Coming Up, May 2014

Hey everyone!

We have a lot of great stuff coming up as we prepare for the Summer!

First off, this message is being sent to both my mailing list that I've maintained since 1998, as well as the newer meetup ones. For those of you who are not already on Meetup.com, you might find it easier to have a look at our meetup group page for further details on what's coming up and make plans accordingly. It's free to use and a great resource.

For this posting, I'll details some of what is coming up, and then give a little background on where else we're going, and why...

After this week's Lehigh Gap hike, we will shift full swing into hikes that are intended to have swimming spots. These will continue through September.
May 11: After having a night hike the previous Thursday, we'll make the Jersey Perimeter hike for the month of May another missing beach section. We'll be doing a loop in Brigantine, which is one of the sections we passed by last Summer while working our way toward Cape May.

May 17: We'll try to get some trail work trips in there, but May 17th, Saturday, is Warren County Land Preservation Day. I will be leading a four mile loop around White Lake Natural Resource Area and discuss the geology, history, and ecology of this very special place I once called home. I'll then be manning the Metrotrails table at the event tent to answer your local trail questions. Canoes and kayaks will also be available free!

May 18: I will be departing for my annual Spring backpack trip with Jillane, and so for the two weekends I will be gone, I leave the weekly Metrotrails group hikes in the able hands of a couple of my friends.

For the first Sunday, join my good friend and long time Metrotrails member William "Guillermo" Fabel as he leads the group through some of the known and unknown parts of the Hamburg area Blue Mountain.

May 25: Filling in for me on this occasion will be Dan Lurie, prominent leader among the NJ Nomads and regular long distance hiker. Dan has been a part of the Metrotrails family for well over a year now, and has already organized some amazing hikes with the group.

This one looks to be no exception, a route that pieces together parks including Goffle Brook, an old trolley line, Glen Rock, and much more. This is an area that even I have not yet covered in all of my travels! Sure to be good!

6/1: I return from my backpacking trip to lead the final connector I've been working toward between New Paltz and High Falls, New York, which will include an amazing abandoned rail line, the old Delaware and Hudson Canal, and incredible old mines.
I'll elaborate more on the connectivity soon, read on....

6/8 I will again be doing a weekend trip with Jillane for her birthday, and so Gregg Hudis, long time Metrotrails member and leader through other groups, including NYNJ Trail Conference (he maintains Four Birds Trail), will take the lead once again!
His hike has not yet been posted, but watch the schedule for what he has coming up. I'm certain it will be great!

6/15: I return to host a trip to Crystal Cave in PA, as well as some back roads and abandoned railroads moving on with a series I have not re-visited since July of 2007!

We'll close out June with more Jersey Perimeter, another beach hike loop the 22nd, this time at Long Beach Island, and one up by Ringwood on the 29th.

In other news, we have just completed clearing and marking the Warren Highlands Trail out of the Marble Hill properties.  Hikers can now follow the teal rectangle Warren Highlands Trail blazes from the Free Bridge in Phillipsburg all the way across Marble Hill and out to Belvidere Road, then out to the Geiger Tract where blazing currently ends. I will continue to work on this over the next month, and scouting hikes will resume on next properties. Two meetings next week will help to determine some of the next moves.

In the media, the latest article featuring Metrotrails comes from the Times-Leader, top newspaper for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area. We were fortunate to be joined by Mary Therese Biebel , a reporter with the Times Leader, as well as photographer Peter G. Wilcox who took some amazing photos on this, his second hike with us.
The article can be read here:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/features/1309170/A-hike-with-Mike
Soon, we'll be in the Ocean Signal, as it is re-launched with an article by Erik Weber. He's going to give us some PR on the Jersey Perimeter series.

The hikes themselves have been awesome.

As in the beginning, I am constantly trying to connect each hike we've done with ones we've previously done. There have been a couple of occasions where there has been a hike that did not connect, but I work very quickly to connect it. That becomes a priority.
I had an issue with connectivity last year regarding the backpacking trip I took in September. I didn't know how far we would make it, or how I could connect it with everything else.
I had spent years exploring the Kittatinny Mountains in NJ, and it's extension, the Blue Mountain out into Pennsylvania, but as that range continues north out of NJ, it becomes known as the Shawangunk Ridge. I'd begun covering the ridge there in the same way I had in NJ and PA, with loops where possible, constantly working further north.

The Shawangunk Ridge Trail and the Long Path became the northbound route along the ridge. We explored amazing places like Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area, the D&H Canal, and the old Port Jervis Branch of the NY, Ontario, and Western Railroad bed.

At every turn, we were exploring more abandoned places, more old rail lines, more back woods trails. With each trip, the Metrotrails world got larger.
The Long Path continues north of Wurtsboro on the ridge, and when it reaches the town of Cragsmoor, it changes character to being even more open and rocky.

We continued on to explore more of the Gunks and the Long Path, with Sam's Point Preserve, the ice caves, and more in a few more loop hikes.
We had some truly outstanding trips exploring waterfalls, more ice caves, old berry picker villages, and some of the most far reaching vistas we'd ever seen.

We had in 2013 finally reached well into Minnewaska State Forest Preserve and were covering a lot of interesting stuff there. The Long Path continues north from there on it's journey toward the Adirondaks, and Jillane and I followed it down to the D&H Canal, which we used for a loop once again. We otherwise covered some other trails to the north of there.
In September, we started off in Sharon Springs, a forgotten little northern Catskills town where we spent a day exploring old resorts.

We hiked out of the beautiful northern foot hills to the Catskills and out into the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Our route included back roads and a few small park lands until we reached the little town of Canajoharie, where the Erie Canalway Trail passes through. We then got on that trail and followed it eastbound, along the Mohawk River.

We continued east to where the trail ended, and the farthest north we reached on the entire trip was the town of Amsterdam. We camped at some amazing spots, some convenient spots, and utilized the Erie Canalway Trail, as well as back roads and abandoned railroad rights of way.

Along the way, we learned a lot about the area and it's rich history.
We continued easy to where the Long Path passed over the Mohawk River. It follows the Erie Canalway Trail for a time. We turned onto the Long Path and followed it south for a while, and it seemed like this would be the only way I could connect what we were doing with everything else we had done. But that would take a very very long time.

We turned off of the Long Path and returned to the Erie Canalway Trail by way of back roads, then hiked in to the town of Schenectady. From here, we had limited time left, and the plan was to get to Albany so that we could take a bus back from there.
We headed south following a lot of roads, but we were still able to explore a few preserves along the way.

Our backpacking trip ended at the SUNY college in Albany. The bus picked us up from there and took us directly back to NJ.
After the trip, I became obsessed with connecting this with everything else I'd done. I didn't know enough about the area, and I wanted to feel the physical connection, how it all fit, in part so that I could appreciate it more.
One night soon after the trip, while looking at Google Earth, I thought back to when I was in high school. The year was 1997, and I had finished my first couple twenty mile day hikes. We completed Hike #1, twenty miles, in 7.5 hours. Multiplied by three, that is 22.5 hours, so in theory, I thought, I should be able to walk sixty miles in one day. I started trolling my friends to see who might be interested in trying. There was initial interest, but no one ever truly stepped up and said they would do it.

There are so many things we leave undone in life, and for me, this was one of them. I knew I could do it, and I had sort of accepted that no one would ever try it with me.
When I saw that Albany was roughly sixty miles north of Kingston, the idea struck me. From Kingston, it would be very easy to connect with everything I've ever done before by way of existing trails, and they would be good hikes. Between Albany and Kingston looked to be a lot of back roads and not as interesting, and much of it would be fine to do in the dark. If I could get someone to join me, I could attempt both my sixty mile day hike and connect where I left off in Albany with Kingston! I was greatly surprised and honored to have Tom Vorrius, Matt Davis, Justin Gurbisz and Dan Lurie all sign on to join me for this venture.
We started off at the SUNY college, where Jillane and I had left off, and began heading south. I looked over the maps to no end, trying to find interesting routes to walk through, but without a lot that would impede us. The Hudson River has a great deal of private land, and much fewer trails than in other areas, so we focused on the more direct route south. Rail lines and such helped us to cut corners.

When we reached mile 40, Justin, Dan, and Matt were all hurting pretty badly, as were Tom and I, but Tom and I plowed ahead faster when the others started to slow down. The hike was great fun until this point. Everything after forty was agony. That was in the town of Catskill.
The others told me they were throwing in the towel, having covered 47 miles. Tom and I kicked up the pace and walked a dark section of long road along quarries that was still pretty even after dark.
We continued south through Saugerties, and we kept ourselves moving. My Arizona iced tea was freezing as we walked, the bottoms of my feet were raw. The new shoes I'd brought already had one sole fall off.
I knew just about when we'd hit mile 60, and somehow I was just about spot on. I shook Tom's hand and congratulated him, we'd succeeded and reached Kingston. We continued to walk from here back to the bust station. On the way, we crossed the abandoned Ulster and Delaware Railroad, and I pointed out to Tom that that would be one of the hikes coming up, I wanted to walk it.
We completed 63.4 miles in 23.5 hours. It was quite an accomplishment, and I could not walk for a day.
Connecting these hikes was now within reach. The next section we covered started us on the Shawangunk Ridge in Minnewaska, and led us on a route to New Paltz, mostly on trails the entire time, but also utilizing a little bit of road. From New Paltz, rail and canal trails lead directly to Kingston.

In March 2014, we returned to Kingston. We hiked the abandoned Ulster and Delaware Railroad to the O&W Rail Trail, the old Port Jervis Branch we had covered further to the south. The right of way is almost entirely a trail now, which led us all the way to High Falls on the Rondhout Creek.
Only one more hike is necessary to connect where we had left off in New Paltz to the south to High Falls where we left off from the north.  This hike will take place on Sunday, June 1!

So what of that Long Path connection? It would certainly have been the better route? Well we're still working on that as well. We covered a good section over Table and Peekamoose Mountains last Summer, and prior to that I had already covered everything up to Woodland Valley to the north of there. This June, on National Trails Day, new sections of the Long Path (9.5 miles!) will open to Phoenicia, eliminating what was a road walk! To the south, another road walk section has already been changed to a dirt road, and a new trail section is to be opened very soon to eliminate the rest of it. This may end up as a Metrotrails two day group trip over the Summer.
Hope to see you all out there with us soon!

M'ke
President
Metrotrails

March 2014: Events and Retrospective

Hello everyone,
We have a lot of great things coming up over the next month. March is always a busy time, planning for more great trips as the weather begins to get warmer, but we always start the Spring off with our Anniversary Hike.
(Look to the bottom of post for schedule of events)
Of course, many of you are new to the group and don't know the group's humble beginnings. I've reiterated it time and again, but this time I'd like to share some of the plans for this year as well as give a retrospective of what the hike has been every year.
The group on Hike #1, March 23, 1997.
In lieu of having a birthday party for my 17th birthday, I gathered some of my closest friends to hike from Portland PA to Washington NJ on my favorite abandoned railroad right of way, the old Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad's main line, the Warren Railroad. Even at that age, I knew the history of the line inside and out, and passed the information on to my friends as we walked. Everyone loved it, and said we should do it again. This repeated again and again, and eventually we came up with the premise of doing long hikes, each one connecting with previous hikes we'd done.
To commemorate that first hike, we repeat it every year. The event is well attended and loved by most everyone, and usually coincides with the Annual Hikers' Hootenanny, which has happened most every year since the beginning.
The route of the hike has changed somewhat since the beginning due to developments along the old railroad route, and today Matt Davis and I are pushing to have the entire line turned into a public trail, despite so many oppositions.
This year, we will likely have the same co leaders as last year, and there will be opportunities to do either ten of fifteen miles. Those wishing to do the ten mile version will meet in Oxford, while those doing 15 will meet at Port Colden Mall. All of the snow this year might make some of the normal route less possible, and we'll amend as needed.
Another difference this year is the Hikers' Hootenanny location. Last year, we had the event in the back yard of my home that tragically burnt down in 2010, and had a campfire. This year, we will use that as a fall back, but we are planning on having it at the Washington Theater.
Back in 1998, shortly after starting up the hikes, I joined a group starte S.T.A.R.T. (Save The Area's Regional Theater). It was proposed that the Washington Theater, once the only theater in Warren County, would be torn down in favor of a drive through 24 hour pharmacy. My friend Marco Matteo saw fit to begin this grass roots campaign to save and revitalize the theater.
Years later, Marco is finally in control of the theater and doing the best he can to keep it going. He really makes no money on the project at all, it is a work of passion. Unfortunately, this winter has been harsh for Marco and the theater. A new roof is needed, and he's been forced to shut down because the cost of heating cannot be covered by limited attendance.
The good news is, the theater will re-open it's doors once again in March, and we are planning on hosting the Hikers' Hootenanny in one of the theater rooms! We will hopefully have DJ Ray offering his talents and equipment for the event, and I have been talking with Steve Rogers, Director of Driving Jersey on PBS about showing the new episode in which our group was profiled next year, on the big screen! In keeping with tradition, we will get pizza from Dicolas, but then bring it to the theater where we'll have a social hour and drinks at the beginning. The showing of the new episode will take place, and hopefully we'll do a question and answer session with Steve, then after the showing DJ music and dancing will continue through the night. Marco will be asking a $10 cover charge per person, for our use of the space. It's well worth it and our patronage we will be helping to keep our beloved community theater going.

I was 17 when I began organizing these hikes, and now it's been 17 years since that time, so it seems fit to give a retrospective...

Anniversery hike, 1998In 1998, I still did not expect the hikes to become a weekly event. I'd tried often to rope people in to doing them more often, but people were always a little wishy washy about it. Despite countless people showing interest in the 1998 repeat of the hike, only three of us showed up. In 1997, we had cupcakes and such, and watched the movie "Clue" in my bedroom as an after party. In 1998, we managed to get together a loft party at the Animal Health Center in New Village.

1999 Anniversary Hike
The next year proved to be even more difficult to pull people in. There was interest again, but people just wouldn't show up. Friends were moving away and going off to college, and there was not enough interest there. Co workers would be the only new source of hikers I'd have for a while. We didn't even have a hootenanny that year.
2000 Hike
In 2000, by the time of my birthday, I'd taken a hiatus from group hikes. I missed it a lot, and I didn't realize how much until having that experience again. Conrad, who was on the first one, brought in three newcomers, and so I opted to do the same hike again the next month with good participation. After that, I began trying to have the hikes every week on my day off. Unfortunately, it took a long time to build up a strong enough following.

2001 Hike
By 2001, my brother was joining me on almost every hike. Conrad's cousins had become core group members and other friends started coming out. Still, it was a struggle to get people to come out. We had the annual Hikers' Hootenanny at my apartment with my then girlfriend, Cathy in Phillipsburg. The annual party would be held the night before the hike for several years to come.

2002
By 2002, hosting a weekly hike was becoming easier. We didn't have large numbers of people. The annual Hootenanny was in Port Colden, where I grew up. I began renting the house from my grandparents myself, and the event would be held the night before the hike there every year.

2003
In 2003, we tried something different, by doing the anniversary hike in backwards direction, and doing it in Shop Rite smocks. Theme hikes would become a very fun thing that would be recurring within the group over the years.

2004
By 2004, interest in the hikes was again waning. We'd had over forty people attend the Hootenanny the night before, but only three of us managed to do the hike. I did not even sleep a wink, and ended up sleepwalking some of the hike. My brother, Tea Biscuit, was as interested in coming out on the hikes as often, and I wasn't pulling in many through my job at Wal Mart. I didn't know it at the time, but 2004 would mark a huge change. First, I was featured in Skylands Visitor Magazine which brought in more participants, then I joined Appalachian Mountain Club and went through their Outdoor Leadership Training. With the ability to post my hikes through their club, I pulled in new and dedicated hikers constantly. I began building a very strong following, and after May 2004, I never again posted a hike that no one showed up for.

2005
My hikes have always been different than those of any other organization. In Appalachian  Mountain Club, no one was posting hikes as long as mine, so a lot of people were put off. I was pulling in large groups for popular places like Delaware Water Gap, but my obscure locations, including the Warren Railroad Anniversary Hike, would be overlooked by all but those hikers truly looking for something different.

2006
Even by 2006, interest in the Warren Railroad hike had not really caught on. AMC members would sign on, then cancel at the last minute or simply not show up. Cold weather hikes always pull in less people, but still other familiar locations would always pull in more participants.

2007
By the time of the ten year anniversary hike, either because I promoted it much better or because it was finally catching on, I started pulling in the largest groups I'd ever assembled for this hike. With over twenty participants, we had a fabulous time. Even my grandfather joined for the entire hike.
It was becoming more and more clear all the time that what we were doing was something different, and my already tempestuous relationship with AMC  was coming to a  head. Overall, it was a positive experience, but a few people did not consider my brand of hikes to be in line with AMC's vision. Additionally, I received attacking e mails from other group leaders accusing me of only leading the hikes to recieve their high mileage award (obviously, this was not my purpose).

2008
The group continued to grow, and 2008 proved to be very similar to 2007. This would be the last time my anniversary hike was offered through Appalachian Mountain Club. September 2008 was my last hike with AMC, as I was removed as a leader.
It was disheartening to me, but I'd already built up enough of a strong following that I no longer needed AMC any more. I was now posting hikes through myspace.com and would soon start with Facebook. Many more changes would soon come. I was also finally working as a Park Employee.

2009
With the departure from AMC, there would be less participants than the previous two years, but the core group members were there, and the group was stronger than ever. Rather than have people who show up once and rarely come back, the group was made up of people who were all regular participants and truly passionate about what we were doing.
Since the previous year, I'd split up with Cathy and things were quickly changing for the better.

2010
By 2010, the group was stronger than ever, with more regular participants coming out on a weekly basis than ever with the AMC crowd. We had a diverse group of ages teens to seventies. We assembled the largest group to date, but I took control by not having a regular party this time. The group seemed to be attending parties more than the hikes, and I wanted a shift. We gathered for pizza at the end of the hike with a mellower get together, and had another party later in the year.
2010 was a horrible year for me in many ways, as I lost my home to fire and nearly lost my life, my best friend Kyle (pictured) passed away, and I found out I was losing my job with Hunterdon County Parks. Still, despite all of this I registered Metrotrails officially as a NJ Non Profit Corporation. No more would we be an informal hiking club arranged through on line groups. It was now official.

2011
The attendance of the hikes continued to go up. I found redemption for all of the negativity that had come my way in so many forms. I became a Commissioner on the Warren County Board of Recreation, and was then named Chairman. Warren County then graciously named me caretaker of the Wiseman House, an amazing cabin in the middle of White Lake Natural Resource Area in Warren County, where I'd work to develop the trail system over the next two years. I also began working for the state park service only one month after losing my job at Hunterdon County. The Annual Hikers' Hootenanny was pushed a month ahead at the Wiseman House, with another hike ending there. At the end of 2011, I started the group on Meetup.com.

2012
Participation remained strong through 2012, and new members began coming out through Meetup.com. It was a slow start to getting people involved, but more and more began to show up. The Hikers' Hootenanny again was held at White Lake a month later, and later in the year we moved to Great Meadows. The bulk of the groups would still be past participants, but we'd have a few more here and there, most of whom were members of AMC who heard about the Metrotrails meetup from other members who knew me.
2013
Last year marked the most successful year in the history of the Warren Railroad hike. Matt Davis and I co-authored "Hiking the Warren Railroad: Mile By Mile", a short guide book to the remains of the historic railroad's route. We sold over 300 copies in only a few months. The Anniversary Hike was the best attended to date, with 72 participants!
Meetup.com was continue to work better for us, and I was given the ability to post my hikes through a couple of other meetup groups that were not my own. It became mutually beneficial to both those groups and mine, as it gave diversity to them and gave me the opportunity to direct them to Metrotrails.
Since this hike last year, I've more than quadrupled the Metrotrails database (though we haven't put it on line yet), and we've recently topped our previous number with 77 participants on our holiday NYC hike.
With current RSVPs, it's very possible that this year we will again have the largest group we've ever assembled.
I would like to personally thank everyone who's come out on our hikes and helped to get us where we are today. 2014 is going to be a fantastic year, and I hope everyone can come on the anniversary hike and experience a bit of what started it all.

Best Regards

M'ke Helbing
President
Metrotrails

COMING UP
3/15:  Doug DeGroff leads four mile Point Mountain loop, meeting at main PM lot at 1 pm.
3/16: High Falls/Kingston NY Area Rail Trails and more, meeting at the main lot at High Falls, Rt 2:13, 9 am.
3/22: 17 Yr. Anniversary Hike, see above posting for details for ten of fifteen mile options.
3/22-3/23: Annual  Hikers' Hootenanny, Washington Theater at about 7:30 pm.
3/30: Jersey Perimeter Penn's Grove and Fort Mott Hike, meeting Fort Mott SP at 9 am.

April will bring us to more amazing places as planned in Wilkes Barre, Princeton, Lehigh Gap, and below Fort Mott!
There will also be a Metrotrails meeting very soon, as we plan on doing more regular monthly meetings.

Upcoming Hikes...

Hello all,

We have quite a list of things coming up for end of January into February...
Please scroll down to continue reading our schedule:

Sunday Jan 26:

This hike will be the next in the series to hike the entire perimeter of NJ. This time, we will be connecting the towns of National Park NJ with Greenwich Township.
The hike will be very diverse, travelling through small parks along the way, as well as back and main roads in an effort to connect as close as we can with the lower Delaware River. There will be a very nice section of sandy dirt road with views of the Commodore Barry Bridge, and then we'll walk through the main sections of the towns of Gibbstown and Paulsboro. There will also be part of Red Bank Battlefield State Park.
This is sure to be an interesting and different hike in the heart of the Delaware Bayshore Region, and relatively easy terrain. About fifteen miles.

Sun Feb 2nd:
Join us for this hike in the series to cover the entire perimeter of NJ! This will be another suburban section on the obscure and built up NY/NJ boundary. The route will mostly be on back roads and development roads, with interspersed small parks and such.


Hikes like this tend to be fun social events, and go by relatively quickly. These sorts of hikes are more focused on group silliness than outstanding locations, although these strange routes through lesser walked back streets and pocket parks have led us to some amazing experiences. This is sure to be no different!
Meet at 8:30 am at the Sharatin Hotel in Mahway located on 1 International Blvd, Mahwah.

Sun Feb 9th:
The following is a suggested hike that I prefer to show interest on before I actually settle on the exact date. I'm looking at possibly February 9th.

The route we will take will include several different trails, with the main trunk route being the Appalachian Trail. Even with snow on the ground, the AT tends to be well packed down and therefore not too tough for hiking. In case of very deep snow accumulation, an alternative hike will be planned in the Harrisburg area, and we'll shuttled to that location.
From the Clark's Valley trailhead, we'll ascend Peters Mountain on the AT. It will lead us along the ridge for a good while, then we'll turn off to the right onto Whitetail Trail, which leads down the ridge to the north to the Ibberson Conservation Area. We'll take the Whitetail Trail down to the main area with a low panoramic view, then ascend again on the Victoria Trail. This trail will lead us up across the AT again, then down hill into Clarks Valley. We'll cross a timber felling bridge over Clark's Creek and then follow logging roads through Clarks Valley parallel with the creek back to the parking area.
This hike is approximately fifteen miles, but will also be rather difficult because of the likelihood of snow cover. It might be a good idea to have stabilizers for this one.  In deep snow conditions, we tend to take turns walking in front to beat in the trail.
Dress in layers, bring a lunch, snack, weather appropriate clothing as this is rain or shine. Also plenty of water, because despite cold conditions we may sweat a lot of it's a tough workout.
The next hike to connect with this one will lead us between Duncannon and the Ebberson area. 

Sun Feb 16:

 I may run a private hike on this weekend, but it is yet to be seen. Stay tuned!

Saturday Feb 22:
More details of this hike will be posted as the time nears.

As we do every year, there is a hike around the Bethlehem PA area in celebration of Buckettfest, a great party at the home of our friend Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews.
This year's hike will meet in the same location, the Dunkin Donuts on Catasaqua Road. To get there, take Rt 22 in Bethlehem to Airport Road south. Take the first left on Catasaqua Road and the Dunkin Donuts is on the right, with the Ollie's Bargain Outlet behind it.
As planned, this year's hike will be a point to point from the north, following different parks and trails, and some of the old Lehigh and New England Railroad as closely as possible from the area of Bath, PA.


The amount of snow on the ground may change the route of the hike somewhat, and I will be fine tuning it as the time nears.
Volunteers will be needed to help shuttle cars between beginning and end points. I usually wait a few minutes for those running behind, and then we shuttle with as few cars as possible to the beginning point.
The hike will conclude probably with a portion of the Monocacy Creek greenway.

Also, further in advance, the 17 year Anniversery Hike will be on Sat March 22.

Upcoming Hikes!....

Hey everyone,

I've been getting away from the e mail list a bit, because I was having trouble with my account locking me out at first, and then because I've been getting so many new participants through the metrotrails website and our meetup site, www.meetup.com/metrotrails

I will try to send the e mails out a bit more infrequently but with more information.

Well, a new year is upon us. As usual, we will start out the new year with a First Day Hike! This year, that will be on the Highlands Trail between Long Valley and Spruce Run Recreation Area, a distance of 15.1 miles! Half of it is flat, along the Columbia Trail, with the rest having moderate elevation gain. We will be meeting at 8:45 am in Long Valley where the Columbia Trail crosses Schooley's Mountain Road. We will shuttle with as few cars as possible from here, which includes a 15 passenger van loaned to me by the State of NJ for this event! I am fortunate to have NJ DEP support for my First Day Hike, and more thanks goes to my Superintendent Jenny Felton for printing us out packets of maps and detailed trail info for everyone!

Because there are so many signed up, we may have to move some of the cars to other nearby parking lots.  Contact me for more details at (908) 343 8374.

For this weekend, the hike will be Saturday, here's the description:

Join us for a very interesting hike through the open spaces in and around Princeton NJ! Hikers will be amazing at just how many trails and parks there are in Princeton. Although it is near to developed areas we will be mostly off roads on many different kinds of trails.


We are meeting at 8:30 am near the Whole Foods, Wendy's, Marshalls, and Staples along Rt 1 at the following address and GPS coordinates:
3495 U.S. 1, Princeton, NJ 08540 ‎
Lattitude: 40°18'33.62"N
Longitude: 74°39'59.34"W


This hike is a 17 mile loop. No car shuttling is necessary, so we will begin walking directly from the shopping center. We will follow a pathway that leads along a golf course to the Delaware and Raritan Canal. We will turn off of the old canal towpath and enter Institute Woods, a nice preserve which takes us across the Stony Brook on an amazing swinging bridge pictured above.


The route will take us from here across Princeton Battlefield State Park, and then through two more small preserves by way of paved paths. These paved paths lead near to Hun School and into a park known as Greenway Meadows, a lovely preserve that follows more of the Stony Brook further north.


The route continues along a couple of back streets, then makes it's way onto paved development paths which also give way to foot paths. They take us onto property adjacent to the Educational Testing Service, and on to Province Line Road, a partially abandoned road that takes it's name because it was once the boundary between the colonies of East and West New Jersey. It leads over a nice bridge over Stony Brook.


Much of the abandoned roadway retains the look of a regular road, only the lack of traffic has made it appear very narrow. We follow this road north for less than a mile after it becomes residential, and another trail leads us into the Woodfield Reservation, with more rustic natural surface foot paths.


The trail takes us past interesting points such as the Devil's Cave, a small rock overhang, and the Tent Rock pictured above. The trails of Woodfield Reservation continue connectively  to the Pond View/ETS Trail. The character of the trail changes to being more open, near to a private school and along scenic ponds.


From here, we cross into the Community Park North area. Many trails criss cross this property which was used at one time to harvest ice for Princeton. We'll continue through Community Park north and on to Witherspoon Woods, named for a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This trail leads us out to roads with paved parallel pathways on the north side of Princeton.


We'll head south through Princeton, utilizing these pathways across town as well as the college campus, both of which are very lovely. By this time, we will be able to take our time, and find a place to stop and eat somewhere. Those who wish to continue on to the end may take Alexander Street to the canal towpath, and continue back to the access from which we started.
Although this hike is in a suburban area, the majority of it is away from any businesses, so everyone should have a lunch or snack, as well as plenty of water. Most of the trails are not very rocky, with a pleasant natural surface or pavement.
Contact me for more information: M'ke 908 343 8374

The following weekend I have not figured out what the hike will be yet, but it might depend on weather, and be a Jersey Perimeter hike. If there's not a lot of snow, it could end up being mostly woods, and if there's snow it could be the next section between Mahwah and Montvale.

The following weekend, 1/18, we will be doing the Jersey City/Bayonne/Newark Bay waterfront between Jersey City and Bayonne, which includes a lot of nice waterfront walkway and even substantial boardwalks. Here is the description:

 This hike will trace as closely as possible the ease side of the mighty Hackensack between Jersey City and Bayonne. Some of the parks are in segments, but participants will be surprised at how much very nice waterfront we can actually walk on manicured paved and crushed stone paths as well as lovely boardwalks.
Distance will be about 16 miles.


We will be meeting at 8:30 am at the Hudson Bergen Light Rail station at Liberty State Park located on the corner of Communipaw Ave and Johnston Ave at the following GPS coordintates:
Lattitude:  40°42'39.47"N
Longitude:  74° 3'22.81"W
No car shuttling will be necessary because we will utilize the train for our return.


We will continue from here, following some of the JC route of the Liberty-Water Gap Trail across Jersey City to Lincoln Park. Once at Lincoln Park, we'll take to some of the other paved paths and explore the waterfront. We will have to cross Truck Rts 1 and 9, pass some retail stores, and then get back out onto the waterfront, which follows paved or crushed stone paths, as well as outstanding boardwalks. Hikers will be amazing at just how much of the Hackensack River/Newark Bay waterfront is walkable!


Despite heavy development, great urban hiking is possible along this section. We'll be walking directly along Rt 440 for a time, but it's well worth it for the incredible sections we'll hike in Richard A. Rutkowski Park, Bayonne Park, Veterans Park, City Park, and Mayor Dennis P. Collins Park.
We will also never be too far from food, so we will probably stop for some at some point along the way.


After reaching the waterfront at the south end of Bayonne, we'll walk a few blocks to the north to reach the light rail station and catch a ride back to our staring point. It only costs a couple of dollars to get back.
When we return, we have the option of continuing walking back into town for food, and/or heading to the Liberty SP waterfront for views of Manhattan at night.

We will close out the month on Jan 26 with another perimeter of NJ hike, meeting at Red Bank Battlefield Park in National Park NJ. Here is the description:

This hike will be the next in the series to hike the entire perimeter of NJ. This time, we will be connecting the towns of National Park NJ with Greenwich Township.
The hike will be very diverse, travelling through small parks along the way, as well as back and main roads in an effort to connect as close as we can with the lower Delaware River. There will be a very nice section of sandy dirt road with views of the Commodore Barry Bridge, and then we'll walk through the main sections of the towns of Gibbstown and Paulsboro. There will also be part of Red Bank Battlefield State Park.
This is sure to be an interesting and different hike in the heart of the Delaware Bayshore Region, and relatively easy terrain. About fifteen miles.

For any further information, feel free to call or text me! Plenty more good stuff coming up!

Best Regards

M'ke

Saturday Dec 7th Camden South Hike!

Hey all!
Join us for another hike in the series to hike the entire perimeter of NJ!
For this hike, we will meet in Red Bank Battlefield Park, located at 100 Hessian Ave, National Park NJ just south of Camden, at 8:30 am.
After meeting at our end point, we will shuttle to the north and park at a train station to the east of Camden where cars will be safe, then ride the train to Philadelphia! PATCO speed line takes only one minute! We'll pass the Liberty Bell site, and Benjamin Franklin's grave, then walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge. From there, we take to the waterfront and begin following it as closely as possible southbound! I hope to arrange a tour of the Battleship NJ, but we will see how that goes as the time nears.
We'll continue south, sometimes on roads, making our way to the waterfront and such as we continue on. There should be some amazing lower Delaware River views on our way to the end.
Carol and Rob Creamer are hosting the annual Decemberween Party following the hike.