Great Hiking in June 2012!

Hey everybody!

The end is approaching fast. There are only two more Sunday  hikes that will be in the White Lake vicinity while I am living here.
I've been struggling with which ones to do. I wondered to myself how I could possibly keep it interesting and cover new stuff, but the truth is there is far too much to cover, even before I move. I've decided for the last two Sunday ones I would go for quality stuff. We will revisit some of the places we have in recent hikes, but also cover some new stuff, some of which I haven't done.

This hike's route will likely be a loop, covering some of the best of the places we've covered in recent Ridge and Valley hikes as well as some new things that even I haven't done!
I plan on beginning at the White Lake parking lot, and following the Ridge and Valley Trail as well as other trails I have helped to develop during my time at White Lake. This will be the second to last Sunday hike we will do while I am living in the area.
We will cover some of the northbound Ridge and Valley Trail, as well as the looping sections to the east.
As per Carol's request, let's try to go for the purple theme!
One of the new preserves includes a lollipop loop that will take us out and back near Mallard Pond.
We'll also do some nice backroad walking and include sections of Frelinghuysen Forest Preserve we have not yet hiked, and also Gnome Hollow.
Further, I am trying to arrange for an historic tour to coincide with this trip, but it has not yet been planned.
Highlights of the trip:
-Amazing ridge and valley topography
-White Lake
-Small glacial sink hole ponds
-Historic Vass Farmstead
-Marl Works ruins
-Former girl scout camp site and ruins
-Invasive species identification
-Naturally growing pitcher plants
Meeting time will be 9 am Sunday at the White Lake Parking lot, along Rt 521, Stillwater Road, a few miles north of Blairstown, at the parking lot with the white fence across from the stone Vass Farmhouse.


Looking further ahead, I will do at least two more area hikes, either on Tuesday or Thursday evenings. This coming week it will be either Tuesday or Thursday, and the following week it will likely be Thursday evening. Meeting time will be 4:30 at White Lake for those, but please get in touch with me if you plan on attending those.
On Sunday, June 10th, Metrotrails Vice President Matthew Davis will probably be leading a hike, yet to be announced.


The final hike ending at White Lake Natural Resource Area will be Sunday, June 17th, and it's going to be something very special.
For that hike, an exclusive tour of Millbrook Village has been arranged for Metrotrails, hosted by noteworthy historians including Millbrook President, Mr. Wilson Bullivant. It will be an outstanding tour opportunity not to be missed! I am asking each participant make a modest donation to the village (I'll be giving $5) for their efforts.
The hike will lead us on a route up the Kittatinny Ridge passing Coventry Pond, then reaching the Appalachian Trail. We will follow the AT to the Blair Creek Preserve, then head down to follow it south. There will be a second of back road walking before picking up TNC property and the final section of the Ridge and Valley Trail back to White Lake to finish the trip.


The last week in June will mark the return of our normal hiking schedule, branching off in different directions. The next trip will likely be either Horseshoe Trail in Berks County, Wissahickon in Philadelphia, or Evansburg and Perkiomen area. All three of these trips will be planned for the near future regardless.

Other trips to be expected, though dates have not been picked will include Staten Island Greenbelt and beaches, Ramapos, Shawangunks in NY, Jim Thorpe PA area, Long Beach Island NJ, and Manasquan.

Stay tuned. The best is yet to come!


Contact me if you need further details! sneezehorse@hotmail.com or 908 343 8374

M'ke

Upcoming Hikes!

Hello all!

Plenty more great hikes coming up! We're fast approaching the end of my days at White Lake, and so we will finish up my time here with a few more awesome hikes.
This Sunday will be another meeting at White Lake at 9 am, however the route is yet to be determined pending availability for historic tours. I am working on arranging tours of two historic areas in the area for the last Sunday trips. The other one as planned will be June 17th. The weekend of June 10th there will not be a Sunday hike.
The two remaining hikes, this weekend and the 17th, will be to the north and south of White Lake. One will lead us from between Jenny Jump through portions of Natural Lands Trust properties, Johnsonburg Swamp, Gnome Hollow, and more. The other will lead us from Millbrook Village north over Kittatinny Ridge and then south along the east fork of the Ridge and Valley Trail. Both should be very interesting trips.
In addition to those, there will be weekday hikes, probably on Thursdays, coming up soon. The next one will likely be the 7th of June.
Stay tuned to METROTRAILS.ORG for latest updates on which hike will be next!

Upcoming Hikes; Ridge and Valley Vicinity

Hey everybody!

Unfortunately, I am stuck working the full Memorial Day weekend. With my new position, I will likely be stuck working full weekends during most big events. This will happen again to some extent with Fourth of July.

Regardless, the hikes of course will continue it is only on occasion. My Supervisors have been very kind in allowing me to have most every Sunday to continue to organize the hikes as I have for the past fifteen years.
I will be posting two hikes, one for Thursday night and one regular day hike for next Tuesday the 29th. 
For this Thursday, we will be meeting at White Lake Natural Resource Area at 4:30 pm and shuttle to the beginning, Hemlock Forest Preserve. We'll head through many different parks and other areas, exploring public lands I just haven't gotten to yet in this point to point route. It will definitely finish after dark, maybe by 11 pm. If you would like an early out, contact me prior to it.
The next hike will take place on Tuesday, May 29th, and it will be a different version of the Ridge and Valley Trail hikes we have been doing. We will re-visit a couple of places, but almost the entire hike is new.
Again, we will meet at the main parking area for White Lake Natural Resource Area on Rt 521 just north of Blairstown. It is across the street from the historic Vass Farmstead, a stone farm house preserved by Hardwick Historical Society. The parking lot is lined with white fences, situated right along the road. Meeting time is 9 am.
We will begin once again at the proposed northern terminus of the Ridge and Valley Trail, but the only part of the hike that will be the same as the past is the section from the ridge down to the camp and across the awesome swinging bridge pictured here.
The remainder of the hike will be entirely new. Once we get off of Shannon Road, we walk some back roads out to the Maple Farm Preserve. I recently discovered this unconnected portion of the Ridge and Valley Trail just north of Blairstown, and it is beautiful.

We will cut into the woods and walk through lovely limestone forests as we had on the other hikes in the region, do a short lollipop loop, then descend past an unbelievably beautiful spot with an old lime kiln along a pond, pictured here.
We'll continue on the trail out to the next road, and then do some nice back road walking to Jacksonburg, just outside of Blairstown where we'll walk through a cemetery as well as high school lands past a giant Silver Maple tree.
We'll then pick up Paulins Kill Valley Trail into Blairstown for a nice break and late lunch at Dale's Market. They have outstanding cakes and good sandwiches.
From there, we continue on and possibly explore the Limestone Ridge Preserve, then make our way back to Paulins Kill Valley Trail to White Lake. It will depend on the time which trails we use to return to the lake, but I am thinking the main trail past the Marl Works once more.
If anyone is feeling particularly CRAZY we can extend the hike for another loop that would include more Ridge and Valley Trail loops and possibly the all new Mallard Pond area trail.

Everyone will notice that the hikes have been mainly in the north Warren County area and vicinity. I need to be out of my current place by June 20th, and so I am trying to enjoy the last days close to home, sharing the amazing preserves in the area with everyone. Also, my car is not in very good shape for long drives right now, and I'm looking for another (if anyone knows of any under $2K, let me know!).
After the 17th of June, we will be branching out once more with hikes all over the place.
For more info, contact M'ke at sneezehorse@hotmail.com or at (908) 343-8374

Sunday Pocono Rim Hike!

Selected By: Michael Helbing

Hey everybody!

Our next hike will be the next in the series along the Pocono Rim! We've been doing this series for years, and we have finally reached Milford PA! There will be a few re-visits and such to the areas we haven't covered between at later dates, but this should be a great one including Raymondskill Falls and much more!
We will be meeting at 9 am in the town of Milford PA, at the Grand Union store which is on the right side of Hartford Street. The address is 501 West Hartford Street, Milford PA. GPS coordinates are as follows:
Lattitude: 41°19'35.40"N
Longitude: 74°48'33.23"W
This hike is also an important one because we will finally finish the McDade Trail. We have hiked every section of it thus far, and this covers the last section. The hike will begin with that.
Also along the hike, we will visit Raymondskill Falls and an outstanding overlook known as "The Knob".
Other than that I am keeping the details of the hike under wraps somewhat. This will be an awesome hike with a lot of great stuff to see.
Because some of the terrain has some more serious elevation, be forewarned that it might take a little longer than some of the past ones. There won't be much bushwhacking, so compared to a lot of recent ones it may actually be easier.
There may be a couple wet crossings, so be prepared with some dry socks, etc. Just in case!
I have scaled off a total of sixteen miles, and so we shouldn't run much over that. There are opportunities to cut corners as well. The McDade Trail is mostly flat, so we'll make good time on that. The Knob, after the climb, has a long flat section as well.
For those looking for early outs, this one will be a bit tougher to do. I do have options for that though, which we can discuss at the time of meeting. It will involve taking a different trail at one point.
Beyond this week's hike, I have a brief run down of what you can expect of the hikes come June.
Because I will be moving to a new home by no later than June 20th, the remaining hikes other than this next one will be focusing around the Blairstown NJ area, near my current house.
The next regular hike after this one will be on an odd day, Tuesday May 29th. I have to work a full weekend for Memorial Day, and so the hike must be Tuesday. As planned, that will be another Ridge and Valley hike variation. It will again involve the Mohican Outdoors Center, and a brief road walk from it to pleasant back roads of Blairstown Township. We will then pick up the Maple Hill Farm preserve and follow a fantastic little known section of the Ridge and Valley Trail.
From there, we follow some back roads into Blairstown and wander right through the town's center, which is quite lovely. We then go through Footbridge Park to Paulins Kill Valley Trail. Beyond Paulina, we'll walk an abandoned road that was washed out by the flood and end up at White Lake. As planned, we may do a loop there that will involve an out and back on an all new trail in the area.
June 3rd there will be another trip in the area, and it will likely be the Ridge and Valley Trail section from Blair Creek and the AT south to White Lake, including new acquisitions, and a beautiful limestone forest preserve also finishing at White Lake, but using almost no trails that we have covered in the past few (yes, there are more!)
June 10th weekend, I may not be leading a hike. Stay tuned and I will post more.
June 17th will be the last Ridge and Valley area hike near my house. The route we use on this date may switch with the June 10th one depending on availability of historians. I am looking to have tours of historic sites included in one or two of these trips.
The route will be a different variation on the last hike we did, starting at Jenny Jump, and then heading north through Presbyterian Camp property that was just preserved. We would then pick up more of Johnsonburg Swamp, and follow a similar route through, but also revisit the overlook of Mud Pond (no one gets tired of that one). We'll again walk to Frelinghuysen Forest Preserve but head out a different way, then through Gnome Hollow a different way than we did it this past time. This one too will end at White Lake. I'm still working out the routes for both of these.
June 24 we will likely head back south, for a hike yet to be determined.
Following hike dates will be June 29th, and after July 4 weekend, there will be another weekday one.
Also, stay tuned for more weeknight hikes starting soon!
I'll be in touch with more details as they develop~

M'ke

Sunday Warren/Sussex Ridge and Valley Area Hike!

Hey everybody!
Our next hike will be another awesome point to point trip in the Ridge and Valley vicinity.
For those of you who loved the Ridge and Valley Trail from the AT to White Lake, you will probably love this one! It focuses on the same geological province, but in it's southernmost sections, which has slightly different terrain.
We will be meeting once again at White Lake. Rather than at my house, we'll use the main parking lot this time, on Rt 521 just north of Blairstown. Hopefully it will be nice weather so we can go and sit on the dock afterwards.
Here are the GPS coordinates for the parking lot:
Lattitude: 41° 0'7.43"N
Longitude: 74°55'0.12"W
We will be meeting at 9 am at this point. The parking lot is lined with white fences and is just a few miles north of Blairstown on 521. It is directly across the street from the historic stone Vass Farmstead.
We will shuttle as few cars as possible to Whittingham Wildlife Management Area. We'll follow a route through many different preserves and abandoned railroad beds, with short road walks in between some of them.
Included on this trip are also the Dark Moon Preserve, Johnsonburg Swamp Preserve, Frelinghuysen Forest Preserve, Gnome Hollow Preserve, Paulins Kill Valley Trail, and of course White Lake Natural Resource Area.
The route offers interesting limestone rock outcroppings, a couple scenic vistas, an old truss bridge, and much more!
Everyone should bring plenty of water, and don't count on there being any food stops. There is one deli that I think has been closed, so everyone should probably be prepared with a lunch.
If there are any further questions, feel free to contact me (M'ke) at sneezehorse@hotmail.com or at 908 343 8374

M'ke