No.27 Worthington State Forest

Week 27 of my 52 Hike Challenge has been challenging!!  Crazy busy at work, getting set to leave for a few days to visit my Stepdad in North Carolina and spring cleaning.  The weather was incredible and I didn’t want to miss visiting a beautiful New Jersey hike, so I got myself up and out to make a 2 hour drive to Worthington State Forest.  It’s located in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and home to scenic Mt. Tammany.  The summit of Mt. Tammany was my original destination, until I pulled into the parking lot and saw no less than 10 people take the trail to the summit.  Since I’ve been to the summit several times in the past, I decided to take the Dunnfield creek trail which is very scenic.  The creek is swift moving with lots of waterfalls and cascades, a great choice since it was #waterfallwednesday.  It was also a great decision because I only ran into one other hiker.  His name is Matt and he shared great stories and pictures from a recent hiking weekend with some buddies up in the Adirondacks.  We sat along the creek and chatted and snacked.  I am obsessed with my new favorite trail snack, Jonesbar.  These yummy, healthful bars are made in Manasquan NJ.  You must try one, their delicious and supporting local small businesses is super cool 🙂  Hanging out with Matt was fun but added time to my hike.  I was hoping to be to work by 1 o’clock and ended up getting there closer to 2.  The loop back to the parking lot followed the Appalachian Trail.  The section I was walking was COVERED with these tiny little wild flowers, called Bluets.  There were so many different species of moths fluttering around too.  The flowers and moths in the dappled sunlight made the forest seem magical.  I am so glad I ended up on this path, it was so beautiful to see!