WATER GAP: Partnering with the Foundation for Free Flight by John Irlbeck
T
he Water Gap Club, located close to the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border, may be less well known than our larger neighbors—Ellenville to the north and Hyner View to the west—but this low profile is definitely not due to a lack of member enthusiasm or caliber of flying. Kirkridge, or “Kirks,” where the Water Gap Club flies, is located
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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE
on top of Kittatinny Mountain in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. Kittatinny, which meant “endless hills” to the indigenous Lenape Indians, is actually a 25- mile continuous ridge running southwest to northeast at a height of approximately 1000 feet (one of the longest ridges in the Northeast). This section of the Appalachian Mountains is also the narrowest, producing a unique, funneling effect on migratory birds.
Remarkable views abound in the vicinity of our site. Kittatinny Mountain marks, within a few miles, the farthest reaches of the Wisconsin glacier, the last great glacier advance. What this provides for pilots is views to the north of the glacier-influenced, scenic, rugged Pocono Mountains contrasting with the rolling hills and fertile farmland of Northampton County to the south. Kirkridge is classified as a Hang-3 site, although novices with previous