Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

By Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com

You can't see the Appalachian Trail from the sky, not directly anyway. But you can see the ridge it follows, extending seemingly forever from horizon to hazy blue horizon, making our view from above Blue Mountain just another link in a 2,191-mile footpath.

The trail is down there, below us, obscured by trees on this sunny Friday in mid-June. The breeze sweeping up over the hills buffets our small plane as my camera lens pokes out a small opening in the co-pilot seat window, capturing views of the trail that most of us never get to enjoy.

We're not looking at the trail itself, but at its surroundings. This roughly hourlong excursion is an aerial survey — our flight takes us from Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown to High Point in New Jersey's northernmost reaches and back.

Along the way, we're looking at the wildlife refuges and parks — Cherry Valley in Pennsylvania, Wallkill River in New Jersey and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the state border — as well as the results of preservation efforts and outside influences on the trail's greenway — the towns and developments nearby, power lines cutting through the trees, the power plants, reservoirs and dams built up in the surrounding woodlands.

You can’t see the trail from up here. You can see a lot more.

Don't Edit

The reason for our flight is twofold. Foremost, environmental groups like the Appalachian Trail Conservancy are advocating for the renewal of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Established in 1964, the fund allows Congress to appropriate up to $900 million annually so that federal agencies, state and local governments can buy and conserve land, such as sensitive areas around the Appalachian Trail for example, from willing sellers.

This year, the conservancy says, the fund was capped at $425 million. And it is set to expire Sept. 30.

As for the second goal of the flight, even those familiar with the trail like to see it differently from time to time. The trail connects 14 states, a variety of communities and environments.

“It’s all interconnected,” said Brooks Mountcastle, an environmental planner with the trail conservancy, and one of the passengers on this flight.

"Being able to see the landscape and important areas adjacent to make sure future generations can enjoy it is instrumental," said the other passenger, Mark Zakutansky, director of conservation policy engagement for the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We were the second survey flight today. Mike McNamara, our pilot, returned with the first group — which included Karen Lutz, director of the conservancy's Mid-Atlantic region, and former Water Gap park superintendent John Donahue, now also with the conservancy — and refueled his Beechcraft Bonanza, a small single engine aircraft that somehow comfortably held the four of us. McNamara is a volunteer with LightHawk, a conservation group that specializes in these sorts of aerial surveys.

The plane fueled up and ready, we walked out of the hangar and climbed aboard. We were about to take a 120-mile roundtrip hike — from the sky.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

The propellor, the black shadow to the upper left, swirls in front on the plane as our Beechcraft Bonanza hurtles down the scuffed runway at LVIA.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

One of the first sights upon taking off is the sprawling FedEx hub under construction in Allen Township.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

FROM 2015: Wind Gap named Appalachian Trail Community

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We reach the Blue Mountain ridge to the north in minutes. The Appalachian Trail follows this ridge that stretches off toward the horizon. Wind Gap and the Delaware Water Gap are that way.

We turn to the northeast and follow the ridge. To us, the Appalachian Trail is invisible on the mountain, except for perhaps a few lookouts that we are unable to see from here. But most of us rarely, if ever, get to enjoy a view of Blue Mountain from above.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We are approaching Wind Gap, a break in the ridge where Route 33 passes through. The borough of Wind Gap, on the other side of the hill, became a designated Appalachian Trail community in 2015. The community program is meant to give towns along the trail a tourism boost while encouraging them to protect the trail and its surroundings.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

The Delaware River comes into view ahead of us as we approach the Delaware Water Gap. We are still over Pennsylvania, but New Jersey is directly ahead of us on the other side of the river.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Interstate 80 winds through the geologic formations of the Delaware Water Gap, where the river cuts through the ridge line. The end of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain ridge is on the right, while New Jersey's Kittatinny Ridge begins on the left.

In his book "A Walk in the Woods," author Bill Bryson was impressed with the geology of the Delaware Water Gap. "Kittatinny Mountain," he wrote, "towering above the river on the New Jersey side, is a compelling sight, and you can't look at it (at least I couldn't, at least not this day) without wanting to walk up it and see what is there."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

FROM 2015: N.J.-Pa. border now officially marked on Appalachian Trail at I-80 crossing

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We continue flying north along the ridge, the Delaware River flowing south beneath us. Monroe County, Pennsylvania, is on the left, Warren County, New Jersey on the right.

The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area covers 70,000 acres on both sides of the river, stretch north for 40 miles about to where New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York meet.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

On top of Kittatinny Mountain is the Upper Yards Creek Reservoir, a hydroelectric facility that releases water to generate power. On the right, a corner is visible of Sunfish Pond, a natural lake carved by glaciers on the ridge, and a favorite spot for hikers.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Continuing north, we approach a section of the Delaware River called Walpack Bend. The S-shaped curve begins where the Bushkill Creek enters on the Pennsylvania side, and ends just south of the Big Flatbrook on the New Jersey side. If there's another point along the river where Pennsylvania is actually east of New Jersey, I can't think of it.

This area is also a part of Bobcat Alley, a 32,000-acre corridor in North Jersey identified as prime territory for the elusive animal. The Nature Conservancy and Ridge and Valley Conservancy say the region is roughly bounded between the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Allamuchy Mountain State Park, cutting across Warren and Sussex counties.

The area is intersected by heavily traveled roads including I-80, Route 94 and Route 206, which can separate bobcat populations. Both groups have said that is why they want to preserve forests around Kittatinny Mountain, which stretches from the Water Gap to High Point.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

As we approach Walpack Bend, we see the Susquehanna-Roseland power line cutting east across New Jersey. The 150-mile-long, 500-kilovolt line was switched on for the first time in 2015 and links PPL Electric Utilities' switchyard at its Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, to Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.'s switching station in Roseland, Essex County, New Jersey. It crosses through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, following the path of an earlier power line.

It cost $1.4 billion and is designed to bolster electricity reliability for the power grid run by Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection that serves 61 million people in all or parts of 13 states plus the District of Columbia. Environmental groups fought the project, which required taller poles and wider right-of-ways. Though they were unable to stop it, they were eventually given concessions to help them fund other preservation projects, such as Bobcat Alley.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We approach High Point -- New Jersey's highest elevation at 1,803 feet, and the furthest extent of our flight. We circle around the monument to begin the return along the other side of the ridge.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

From the sky over High Point, we can see the New York City skyline, about 50 miles away.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

A field in northern New Jersey is being reclaimed for wetlands.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Looking out the front of the plane, our path back to Pennsylvania along the ridge line is clear. From here, somewhere near the Sussex and Warren county line, we can see just about to the Delaware Water Gap ahead of us.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Looking out the right of the plane, we see Pennsylvania and the Pocono Plateau open up on the other side of the Kittatinny Ridge.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Those cabins are part of Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, a Boy Scout summer camp in Hardwick Township best known as the filming location for the original "Friday the 13th." The camp is off limits to non-scout visitors except for rare occasions. We took a look from the sky because it's probably the closest most of us will ever get.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Rocky cliffs are visible in the ridge as we approach the Delaware Water Gap again, this time from the Jersey side. New Jersey and the Kittatinny Ridge are on the right, and Pennsylvania and the Blue Mountain ridge are on the left.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Oh, hello friend. We're not the only ones out for a flight today. We pass within sight of a few small planes around airports in Sussex and northern Warren counties. This one zipped by over what appears to be a rather secluded area in northern Warren County.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

I-80 follows the Delaware River just south of the Water Gap in Warren County. The Appalachian Trail uses the I-80 bridge (not visible here) as its link between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We pass over the Delaware River Viaduct, an old railroad span that crosses the Delaware and I-80 in New Jersey near the Delaware Water Gap. If you've ever driven into or out of New Jersey on this highway, you've noticed its unmistakable arches.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

FROM 2017: Welcome to Blairstown, N.J.'s 1st Appalachian Trail Community

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

We veer away from the ridge to get a view of the Columbia Lake Dam, center, which is due to be demolished. The 18-foot high, 330-foot long dam is about a quarter-mile up the Paulins Kill from the Delaware River in Knowlton Township. That's I-80 across the top of the photo.

The dam was built in 1909 by the Warren County Power Co. to harvest ice and supply energy, according to the DEP and The Nature Conservancy, which is leading the project as part of a larger plan to improve the Paulins Kill watershed. The dam's removal will restore the creek to its natural state, and allow fish like shad to migrate more freely. Columbia Lake was already drained by the time we passed over.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

The Portland Generating Station, also downriver from the water gap, in Northampton County has been used in studies on the effects of pollution that crosses state borders. The plant is on the banks of the Delaware River, across from New Jersey. It shut down the coal-firing portion of its operation in 2014.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Just about the entire borough of Bangor fits in the frame as we continue our return trip to Allentown.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

So does Pen Argyl, nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountain ridge line. The Poconos are visible beyond.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

MORE: Take a hike: 10 of the best trails in the Lehigh Valley

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

A neighborhood somewhere in the Nazareth area. As we make our approach to land at LVIA, the sights below us stand in stark contrast to the wilderness of the ridge seemingly not far away.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Driving the point home is this neighborhood on the edge of Bath, which ends abruptly near the wooded cliffs of Penn-Dixie Pond, an old flooded quarry. Suburban life, industry and nature all seem to come together here.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Our approach at LVIA affords us one more view of the Lehigh Valley, looking south, away from the Appalachian Trail.

Don't Edit

Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk

Want to see more?

These and a few more photos can be seen in the full gallery, where they are also available for purchase.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.