This Saturday we went on a trek in Delaware water gap. The water gap is where Delaware river flows between the hills of New Jersey. The drive to the park was very amazing. We passed drove through roads lined on both sides with trees and the early morning sunlight falling on the road through the leaves was very refreshing.
We started the trek at the foot of Dunnfield creek. This is a small flow of water from the hills that joins the Delaware.
The trek started with a lazy walk up the side of the stream.
We stopped at a bridge over the stream where the water falls over a sort of check dam built of small stones. Till this point the major discussion was how easy the trek is and how many treks near Bangalore are so much tougher. From the bridge the trail left the stream and struck up a hill. Soon our pace matched Ranatunga taking a single. After a few pit stops and a slow climb we reached the first observation point of the "mountain". Actually the mountain is only 1500ft high. It wouldn't have counted for much in the eastern ghats or the western ghats.
After discussing map reading and how find the directions from the location of the sun, we promptly headed in the wrong direction on our way down. Some how we got back on the path and made it to the peak. The view from the top was breathtaking. Delaware gently snakes between the mountains lined on both sides with greenery. The water is so clear you can see the bottom of the river from the peak.
There was a rocky outcrop on the peak where you can sit an enjoy the view. There we sat for some time enjoyed the view in the nice sunshine. There were kids barely four five years old with their parents at the top. You rarely see parents in India taking such small kids hiking.
We just finished congratulating ourselves on avoiding the forecasted storm and guess what thunder. American weather changes so quickly. By the time we were half way down it started to drizzle. The tree cover was so thick we walked all the way to our parking lot without getting wet.
On the whole it was a difficult trek but the drive and the views from the top were worth it.
