Hike #850; Hunterdon Highlands

Hike #850; Hunterdon Highlands

5/21/15 Hunterdon Highlands; Warren Glen to Union Township with Larry Philips and Annika Krystyna.

In Sweet Hollow Preserve with four leaf clovers

This next trip would be my first after returning from backpacking vacation.

While out, it's sort of easy to forget who you are. At least it is for me. All of the things I love about my life, the trail stuff, all of the group hikes, it was like they didn't exist. Both the stress of work and the good things I have seem to fade away the longer I'm out there. The goal is always the experience of it, and it's easy to get consumed in it.

The abrupt and early end to my trip left me feeling depressed and craving more hiking. I immediately posted one for Mercer/Hunterdon County because there was a tiny piece involved that was a bit of the perimeter of the state I hadn't done yet. When only Larry and Annika were signed up, I figured it would just be simply to do the Highlands Trail closer to work. I changed it last second and had her meet us up near Spruce Run rather than the original planned one. I got permission from Bill Honachefsky to park cars at the new Solitude Heritage Museum, in the historic Joseph Turner House on Van Syckles Road, and then we shuttled to Musconetcong Gorge to start the hike.

The Highlands Trail can be very rugged, and it turned out to be more rugged than I'd remembered it, despite having done it so many times over the years. It was, however, the fulfilling and challenging thing I needed after vacation.

We started walking the Highlands Trail from Dennis Road. It's a nice section with a slope to the left. This took us for a ways and down to cross Scout Run.

Cascade on Scout Run

We continued across the creek with it's lovely little cascades, and went over stone steps on the well built section of trail. For years this section was a dead end at Pine Run, the next creek up. It was completed when I worked for Hunterdon County. We continued with some seasonal views and limited year round views to the left of the trail on the rim of Musconetcong Mountain, then descended to cross Pine Run. It was annoying to see the poorly marked yellow trail going down the mountain to the left. This was the worst trail marking project I've seen during my years with parks, poorly managed and executed and in some places three colors remain on the same trees to this day.

Seasonal view

We climbed from Pine Run and into the former fields where the trail used to be marked on tiny saplings with wide paint marks. When I first started hiking this section it really was still a field, so it's amazing to see it today, barely a field anymore and becoming a young forest. We continued out of these fields and through woods I helped to clear, and came out on Staats Road.

Former fields, in succession

The trail turned right on Staats Road, then left on Schaaf Road. I had never noticed there was an historic home on the left side, partially stone. I wondered how far back it dated. Possibly 1700s. We made our way to the fields where the Highlands Trail enters Sweet Hollow Preserve. We skirted the fields and found four leaf clovers, and then made our way on top of a stone row to the south. I'd not been on this section of trail in a couple of years, and it was neat to see where my friend Glenn had moved it a bit. It went into a bit more woods than it used to.

We then entered more woods and headed down hill past the ruins of the Japanese Garden House. We used to visit this site a lot, and it used to be very cool. Sadly, the building is nearly collapsed now.

Japanese Garden House ruin

I went over to have a look around. It was still possible to get inside, but there wasn't much "inside" left. The roof was almost completely open, and much of it was leaning to the front. There was still a lot of stuff visible inside, but not much worth taking. Larry found some old stove door thing, and something that said "Union" on it that I wondered if it was part of Union Iron Works. It turns out it wasn't. I think it was Union Stove Company.

Japanese Garden House ruin

There is an old stone foundation ruin that certainly dates far back next to the garden house, but I don't know anything about it. We continued on the trail down to Sweet Hollow Road where it turned left. We followed the road for a ways until the trail went left, up hill into the eastern section of Sweet Hollow Preserve. It was a good workout, and I needed it.

The trail went up past some sort of fireplace thing, then followed a woods road for a bit past a cistern. It then turned off and crossed a small brook in a re routed section. A large tree had fallen over the trail with it's root ball completely exposed.

Sweet Hollow Preserve

The trail weaved around as a foot path to reach Rt 579, and turned right. We went a short distance, then turned left on Turkey Hill Road. We met a girl jogging there and chatted with her about the trail. She did geo caching, and was interested in where it went. I gave her some directions and she walked with us rather than jogged for the entire route on Turkey Hill Road, then we turned right into Deerpath Sanctuary of the Audobon Society and passed an old spring house. The trail went up hill and crossed a power line, then descended to reach Tunnel Road. We turned left here and passed beneath Rt 78, and entered the village of West Portal.

West Portal Church

We passed the old West Portal Church which was built in 1849 according to an historic marker, but it made me wonder what the town was called before the Lehigh Valley Railroad was built. The railroad didn't come in until a couple of decades later, so the town would have had to have a different name because there was no tunnel yet. I still have no clue.

The trail continued on Tunnel Road to Rt 173, crossed, then ascended through Jugtown Mountain Nature Preserve. It was starting to get darker, but I was able to see well enough to continue. I hurried on along the trail, which follows woods roads at first, and then turned left on the foot path section. I waited for Larry and Annika to catch up, and we continued through the woods. Again, I got ahead and waited for them when the Highlands Trail re joined the main loop trail. When I neared the main parking area, I saw headlights. I held back before continuing back out to the lot and waited for the other two. When they'd caught up, we made our way out to the lot, crossed, and then continued on the trail past where the scales for the trucks used to be carrying ore away from the mine. There was a mine where the parking lot is today, but it was filled in.

We continued on the trail through woods out to Mine Road. The trail turned left briefly and then right back into the woods. This section would be very dark, but I was able to navigate through it with no light up until the rather new section near the power lines. There, the treadway is not as well defined and I had to rely on Annika's light to show the way a bit. We continued across the power line, then up past the springs to reach Tower Hill Reserve. It's still sad for me to pass through this site since the county tore down the old house there. Only the two story spring house remains today.

The paths in Tower Hill were mowed around the outside, and once at the road we turned right. We then crossed to follow another mowed path on the other side for a little bit before cutting down to Mountainview Road. The trail follows this road to Norton Church Road and turns left. We decided to take a little break when we got to Norton Church.

Sweet Cat

At the sign, I heard a mewing sound. Out of the flower bushes at the sign came a cute and friendly orange cat! It came right over and wanted lots of attention. We hung around and pet the sweet cat for a bit before moving on. Larry saw a sign for a missing cat some time after that may have fit it's description too.

We turned right at the church, then headed down hill to the former Van Syckles Tavern. Rather than get on the Highlands Trail back to the museum house, we just walked Van Syckles Road as well as one short field section of the trail to make it a bit easier.

This was one of the more difficult terrain night hikes I'd ever posted, but it was lovely. Annika said it really kicked her ass. It did mine as well, but I really needed and wanted it.

I really need to keep up with getting extra exercise supplementing weekly hikes with night hikes. Keep the spirits high and the weight low.