The AT follows Dunnfield Creek for 0.4 ml., then forks left, ascending on a woods road atop a massive stone retaining wall built by volunteers and the Mid-Atlantic Appalachian Trail Conference work crew in 1993. Such work prevents erosion. The greenblazed Dunnfield Creek Trail continues along the stream to the site of a 19th-century sawmill, and is a 3.5-mi. alternate route to Sunfish Pond. The blue-blazed Mt. Tammany Trail also starts at this point, crossing the creek to your right and climbing in 3.1 mi. to cliffs with stunning Water Gap vistas.
Within a few hundred yards, the trail leaves the cool, dark ravine behind and enters a sunny hardwood forest. The steep, worn road that the AT follows upward for the next 3.3 mi. to Sunfish Pond probably began life as a Native American trail turned logging road turned carriage road. By 1930, Model A Fords were clattering up the path. The AT passes several other trails as it climbs. The yellow-blazed Beulahland Trail meets the AT 1.5 mi. into the hike. This old wagon road goes left, and in 1.3 mi. reaches the Fairview parking area on Old Mine Rd. along the Delaware River. At the same point on the AT, the Holly Springs Trail goes right and connects in 0.4 mi. with the Dunnfield Creek Trail (which returns to the Dunnfield Creek Natural Area parking lot in 1.2 mi.). The spring goes dry in summer.
In 1995, the trail here was used as a firebreak, the line at which a wildfire sweeping up and out of Dunnfield Hollow was controlled. The flame-scarred trees to the right of the AT, from just beyond the Holly Springs Trail almost to the pond, are in fairly good shape, though the understory has been fully burned away and the ground blackened. Look for signs of the forest's recovery.
The AT soon becomes a sunken road, eroded 4 ft. below ground level in some places. Major stone water bars and rock steps built by volunteers curb further erosion. One beneficial effect of all this disturbance has been to uncover artifacts. We once saw an archeologist friend pick up a 2000-year-old arrowhead along this section of the path.
Smooth rock beds along the ascending route look like pavement, and invite drowsy black racers and Eastern hog-nosed snakes to sunbathe. Watch your step. The nonpoisonous hog-nosed snake, or puff adder, is one of nature's great bluffers. When aggravated, the snake inflates and flares out its neck vertebrae into a cobralike hood. It slithers toward its attacker, hissing wildly. If this line of defense fails, the snake rolls over and plays dead. Pick it up and place it upright, and the critter again rolls onto its back. In this game, the puff adder is determined to convince you that the only dead snake possible is a snake on its back! We recommend against picking up any snakes, however. Rattlers also live in these woods.
At 3.1 mi. into your hike, the AT intersects the Douglas Trail, which descends to the left for 1.7 mi. to a hiker parking area next to the Worthington State Forest headquarters on Old Mine Rd. along the Delaware River. Trail namesake Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas hiked here in a 1960s crusade to save Sunfish Pond. New Jersey public utilities planned to bury the pond under a giant artificial reservoir. Public protest led to state protection of the land.
A backpacker campsite is also located here. Thanks to careless campers who over the years left food scattered about, this area has become one of the best spots to observe black bear in New Jersey. If you camp here, don't leave a candybar-scented bear invitation in your pack or tent. Hang food from a rope using the bear poles installed for that purpose. In summer, an AT ridgerunner tents here, educating hikers about the trail. Water can be retrieved and purified from Sunfish Pond 0.6 mi. ahead. There is a privy. This site receives heavy use in summer. Campers, get there early!
Where are you going?
What do you want to do?
