Bicycle Trip: Lincoln NH to Phoenixville PA – Day 14: Columbia, NJ

Left the Oakland Valley Campground around 8:00 AM. Somewhat worried about the severe thunderstorm warnings coming out of the weather system in the middle of the country. Our campsite was located on an unpaved road at the bottom of a huge hill, so our first task of the day was to push the bike to the top as riding was not possible. Already out of breath and tired before we even started riding.

Went through the small towns of Godeffroy and Huguenot, following the path of the Neversink River. Missed a turn right after Huguenot, which took us into the cute little town of Port Jarvis. Luckily our mistake did not add significant mileage and we had a quick tour of the town before finding the bridge over the Neversink to get back on track. After crossing the river, we found ourselves in New Jersey where the Neversink merged into the Delaware River.

Still following the Delaware River, we passed a couple of campgrounds on the way to Montague. However, it was too early to stop for the day, the weather was still great, and we were making great time on the level roads through the valley. Outside of Montague, we got on Old Mine Road which led us into the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The scenery was stunning, in particular the wildflowers coming up along the sides of the road. We stopped in Peters Valley to take a break and take a few pictures of a little artist enclave at the town’s lone intersection.

We set a goal of stopping to eat in Wallpack Village at the Wallpack Inn, which was probably the fanciest restaurant in our travels and then going to the Bear Creek Campground for the night. While waiting for our meal (French Dip Sandwiches made with good prime rib…. not just deli roast beef), we called the campground to find that while they had plenty of room for us, they weren’t really set up with amenities for tenters (meaning NO showers). Since that wasn’t going to work for two sweaty, stinky bikers, we pressed on.

As we continued through the Delaware Water Gap Recreation area, the hills got worse, and there were fewer signs of civilization. We got our hopes up when we passed the River Bend Campground, but it turned out to be for “group camping” only and required some special permit, so we pressed on. The severe thunderstorm warnings were still in the back of our minds. The hills on Old Mine Road continued to grow, and we were now WAY past our daily mileage limit. Once again, we were wondering if we had gambled too far by not just staying at the campground without showers and jumping in the river. Finally, we reached the Worthington State Forest Campground that had showers AND flush toilets. Hallelujah! We figure we did over 50 miles today. Exhausted, we showered, and set up our tent, and got settled just as the wind started to pick up. We had quite the lightening and thunder show until well into the night.