Hike #927; South Mountain to Little Falls
3/31/16 South Mountain Reservation to Little Falls with Kralc Leahcim (Lerch), Jim "Uncle Soup" Campbell, Annika Krystyna, Jason W. Briggs, and Dan Asnis
This next hike would be a point to point between Little Falls and South Mountain Reservation near Turtleback Zoo, but it wasn’t just a typical one. I had long been saying I was going to do a hike to the Great Notch Inn when my friend Mark Moran of Weird NJ fame was playing with his band, The Poor Man's Opera. For a while it looked like the days were numbered for the famous watering hole because of expansion of the highway, but it now looks like it will be spared.
I had envisioned hiking The Great Notch Trail, an historic trail that once traveled from Paterson over the Watchung Mountains to the Notch, but that wasn’t going to work with this night hike.
It happened that I had no interest in being home because Jillane was out west visiting with our friend Jeff, so I would just post something crazy and be out most of the night. It ended up being much more of the night than anticipated!
We met at the Shop Rite in Little Falls NJ. I had met here for hikes before. It was a pretty good spot. It was amazing I was able to get there after work as quickly as I did. Well, I made it, and then we shuttled in mine and Dan’s cars to our start point. We chose a cul de sac near South Mountain Reservation’s north end called Woods End Road. Dan passed it carpooling and had to come back to get to Lerch and I.
Lenape Trail on Strawberry Hill
The trail was easy to get to. We just walked down to Northfield Ave, turned left, then climbed to the pedestrian overpass, which was probably at one time a vehicle overpass, but has carried the Lenape Trail for years. The trail continued into the woods to the north.
This was near the northern end of this part of the Lenape Trail. The blazes used to end at the top of South Mountain Reservation, but it had nearly been extended through to connect with the main Lenape Trail route across the county.
It was a nice easy hike, wandering through to a parking area, then skirting it and heading to the north through woods. There was a little overlook with a table and chairs looking over a construction site, but for the most part the trail kept away from everything else.
At some point, the blazes sort of ended and we got to Whitbay Drive at a development. In the past, we made our way through or around this one hikes. This time, we went right on through. The trail wasn’t marked yet, but we did find a Lenape Trail tag laying on the ground. It was flagged with only ribbons as well as little flags that look like they are to go where puncheons are going. I suspect this is probably going to be a local National Trails Day project.
Lenape Trail view
We emerged on Rt 10 and went across onto Ellison Ave. The elementary school is there as well as O’Connor Park. We then passed an old sign that read “Lenape Trail” with a worn blaze. I remembered blue ones being on posts for a side trail, and saw some remnant of them, but they were hardly recognizable. We continued straight which took us to a path into O’Connor Park. We walked almost the entire loop pathway around it to see if there was another way through, but ended up backtracking to a path that leads east out to Ralph Road. We turned left there, and I spotted more old worn blazes. We turned left onto Manger Road, and found another old Lenape Trail sign. At the end, we cut along a retention pond and out to the power line where there is a fantastic view to the east over the highway. This is where the spur section meets the main Lenape Trail.
Lenape Trail at Pleasant Valley Way, 180 underpass.
We turned right here on the main route, down hill along the power line clearing. The blazes were easier to see on the main route. We reached Pleasant Valley Way at the bottom, and turned left. Uncle Soup and Lerch were already at the bottom when I got there, and Lerch had climbed the bridge’s sloped concrete edge to walk at the underside. I ran up and walked it too, and remembered I had done the same the last time I walked this section in 2008 I think it was. We continued up the road to Hooper Ave where we turned right. We then cut to the left through Degnan Park along the edge of a pretty pond. We then cut right out to Carteret Street.
Degnan Park
At that point, we made a wrong turn and went left parallel with fields. I guess it seemed like the natural course, and we were distracted by some ropes course equipment in the school yard, which we couldn’t get to.
We had to backtrack, and headed up hill a couple of blocks, then on Roberson out to Eagle Rock Ave. We turned right on Eagle Rock, then reached Eagle Rock Reservation across from Prospect Ave. We followed the path on the south side, then cut into the reservation through some nice woods for a while.
When we emerged from woods, it was by that high lawn restaurant with the view to the east of NYC. The Lenape Trail doesn’t go right by the 911 Memorial, but it’s only a short walk over to it, so we all went over. It was just getting dark, and we had a fantastic view of the city just as the lights were all coming on.
We hung out here only a short while before moving on back to the trail. It paralleled roads shortly, but then cut back into the woods to follow the crest of the Watchung Ridge. The lights all came on in the city, and we had a good amount of ambient light to be able to walk through without it being too hard.
Eagle Rock city nightscape
We took a break at one overlook and enjoyed the view, and threw some rocks up into the air to watch bats fly down after them. At one point, Annika put her hand up into the air and a bat actually swooped down for it! I’d never seen one come so close to a person before like that.
We continued through the preserve on the nice natural surface trails to the back streets into Verona. We had to follow a few streets in order to reach the east side of Verona Park, which always seems to go pretty fast. We headed south and across the bridge through the park. There were a lot of people walking around, and it was very pleasant. Lerch talked of stealing a big duck paddle boat while we were there, but he abstained. We followed the west shore of the Verona pond to come out into the town, at Bloomfield Ave. We turned left and walked on through.
While there, we passed a little liquor store, and I went in to see the Weyerbacher 20th Anniversery drink was on sale for $10.99, an unheard of deal for the 11.1% drink, and so I had to buy some. Unfortunately, my backpack opened on it’s own a bit later and two of the beverages fell out and smashed. It was heartbreaking.
We remained on the trail out to the West Essex Trail section, where it follows the former Caldwell Branch of the Erie Railroad. We followed the old railroad bed with ease from there east. There was no one else out anywhere, not even where we crossed Pompton Ave or the trestle over the Peckman River. Lerch got way ahead at some point as we passed the bridge.
I had never done the section at the very east of this one, where it reaches the former junction with the active rails, so that was something new for me.
I fell behind at one point, and took a bad fall into a drainage ditch because I was answering my phone. Ted was waiting for us at the Great Notch Inn at this point and we were only a couple of miles away. Mark was already on with Poor Man’s Opera, and we would just be a little bit late. I caught up with the others, and Dan fell behind. He also fell, having tripped on a small fallen tree.
When we reached the tracks, we turned right for a short while. I’m not sure where most people go here, but we just walked to the Long Hill Road overpass and climbed up, then turned right on Notch Road.
Mark fronting Poor Man's Opera
The road took us past the train station, down hill, then gradually back up a bit until we crossed over Rt 46. There was a lot of construction going on at this point, so the equipment at some point gave us a wider area to be able to walk while making our way along the westbound lane.
It didn’t take long before we got to the Great Notch Inn. It was very apparent how the new construction was effecting the place. The owner never sold out, and so they planned to build the east and westbound lanes on either side of the Inn. The place is not at all big, in fact it’s a very tight little biker bar. I think Mark was pretty surprised to see so many people show up on a Thursday night.
Mark singing with Poor Man's Opera
He and the band were muscling through some really great versions of Billy Idol songs and some other great but more obscure tracks that I’ve always loved, like stuff by Paul Carrack (who fronted Ace, Squeeze, and Mike and the Mechanics, and also wrote for The Eagles and others).
Ted Wright was right up front enjoying the band. Great Notch Inn was giving away copies of the new Weird NJ to anyone who bought a drink. I’d already had my super strong Weyerbacher, and then Uncle Soup offered to buy me a drink. He was drinking a White Russian, and I’d never had one, so he got me one. Followed by another. They were delicious.
I also had a gin and cranberry juice and was feeling great. People were chatting with Lerch and I about the hikes and such, and then we all did shots.
Great Notch Inn
The new issue of the Magazine was great, and Mark gave me a very generous six full pages on my NJ Perimeter hike series, with a full on interview. It’s the most extensive piece I’ve been featured in to date, and among the greatest honors. I’ve had stuff in WNJ before, but this time it was more substantial. WNJ is not just a regular periodical. Having been on the cover of the statewide paper this past year was great, but Weird NJ is pretty timeless.
There will ALWAYS be people seeking out back issues of Weird NJ. They always have since as far back as I can remember. It’s got a dedicated following unlike any other magazine I know of for local people. In that way, Mark has done more to immortalize my accomplishment than any writer could.
Further, it’s great to have other friends making great contributions to this. I’ve been following Wheeler Antabanez for some time now, and always enjoy his submissions, and of course Rusty Tagliareni and his Antiquity Echos stuff are always favorites. Beyond that, this one also had a lot of
Weird NJ and Mark
We didn’t stay till the end of Mark’s set, because it was getting so late. It must have been past midnight at this time. Annika, Jason, and Dan all headed back to their cars, so only Lerch’s would be left at the Shop Rite just over two miles away when we got there. We opted to head out since both of us has work in the morning (I, at 7 am), but I wasn’t yet tired.
The two of us took Notch Ave back the way we came to Lackawanna Ave, then turned left on Lower Notch Road. We turned right soon on Connors Road, then headed to the back of an apartment complex. It was there that we saw Taco Bell. I can’t just drive by let alone walk by a Taco Bell without getting something. We looked for holes in the fence, but there was just no way through. But I knew this area already.
Drive Thru Fail
We headed parallel with the waterway for a bit, then cut down to the former Morris Canal. I told Lerch there used to be an aqueduct over this brook, and that we could climb down where the abutments were for a shortcut, then climb back up the other side to Taco Bell. It worked out as planned, though the rocks were deadly slippery getting across the creek. Once on the other side, we got to the Rt 46 underpass on Browertown Road and found difficulty getting up toward Taco Bell. We had to pull ourselves up a concrete wall, which was easier for his six foot seven frame than my seven inch minus. He helped pull me up and we climbed through weeds to the top only to find another fence we had to scale. Nothing was getting in the way of our Taco Bell so we climbed over and made our way there.
Sadly, the lobby inside was closed. I find it horrible that they advertise “Third Meal” and don’t have an open lobby until late at night. We tried walking through the drive thru, but they would not acknowledge our presence. It’s apparently against some rules, and we can never get away with it.
Surreptitios Taco Bell ordering
We waited for the next people to come through, and Lerch offered to buy their dinner if we could order through them.
Lerch hid behind the camera and speaker, but turned to speak into the speaker when they asked for the order. The people in the car were at first saying “nooo, no man!” at Lerch’s offer to buy them food, but then relented. When all of our orders were complete, we walked along the passenger side of their car, and he handed his credit card through the people’s passenger side window when we got to the window. The people working there were somewhat bewildered by the oddity of this event, but we were just happy to have some food.
We sat on the grass and enjoyed our food for a short bit, then walked back onto 46 directly heading west.
We were able to take the exit off of 46 to get down to the Shop Rite where Lerch’s car was parked. He’d only had two standard strength beers and one shot at Great Notch Inn. I had three times what he had at least, and since he had two or so coffees and Taco Bell he should have been fine to drive.
When we got to his car however, his breathalyzer failed him and he could not start it. I told him I could drive it for him, knowing that alcohol for whatever reason barely shows on my breath. He offered for me to have at it, seeming to think there was no way I was getting out of there if he couldn’t. Of course, I passed immediately without even a warning.
Lerch was hooting and hollering “What the F*** that is NOT possible” as we drove, and he said it was just a fluke, and it was going to call for me to do it again while we were driving. It did, and I of course passed again, which was immediately followed by more “What the f*** IT’S NOT FAIR!!!”. I laughed maniacally while driving his SUV all the way back to West Orange.
We arrived at my car just after 2:30 am, and I was still remarkably quite awake. This is an annoyingly stupid drive back for me because there is no direct road, I have to go to 24 east to go 78 west. I was again stalled because I’d left my magazine in Lerch’s car, and he brought it back to me (he was fine to drive by the time we got to West Orange).
I didn’t get home until just after 3:30 AM, and I finally got to bed at 4:15.
Amazingly, I made it to work by 7 am and pretty much felt fine. What an awesome night.
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