16th Annual Warren Railroad Hike and Hikers' Hootenanny!!!

Join us for the sixteen year anniversery hike of what started it all!
On March 23, 1997, Michael Helbing gathered a group of his closest high school buddies to hike the route of the former Warren Railroad.
What began as an informal group of friends evolved to become Metrotrails; a New Jersey Non Profit Corporation dedicated to promoting the trails of the NY/Philly metropolitan area.
We will be meeting at 9 am at the Port Colden Mall in Washington NJ, located at 404 East Washington Avenue near the Motor Vehicle, Jersey Pizza, and Hunon Wok. Park in the front of the lot closest to the highway.
We will shuttle in as few cars as possible to the north. Unfortunately, the route we followed on that first hike has become difficult for large groups, so we have amended the hike and shaved off a few miles to keep it at about 15, but added a few things to the route as well.
This is a great hike for convenience, because we will be passing food and drink pit stops at several points, so little needs to be carried. Additionally, at the end of the hike we will begin the 16th Annual Hikers' Hootenanny in Port Colden. More details on that to follow.
The route includes historic rail era towns with many century plus year old structures, abandoned bridges and two railroad tunnels. Those who do not wish to walk through tunnels have the option of joining a co-leader to pass over the top, an insignificant distance detour.
Those who do wish to take the more difficult route, please be prepared for water just over the knees.
Due to a high participation level always encountered on this terrific hike, I am asking everyone to please be patient as we organize the car shuttle to the north. Everyone will have to wait a bit before we get under way until everyone is at the start of the hike.
Upon arriving at Port Colden Mall, enter the lot and proceed to the left, almost back out to Rt 57. Please use the outside line of parking spaces along and facing Rt 57 so we do not use up all of the space for the local businesses. I will park in a spot a bit closer in the Metrotrails car (Red Stratus with Metrotrails on the side) so to be seen. I may have a card table for registration, but either way, make your way to my car to sign in. After that, we will fill cars and send them on their way to the beginning point. Michele, one of my co leaders will be heading to that point first to help get  everyone parked. Let's try to be as prompt as possible to get to the trail head.
This is Michele:

FOR THOSE WHO WOULD RATHER DO THE TEN MILE VERSION OF THE HIKE:
Please DO NOT report to Port Colden Mall. Instead, meet Eric Pace at Oxford Central School. From Washington, follow Rt 31 north into Oxford. Just before the traffic light, there is a mini mart called the Busy Bee on the southbound side. Behind the Busy Bee and gas station is Oxford Central School, which has a parking lot across from the main school building. Meet there at 9 am instead. The same deal here; Eric knows the beginning point, and everyone should pile into as few cars as possible to head north. Eric will leave his car in Oxford to work out shuttles later unless he decides otherwise. Eric can be reached at 908 763 3916. He has done this hike at least once a year since 2001 and is very familiar. This is Eric:

At the main meeting point, we'll continue to fill cars up and send them to the beginning as people arrive. Everyone will get in a circle at the beginning to go over the route and make introductions. We will have copies of the Mile By Mile Guide to hiking the Warren Railroad for sale at the beginning (5$ each, which just helps us to host the website, run the Meetup group, etc, rather than charging a fee), written by myself and Metrotrails Vice President Matthew Davis. Matt will also be there to help guide everyone through difficult or questionable spots. Matt is a wealth of knowledge on the old line. Matt has hosted hikes himself, and is a skilled Mountaineer and photographer. This is Matt:

In addition, Jason Kumpas is shown here as a co-leader. He has done this hike multiple times as well and is also familiar with the route. He can assist in leading those over the tunnel who wish to keep their feet dry. He's trained in Outdoor Leadership and active with groups such as NEPA Trail Mix and AMC.
Other friends who are very familiar with the route may be attending including my brother "Tea Biscuit", who has done the hike more times than anyone other than me, and maybe Fred who has joined it many times as well. If he's there, he'll likely lead the faster group near the front to finish earlier.
When we near Washington, I will be calling Dicola's Pizza ahead of time so they will have extra food ready for us. We can hang out there for a bit, and around 8 pm I want to head to Port Colden.
Following the hike, and beginning directly after will be the 16th Annual Hikers' Hootenanny! This will be held where my house used to be before it burned down in 2010. I have obtained a camp fire permit, which we will have in the back lot like we always did when I lived there. Sorry, there are no longer any bathrooms :(
But this should be a really fun time, so any musicians, feel free to bring your guitars and we'll hang out late!
The party will be at 8 Port Colden Road, Washington NJ 07882. It'll be the only vacant lot on the right after heading into the village off of Rt 57. Feel free to contact me for more details! 908 343 8374

Sun 3/17 Old Putnam/Westchester NY Hike and Fri night hike!

Hey all! Let's gear up for some great St. Patty's Day theme hiking! We have old Putnam Sunday and another friday night hike. Read toward the end for info on the night hike, but here is the info for this Sunday, 3/17 Old Putnam St. Patrick's Day Hike!
Join us for an interesting point to point hike, using public transportation, on the Old Putnam line, most of which is now the South and North County Greenways in Westchester County, as well as a few lesser developed parks both along the Hudson, through little towns, and in the Bronx!
We will be meeting at 9 am at Hastings-On-Hudson train station, located at 134 South Side Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson. That is actually the address of the station cafe, obviously we'll be meeting at the station. Those coming from the city using public transportation can obviously meet us at the start of the hike, which is at Riverdale which is where the train is scheduled to drop us at 9:36.
It doesn't really matter which we meet at for the hike, but the participant is responsible for finding the group upon arrival, which brings me to the next item:
This hike is St. Patricks Day Theme! Let's celebrate by dressing in all green for this hike! Most of the route will be very easy, and much of the Old Putnam line is now a paved trail. We will never be very far from civilization.
The hike is between 15 and 16 miles (The short trails near the end are not to scale, so an approximation must be accepted. The park is very small, and so it should certainly be under 16 total).
The hike will start by following the Hudson south, then heading east through the Bronx and small pocket parks to Van Cortland Park. Here, we pick up the Old Putnam Trail, a surprisingly secluded and beautiful rail trail with original cinder surface much like the ones further to the west. It is surprising such a place exists within the confines of NY City.
When the trail leaves the Bronx, it becomes a more developed, paved trail. We'll continue on it north until we must follow a few roads to reach Hillside Park, a lesser used park with several trails leading down into Hastings-On-Hudson. We'll remain in parks until we reach a short section of Old Croton Aqueduct, then descend from it to the station, and admire the views along the Hudson before completing our hike.
This should be a great time!
THIS FRIDAY NIGHT: Join for a 15 mile night hike between Long Valley and Mansfield! Meet at 4:00 pm at Penwell, Mansfield Township NJ. From the traffic light in Mansfield, where Rt 57 intersects with Point Mountain Road and Port Murray Road, head no more than a half mile east and Penwell Road descends to the right. At the bottom of the hill, just before the bridge over the Musconetcong, turn left onto the abandoned former Penwell Road route. It's blocked at the end. We'll be pulling off on the left side at an angle within sight of the intersection.
We'll shuttle to the beginning and hike the Patriot's Path and Highlands Trail in to Hackettstown, and then visit Weiss Market where free samples are being given out at their "Meet the Manager" special. We'll then head west on a rail grade, then follow pleasant back roads through lovely farm lands and descend to Penwell. Only a very short distance walking along Rt 57. The rest is mostly fantastic back roads, beautiful foot paths, a scenic vista, an old iron mine, and more!
For both of these hikes further information, call or text me at 908 343 8374

M'ke

Sunday Washington's Crossing/Lambertville Hike and Phillipsburg Night Hike

Hey all!
 More good stuff coming up as always! This week, there's the 3/10 (Sunday) hike between Washington's Crossing and Lambertville along foot paths mostly, which should be amazing!
Additionally, I'll probably be doing a night hike on Friday, again in the Phillipsburg area to work on a bit more of the Warren Highlands Trail system (I may be reblazing a section), and then we'll head south to follow the Morris Canal Greenway route, a section which has recently been refurbished! For that, we'll probably meet at 4 pm in Phillipsburg along Charles Road near the intersection with Belvidere Rd. If you want to join, please contact me.
And Sunday: Join us for an incredible point to point hike between Washington's Crossing and Lambertville covering at least eight different parks! The now contiguous trail system leads between Washington's Crossing and Lambertville without even getting on the Delaware and Raritan Canal, although we will walk that briefly as well.
We will meet in Lambertville at 8:45 am Sunday morning. The parking area is somewhat hidden, but it's a good one. From NJ, take Rt 202 south to the Lambertville exit on Rt 29. Continue into Lambertville and turn right on Bridge Street.
DO NOT park at the station on Bridge Street. Pull into what appears to be a large hotel parking lot right by the bridge, after the station. Drive behind the building to the left, and there is state park parking along the river on the right! It sort of looks like you can't even go through that way.
If for some reason there is a storm closure or something in that section, park in the parking lot for the building and wait for me to show up. You can always call me at (908) 343 8374. After meeting, we'll do an easy car shuttle to our beginning point.
The route will be about 15 miles as usual, but I have not scouted the section from Baldpate into Lambertville, so it could vary slightly. I simply took the trail map and drew a line closely tracing it on Google Earth to get 15.
We'll be walking across the Washington's Crossing bridge from the Historic Park in PA, then along D&R canal briefly to the foot bridge into Washington's Crossing State Park. We'll weave through the trail system there, then head north. There is a connector trail that leads into the Ted Stiles Baldpate Mountain Preserve. We'll hike the Baldpate trails past an old farmstead and some limited views, then head down the north side. Dry Run Creek now has a trail connecting from the north side here, and we'll take it north to the new Rock Hopper Trail, which leads into Lambertville. Depending on the time, we may visit Goat Hill, or wander through town to complete the hike!
This hike is somewhat rugged at times, but not the type of difficult terrain one might find in the northern NJ Highlands or Ridge and Valley districts.