Hike Reviews

<p>Did the hike today (8/31/16).&nbsp; If you're looking for a hike with variety, this is for you!&nbsp; The part north of Sunrise Mtn Road is quite level, leaving you with a peaceful walk through a pleasant woods landscape.&nbsp; Going up the the ridge on the Cartwright Trail is what I would call a moderate climb.&nbsp; (The westward views on this section, indicated on the NY/NJ Trail Conference map 122, are pretty blah.)&nbsp; Note that the initial part of the hike (Swenson, and then Cartwright Trails) are now co-aligned with the Blue Mountain Loop.&nbsp; Not mentioned in Mr. Chazin's excellent writeup, is that the Blue Mountain Loop doesn't (or at least no longer) goes all the way up to&nbsp;meet the AT.&nbsp; At&nbsp; N 41º13'24.4"&nbsp; W 074º43'03.8", there is an intersection, with the blue-blazed Blue Mountain Loop going left to ???.&nbsp;&nbsp;You stay straight on the Cartwright Trail, which now has its brown-red blazes combined with blue blazes with the black dot in the center.&nbsp; The AT section&nbsp;is mostly quite level.&nbsp; The viewpoint to the&nbsp;SE (incorrectly indicated on the Trail Conference map; it's really about 0.07 miles further SW than the map shows it) is really quite stupendous.&nbsp; As Mr. Chazin points out, the viewpoint from the CCC pavilion is not&nbsp;as good.&nbsp; The view from the tower near the intersection of the AT and the Tower Trail is probably quite spectacular during the autumn.&nbsp; As indicated in the writeup, the first 0.2 miles of the descent on the Tower Trail is quite steep (with several rock-scamble sections), so take it slow.&nbsp; A final note:&nbsp; As you approach Stony Lake on the Tower Trail, there appears to be a mistake on the Trail Conference map (2012 edition), which shows 2 parallel trails after the sharp left turn at N41º12'14.3"&nbsp; W074º45'56.3", whereas, in reality, both the Tower (G) and Stony Brook Trail (Br) are co-aligned&nbsp;on the more southerly of the 2 trails shown on the map.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Did this hike on 8/23/15 and loved it. The views to the west are as pristine and vast as any. Not a road or a structure to defile the landscape as far as rhe eye can see. The Swensen Trail is well maintained and wide enough for use &nbsp;by ATVs ( not that I saw any). There are some rocky sections but its mostly gentle grade changes.</p> <p>&nbsp; The Cartwright Trail is where you will encounter some uphill hiking...if you don't miss the turn off like I did. The trail marker had been bent in half and the triple blaze was off to the right. I wound up at Croger Rd and added an extra mile or so after back tracking to the Cartwright trail.</p> <p>&nbsp; The AT was a rockier endevour than the Swansen trail and I did not enjoy the eastern views as much as the western ones . It is not as pristine.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px;">I had been taking my time and it was a hot day, so I took the Stoney Brook Trail as my return route forsaking the tower views.&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp; If I had not had to back track, I would not have encountered a soul along the Swanson Trail and then it was only one lone hiker. It's when I hit the AT that I ran into people at the parking area and Pavillion but no one after that all the way back to the start.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="/sites/default/files/u22212/thumb_IMG_20150823_121802255.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="90"><img src="/sites/default/files/u22212/thumb_IMG_20150823_121809719.jpg" alt="repaired blaze" width="90" height="90"><img src="/sites/default/files/u22212/thumb_IMG_20150823_091343128.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="90"><img src="/sites/default/files/u22212/thumb_IMG_20140901_125035481.jpg" alt="Poconos in the distance" width="90" height="90"><img src="/sites/default/files/u22212/thumb_IMG_20150823_143250583.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="90"><img src="/sites/default/files/u22212/thumb_IMG_20150823_121844377.jpg" alt="start of the Cartwright Trail" width="90" height="90"></p>