Lehigh County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: September 9, 2006
Author: Don Desrosiers

area on Blue Mtn (1,674 ft)

Followed Mike Schwartz's directions to the Desher Trail. The sharp turn at the barn is to the left and the blue-blazed trail goes sharply to the right. It looked like a driveway and is not well blue-blazed in its lower regions. There is a fork at 3/10 mile where you will want to go left. All but the lowest of low riders should be able to go another 1/10 mile without having to worry about people like Chip Clark and myself sitting in the backseat mumbling things like, "Andy would have done it." From there, everyone gets to walk. As for posting and chaining the approach, the Commonwealth of PA believes this is the access to their trail into the #106 gamelands area, so you should be good to go.

From the parking "area", the trail is much better blazed and is obvious. It climbs easily and steadily for about a mile and reaches the AT, where you want to turn to the right. From there, I walked until I was pretty well southeast of the point and scrambled northwest to the HP. You will probably want to come back the way you came in rather than bushwhacking more directly back to the Desher Trail. That looked a shade steeper and overgrown than I wanted.

area northeast of Lehigh Furnace Gap (1,660+ ft)

I came into Lehigh Furnace (LF) from the west from PA 309 and along Mountain Road. Just before you get to LF, turn left onto Furnace Road and ascend. About half way up the paved road will become a good dirt road. Continue to the hilltop and park.

Hike north on the AT, marveling at the long, straight section of trail with both white game land area markings and white AT blazes, often on the same tree. However, they are easy to distinguish because the former are more frequent. At the telephone line (shown on the topo but not in real life), turn right onto the blue-blazed bypass trail. Scramble along over the rocks hitting all the local highest points and you will eventually score this HP. Stay on the blue trail until you get back to the AT, turn left, and back to the car.

Of historical note, the blue-blazed trail was apparently the original AT. I have a guidebook from 1938 showing the route staying on the highest point of the ridge. It is likely the current AT was at one time the bad-weather bypass route.