Sunday Paterson Texas Weiner Hike and More!

Hey all,
As usual, a lot of good stuff coming up!
Sunday, we're doing the Texas Weiner Hike around Paterson area hike with co-leader Craig Nunn! Also, I will host a usual Friday night hike as well, looking probably like it will be a loop from Spruce Run using the Highlands Trail as well as abandoned rail rights of way, and a few back roads. Contact me if you want to join in on that, and read on for details of the Paterson area hike!!!

• Sunday, March 3, 2013. THE TEXAS WIENER TRAIL.
  Starting downtwn Paterson and the falls, walk through parks and neighborhoods past old factories and historic sites, including no less than five historic Texas Wiener restaurants in Paterson and Clifton, NJ. End in Clifton.  For a scholarly treatment of the Paterson Hot Texas Wiener tradition, see http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/paterson/essay6.html.
  
  This hike will be around eighteen miles, and we park at a train station and take the train the start.
  
  Helping us this time with leadership is Mr. Craig Nunn, somewhat undisputed king of long distance industrial urban hiking!
  While most of the hike is somewhat urban, it is an incredible trip with history imparted to us by Craig. We will also visit sections of parks and trails offering a break from the roads.
  Meet 9:20 AM at the NJ Transit Delawanna train station on Delawanna Avenue in Clifton.  The parking lot is just east of the RR tracks on the south side of Delawanna Avenue.  There are 137 spaces and parking is free on weekends according to the NJ Transit website.  We will take the 9:46 AM train to Paterson, scheduled to arrive at 9:59 AM.  Participants need to arrive early enough to park their cars, purchase a ticket from a ticket machine, and get to the platform to board the train.  The fare should be $2.25/$1.00 seniors. Here is a link to the station information on NJ Transit:
  http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainStationLookupFrom&selStation=33&x=26&y=0.
  For additional information about Delawanna station, see Craig's comment below.
  The hike will start from the Paterson RR station with a short tour of downtown Paterson followed by the Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park including he falls and the raceway system.  We will then make our way to Garret Mountain by way of West Side Park, Libby's Lunch, and the old Stony Road Reservoir.  Next, cross Garret Mountain Reservation in part by some new trails which form part of the Passaic County Morris Canal Greenway and visit the historic but somewhat obscure viewpoint known as "Garret Rock".  Exiting Garret Mountain via Lambert Castle, we wander through Clifton and south Paterson (for the New Corral and a great Turkish bakery) eventually reaching the Paterson Farmer's Market.  Then there is a long somewhat erratic walk through Clifton which picks up two more hot dog restaurants plus the Olmstead brothers designed Weasel Brook Park, the remains of the oldest US animal quarantine station, and a short walk along the old Newark-Paterson branch of the Erie Railroad.  Then Third Ward Park and a few historic factories in Passaic City and back to Clifton for Rutt's Hut and return to cars at Delawanna RR Station.
  For those who wish to cut out early, at several places along the hike, there is a half-hourly NJ Transit 74 bus which will take participants to within a half mile of the Delawanna RR Station.  It is a bit tricky.  The bus is an exact change only bus and the rider would have to know where to get off the bus (Main Ave. and Delawanna Ave. in Clifton) and where to go to get to their car (east a half mile on Delawanna Ave.), although most bus drivers will be helpful about this. If you plan to cut out BEFORE the half way point, be sure to have exact change! We also pass close to the Clifton and Passaic train stations which have service to Delawanna, approximately hourly.  That might be better for people who aren't familiar with the area. Between the two - bus or train - there are adequate options for early drop-out.  Which works best depends on where one wants to drop-out.  More options by bus in the first half - the train options in the second half. There will be a lot of participants on this hike, so BE READY WHEN WE ARRIVE!!! Be prepared to get your tickets as quickly as possible, because we are relying on public transportation rather than car shuttles. Everyone will be responsible for their own transportation, so please be responsible and arrive with plenty of time to prepare for departure on the train. If there is enough time, find me to sign the liability waiver, and introduce yourself. I will arrive in a red Stratus with Metrotrails on the side. Otherwise, we will handle this at the beginning of the hike. I usually put everyone in a circle to make introductions and talk briefly about the hike. We can try to sit in the same vicinity on the train, but it might be difficult, so everyone must pay attention to get off at the correct spot. Please be prepared if we don't have time to make any introduction prior to the train ride.
  For more info contact me
  M'ke 908 343 8374