Lehigh Gap AT Winter Trail Loop (difficult)

Make some room for your Thanksgiving dinner with a jaunt up and down the steep and difficult Lehigh Gap section of the Appalachian Trail!

This hike will take in the north (east) side of craggy Lehigh Gap where the Lehigh River cuts a pass through the great wall of the Blue Mountain. The gap has been extensively denuded of vegetation due to zinc processing during the early 20th century. Environmental reclamation has progressed since the 1980s, but the gap still contains long stretches of treeless and rocky terrain. Great for expansive views over the Lehigh Valley to the south and the Poconos to the north. Not so great on the feet though.

We will make a figure-eight loop on the northbound side of the gap as oriented by the direction of the Appalachian Trail. The ascent will total around 1000 feet of elevation gain in one mile. The northbound side is the more difficult of the two sides of the gap. The climb requires lots of boulder scrambling and some short hands-free stretches. This is a more difficult hike. Make sure you are confident you can complete a hike with this amount of elevation gain, mileage and technical difficulty. In total we will gain about 1100ft of elevation and hike around 5 miles.

Parking will be on the northbound side of the gap off PA route 248. Search for "Appalachian Trail Parking, Walnutport" or use coordinates "40.78293923543664, -75.60368464975784" to find the parking lot. We will start at 9am. Please make sure you are on time as I will not be able to check my phone for anyone arriving late once we start. As always, bring appropriate equipment, footwear and ample water and extra calories.

AllTrails map of approximate route can be found here:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/pennsylvania/lehigh-gap-east-loop-via-appalachian-trail

Note this will not be our exact route.

Hike will cancel with bad enough weather.