DAY HIKER – Mount Minsi, Pa.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mount Minsi, Pa., is the subject of a Trail Blazes hiking guide, available here from Compass Points Media.

You might be surprised to learn how the geological curiosity that is Delaware Water Gap came to exist. Ever been there? You see two mountains – Minsi and Tammany – standing like sentinels on opposite sides of the Delaware River, guarding passage either north or south. Many assume that the over the course of millions of years, the mountain ridge formed a lake to the north and eventually the water cut through the rock to form a gap.

Nope, say geologists. According to Nature Walks in New Jersey, author WHO says the cleft probably formed when a stream flowing south from the mountain ridge eroded weak stone beds and as the gap grew deeper, the stream eventually hooked up with other waterways to the north to create the Delaware River.

To get an up-and-over view of Delaware Water Gap, try this 4.2-mile loop hike to the top of Mount Minsi on the Pennsylvania side.

DIRECTIONS: Take the exit for PA Route 611 off I-80. Hook up with PA 611 south and drive for about a mile to Mountain Road. Turn right onto Mountain Road, and after just a tenth of a mile, find the parking area for Lake Lenape on the left.

HIKE ON: Strike out for the top of Mount Minsi by following the Appalachian Trail’s white blazes along an apparent road, which wounds to the right and skirts the shore of a lake. After just under a fifth of a mile, the A.T. leaves the fire road to the left. For the next two miles, you pass through hemlock and thick rhododendron groves as the trail climbs steeply at times higher up Minsi’s shoulder. Cross a Eureka Creek on small boulders at 1.1 miles, then check out a vista to the left of Mount Tammany’s south face, the Dunnfield Creek valley, the Delaware River and, yes, the traffic on I-80. The A.T. continues to ascend, crossing a fire road twice before reaching the open view near Minsi’s 1,400-foot summit. The view stares at Mount Tammany and New Jersey.

In all, you climb about 800 feet from your car to the top.

To return to your car, return to that fire road and follow it down until it reconnects with the Appalachian Trail near the lake. Stay on the fire road as it intersects with two other roads to the right and one to the left before it meets the A.T. Retrace your steps on the A.T. passed the lake and onto the parking lot.

 

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Tagged as: Appalachian Trail, Delaware River, Delaware Water Gap, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Hike, Hiking, Mount Minsi, Mount Tammany, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhododendron