
