Mount Minsi – Delaware Water Gap Hike

Introduction

Mount Minsi is a moderate day hike located on the PA side of the Delaware Water Gap.

AllTrails link to Mount Minsi

Basic Information

Date of trip: May 24, 2020

Difficulty level: moderate

Distance: 5.0 miles round trip

Elevation gain: 1,049 feet

Location: PA side of the Delaware Water Gap

Parking: Parking lot

Our star rating: 3 stars – good workout but views are mediocre and the hike very crowded

History

The Delaware Water Gap borders NJ and PA.  It is the place where the Delaware River cuts through the Appalachian Mountains.  The first town was founded in 1793 by Antoine Dutot.  It was one of the largest US resorts, visited by the upper classes of Philadelphia and NY, until it was destroyed by a fire. Sadly, it was never restored.  Today, it serves as a favorite destination for hikers, bikers, boaters, swimmers, and picnickers. 

Our Impressions

Let me start out by saying that having 6 mountain hikes under our belt so far (not counting Fire Island and the Hamptons as they are walking hikes with no elevation gain), this was our least favorite, by far. 

Part of it was a bit of our fault.   First, we made the mistake to go on this hike on Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend.  On top of that, it was no regular Memorial Day Weekend Sunday but one during the COVID pandemic.  The peak of the pandemic was over and there was talk of reopening businesses in the near future.  However, most everything was still shut down and masks and social distancing rules were still in full swing.  At the same time, gorgeous late spring and summer weather were in the air, the days were full of long hours of daylight, and people were getting antsy from sitting home on lockdown for two months.  Colleges were out for the summer and teenagers wanted to party and socialize in the safest way possible.  So, they all decided to celebrate on the hiking trails of the Delaware Water Gap. 

What’s wrong with hiking with teenagers?  Why are we discriminating?  Maybe they are not all the same and maybe they do not behave this way when it is not pandemic times, but the ones that happened to be hiking with us that day showed up with boom boxes playing annoyingly loud rap music.  Perhaps, Sheldon and I are too old and boring but hiking in the mountains is a time where we want peace, quiet, and tranquility.  We want to hear the birds chirping, the twigs cracking under our feet, and the leaves rustling in the wind.  For rap music, we can always walk the streets of NYC.

The second mistake was that we failed to arrive to hike early.  Our destination was Mount Tammany, which is on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the parking lot was jam packed and we had to drive to the next available parking lot, which ended us up on Mounta Minsi. 

Three, I learned about elevation sickness.  It is real and it is painful.  In my case, it’s the complete shutdown of the digestive system with severe abdominal cramping and bloating.  I will dive deeper into how I am learning to combat this problem in future posts.  For now, I will tell you, please do not eat anything heavy before or on the hikes if you are prone to elevation sickness or have a sensitive digestive system.  Personally, I would rather hike lite and hungry than bent over in pain.

Four, late spring/early summer hiking is not the best as it gets very hot and there are way too many bugs.  Also, the leaves on trees obstruct views.  Even if it seems cool at the start of the hike, be prepared to sweat once you start climbing.  Luckily, I had a pair of hiking pants that unzipped and turned into capris, which I highly recommend.

Finally, the part that was not our fault that made this a 3 rather than 5 star hike, in our opinion, was the blah summit views.  Sadly, they do not come close to the spectacular views we experienced during the Hudson Valley hikes.  All in all, I suppose Delaware Water Gap hikes can be nice and enjoyable, just not under the circumstances that we were under.  If the drive to Delaware is no closer than to the Hudson Valley, we would vote for the Hudson Valley, without a doubt.