Blue Mountain Loop — Attraction in Washington Township

tl;dr: The Appalachian Trail Thru-hikers guide describes the rock scramble in the mile and a half after the Lehigh Gap as one of the most challenging ascents south of New Hampshire.

My experience: As a novice hiker, I planned hiking north to the Delaware Water Gap, NJ from Bake Oven Parking site, about 30 miles. Took a fabulous dip in the Lehigh river with access under the car bridge near the train tracks on the East bank.

Then I began the ascent to Blue Mountain. This is where things got tricky. There is a challenging steep hike up the trail for a half mile. Then you arrive at a steeper ascent involving scrambling up and across boulders. It was a hot day, with little shade, few "rest" spots. I am not going to lie, I was scared. I came with boots and a moderately heavy backpacking packed with about 25-30 pounds. Started to get heat stroke. Felt like dying.

I'm sure it's a great time for those who are experienced and appreciate a challenge, but by the end of the day (12 miles in all) I called a cab, drove home in the rain. The trip was cut short from 4 days to 2. Simply put, I was exhausted due to the scramble and had to take a couple naps on the way back to the next nearest access road (Blue Mountain Dr).

If you're going to attempt this, 1) be experienced! 2) bring calories 3) A more experienced hiker told me there's about 15 miles to the next watering hole from Lehigh Gap, if you discount the heavy metal poisoned spring near the halfway point. Eh, it won't kill...

DO NOT PARK at the auto center parking lot. I went with a group of 35 people, definitely not enough parking at the trail head. Some people had their cars parked at the auto center (they do have signs posted) and even on a Sunday their cars were towed and had to pay $250, cash only, to get their cars back. The auto center is in cahoots with the tow company and it is a cash cow for them. They are not hiker friendly. More suggestions for parking are listed below.

This is a gorgeous hike, with lush ferns and blueberry bushes abound, especially along the top of the mountain.

Parking at the trail head is limited. There is additional parking across the bridge on the right. There is also parking available at the boat launch under the bridge, with access via a small trail under the bridge that will take you to the main parking lot just opposite where the cars are parked (just watch the...

As everyone says, parking is limited at the immediate trailhead. Otherwise pretty nice hike that goes over the I-476 tunnel. Utilize the North Trail to make a much more scenic loop rather than staying on the Appalachian Trail itself. The Appalachian Trail is perfectly pleasant, but you can't really see anything through the trees. The first 0.75 miles or so from the trailhead is quite steep. After that, it ranges from moderately steep to flat. There is both a hiker's shelter and a water source around that point. The shelter isn't exactly the end of the steep part, but keep chugging away, and it'll get better shortly after.

There's some very slight exposure (if you make bad choices and go off the trail, especially off of the North Trail spur), but it's generally harmless and helps contribute to the "Rocksylvania" aspect of the Appalachian Trail's...