Hey all!
Lots of good stuff coming up in the near future including trail work, the Allamuchy Hike, night hikes, and Buckettfest!
We're hoping to do a night hike Friday, but watch www.meetup.com/metrotrails for info. Here is this week's regular hike description:

Join us for a point to point 15.5 mile hike in Allamuchy Township on 2/3/13, showcasing the best loved and best unknown points of interests in the township, traversing the namesake mountain, many trails, historic buildings, hidden paths, the Morris Canal, and abandoned rail beds!
We will be meeting at 8:30 am at the Long Bridge lot, along the abandoned Lehigh and  Hudson River Railroad bed, the last leg of the hike.
From Interstate 80, take exit 19, then turn right, heading north on Rt 517 shortly, then immediate left into the village of Allamuchy proper (google maps calls this "Old Hackettstown Road"). Go a short distance and turn left on Alphano Road, then continue a couple miles and turn right on Long Bridge Road. Cross the Pequest River and the parking is on the left, gravel lot along the river. This was the former Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad crossing, abandoned 1986.
Here are the coordinates of the
Lattitude: 40°55'17.40"N
Longitude: 74°50'26.59"W
After meeting, we will shuttle with as few cars as possible to our beginning point and hike a lesser known section of the Morris Canal Trail.
We will continue to Saxton Falls and the strange Colony Road area, an abandoned and forgotten development that is nearly empty today.
We will then ascend Allamuchy Mountain via the former switchback junkyard, an unofficial trail that leads to the former home of a recluse who used to horde old cars on the mountainside. We'll follow a vague trail up to the Deer Park section of Allamuchy Mountain State Park, and follow trails in a looping fashion, visiting Deer Park Pond, the scenic overlook along Rt 80, the weird rooted tree on Barberry Trail, and then the new Allamuchy Pond Trail to Rutherford Hall, which is currently being renovated!
Next, we'll continue along woods roads and off trail through more park land, and continue near Panther Valley to a hidden overlook, then descend to Alphano where we'll pick up the abandoned Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad (1886-1986) and follow it to Long Bridge, our end point.
We may go to optional dinner in Great Meadows following the hike.
Hope to see you all soon!
M'ke Helbing
President
Metrotrails

Sunday 1/27 White Clay Creek Hike!

Please join us for an interesting loop hike in both Pennsylvania and Delaware, covering White Clay Creek Preserve in PA, and White Clay Creek State Park in DE, Sunday 1/27. Much of this property was former DuPont land, preserved for fantastic greenways.
This hike is also the next in a series to hike the entire Mason Dixon Trail! The Mason Dixon Trail travels from Chadds Ford PA all the way to Wiskey Springs on the Appalachian Trail, some 193 miles!
We will do a roughly 15 mile loop through the two preserves. Much of the route is along the lovely White Clay Creek where can be seen abutments of former railroad use. Some of the trails follow these rights of way.
We will be meeting at a parking lot on Sharpless Road at the following GPS coordinates:
Lat:39°44'58.61"N
Long:75°46'15.29"W
From the PA Turnpike (Rt 476) take exit 5 onto Rt 1 West. Turn left from this onto Newark Road heading south after passing Kennett Square area. Make a right on Buttonwood Road, then another right on Broad Run Road. This will lead to London Tract Road, another right turn. Go a short distance and Sharpless Road will be on the left.
The dirt road takes a couple of sharp bends, and just after crossing a small creek, there is a rather large dirt parking area on the left. This is where we will meet at 9 am to begin the loop hike.
There are no stores along this hike, so participants should bring plenty of water and a lunch. Contact me for more info: M'ke sneezehorse@hotmail.com or call/text 908 343-8374

Note also the following dates: Saturday Feb 9th, Buckettfest party with Bethlehem/Allentown area hike, and visit www.meetup.com/metrotrails to see our schedule as it unfolds!

Upcoming Hikes!

Hello everyone,
As many of you may know, I will not be able to lead a Metrotrails hike this week, as I will be backpacking in the Catskills...HOWEVER, our good friend and long time Metrotrails member Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews has offered to host this coming Sunday's hike, with a classic trip along the Lehigh Canal between Bethlehem and Phillipsburg. Eric Pace will be assisting, and hikers will meet at 9 am at the Martin Tower, on 8th in Bethlehem. Take the Schoenersville Road exit from Rt 22 south, then hang a right on 8th. Martin Tower entrance will be on the left at a traffic light a little ways down.
The hike is quite an excellent, diverse route for the canal. The abandoned canal is in various conditions, starting with a watered section in Easton, and slack water towpath. A paved rail trail section is necessary to connect to the Chain Dam section, and the towpath is clear, but canal is empty between Wilson and Freemansburg. From Freemansburg to Bethlehem it is again watered and in nice shape.
The hike will end at Musikfest where hikers will have the choice of moving on to the end or hanging around the fest until whenever.
If anyone wants more information, they should contact Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews at (484) 894-4800, or if you can't get in touch with him, contact Eric at (908) 763-3916. Eric knows the route and can describe what you might see as well.
Again, I will be unable to answer any calls or assist further with this hike, so please direct all questions to Mr. Buckett or Eric! Hope you all have a great trip!

The following Sunday, my plan is to hike Beltzville State Park to Parryville. Stay tuned to METROTRAILS.ORG for further details!

Next Hikes: March on Musikfest and Phillipsburg/Easton Evening!

Hey all!
Once again this week there will be two hikes, a night hike on Wednesday and day hike on Sunday. This Sunday is a rather big deal, as it is the eight annual MARCH ON MUSIKFEST! Both will be described ahead, starting with the Wednesday evening trip:

This hike will be yet another weeknight excursion, this time again covering some of the new Warren Highlands Trail which I constructed.
We will be meeting at 4:00 pm at Union Square Phillipsburg. There is a large parking area north of Northampton Street on the NJ side of the free bridge, adjacent to Jimmy's Doggie Stand. We will meet here.
We will then shuttle as few cars as possible to nearby Hillcrest vicinity, only a five minute drive away. We'll begin hiking the Warren Highlands Trail up over Marble Hill. There are some lmited views and then the abandoned Fulmer iron mine. We'll then head down to the base of the hill where we can take a dip in the Delaware. We'll move on and visit a giant pipe, and pass the historic pump house.
We will then cross the bridge along Rt 22, which has great views of "Little Water Gap" in the Hog Narrows, and Getters Island. We'll continue in through Easton up to Lafayette College with more views, then down to the Palmer Bikeway along the Bushkill Creek. With only one short piece of road walk, trails will lead us along Bushkill Creek with opportunities to jump in, through Upper and Lower Hackett Park, and then to Taco Bell for another break. We'll continue on the trail to another brief road walk and follow Lehigh Canal back to 611, and have a short walk from there across the free bridge to the cars.
This is a really awesome route for a night hike which we have done before. It offers diversity in terrain, and is very easy for sections with less light.

Sunday March on Musikfest:

Every year since 2005, Metrotrails has hosted the "March on Musikfest", a hike that focuses on the open spaces that surround Bethlehem PA! It's amazing that after eight years with more than one Bethlehem area hike each year that there is still more to see!
This year, the trip will cover new ground once again, but also revisit a few classic spots and parks we haven't finished the entire trail system on yet.
We will meet at 9 am at Martin Tower, located on 8th Street in Bethlehem PA. To get there from Rt 22, take the exit for Schoenersville Road south. Continue down Schoenersville to a fork in the road where 8th Street goes right. Turn here and continue. Martin Tower is the only real skyscraper in Bethlehem, and it has a large parking lot used for Musikfest stuff.
We will shuttle as few cars as possible from here south to Emmaus PA where we'll start our hike in the South Mountain Park.
Here is a map of the South Mountain Preserve near the beginning:
http://www.outdoors.org/pdf/upload/highlands-hike5-south-mountain-preserve.pdf
We had hiked the park on one past hike but still have not done all of the trails. I hope to finish the bulk of them on this hike, and we'll exit by way of a power line. We then pass through another park property, followed by ball fields, a cemetery, and another smaller park. We will eventually make our way to the east section of the Salisbury Walking Purchase Park, which we covered to some extent last year. This year we will attempt to cover some of the trails we missed on the west and north side.
We'll then wander on into Bethlehem and gallivant around Musikfest as we do. The route will be almost entirely different than past Musikfest hikes, amazingly, though it will be closely parallel with other routes we have taken. It's amazing to see so much new stuff is still available in a small area. It's always a great time every year. Hope you can join us!
Hike will be fifteen miles to musikfes.
For more info, contact M'ke at (908) 343-8374 or e mail sneezehorse@hotmail.com

Coming up:Helbing Farm and Schunemunk Hike!

Hey all!
I've got some really exciting stuff coming up over the next few weeks!!
This week there will be one night hike and of course the regular Sunday hike. The night hike will follow a meeting regarding the Morris Canal, and the Sunday hike will be something I've wanted to do for a very long time: the Helbing Farm in NY adjacent to West Point.
The trip will be a point to point using both the Highlands Trail and the Long Path in sections we have not yet covered, with outstanding views and diverse terrain.
I will describe both the Wednesday night hike and the Helbing Farm hike Sunday separately:

WEDNESDAY:

This weekday afternoon hike will be a loop using the Patriot's Path from the Frelinghuysen Arboretum.
Meeting time will be 4 pm at the Wal Mart shopping center parking lot on 235 Ridgedale Ave, Cedar Knolls NJ. Park on the south side of the lot closer to Hanover Ave on the south.
Those wishing to go to the Morris Canal Working Group meeting, where we will discuss the Morris Canal Greenway Trail across the state may meet me at the same location at about 1:30 or so. The meeting begins in Frelinghuysen Arboretum at 2.
The route will take us east on the trail and through Frelinghuysen Arboretum to a southern terminus where it connects with Traction Line Trail. We will follow this to a connector path into Loantaka Brook Reservation. Another somewhat urban trail leads from this to Ginty Field. From that point we'll make our way in through town, maybe get a bite to eat, and head to the Patriot's Path's main route back to where we started.
It's a relatively easy trail at almost all times. The beginning is just foot path, but then it will become a paved trail along the traction line. From here, we'll follow another paved trail at the Giralda Farms property which closely follows a road. We will be back into woods along Loantaka Brook, and maybe be able to cool off a bit.
The trails eventually open up to more paved suburban ones before re-entering Morristown. The Patriot's Path closely parallels the Morristown and Erie railroad tracks back to where we started.
This hike is likely to take us until after dark, so a flashlight may be helpful.

SUNDAY:

Meeting at 4 Smith Clove Road, Central Valley NY at 9 am.

I don't know why I've waited so long to organize something like this, but it's certainly overdue. The next hike will include a history talk on the Helbing farm. My paternal family moved to NY from Germany way back, and purchased a tract of land at Black Rock Forest area, and now most of that old farm is now part of West Point Military Academy. One sliver of it was subdivided and is now the residence of my cousin, Dorothy, who is a very active volunteer in the area. The hike will begin with a history talk by Dorothy, and you'll learn some of the history about the Mineral Springs, the Helbing family, and our relation to the original Rubix Cube!
We will be meeting at 9 am in Central Valley NY, on Smith Clove Road where Danny's Market and Deli are. There is a large parking area on the west side of the road just north of it's intersection with Rt 32, so there should be plenty of parking.Take I 287 north from NJ and then 87 north once in NY. Take exit 16 toward Rt 17W, then take the exit for Central Valley. Keep left at a fork and follow signs for Rt 6 east/Bear Mountain. Turn right on Rt 32 and continue north to Central Valley, then turn right on Smith Clove Road, where the deli should be, with lots on the left.
From there, it's an incredibly easy shuttle north to my cousin Dorothy's house on the old Helbing Farm, where we will begin the day with a history lesson. Dorothy is a great presenter!
The hike itself will be mostly along the Highlands Trail, in a section we have not done yet. The trail reaches Mineral Springs Road just barely north of the house!
We'll hike the Highlands Trail westbound, down into Mountainville NY. Once there, it crosses the through way and ascends to Scunemunk, a section of mountain with a reputation of being both challenging and breathtaking.
We will follow the Highlands Trail south past many view points until we get to the Long Path, where it crosses. We'll then follow the Long Path south to Central Valley out of the preserve. This should add diversity to the hike, and showcase a section of the Long Path that is slated to close soon. We'll get to see some of it that we will likely not be hiking again.
By leaving Schunemunk on the Long Path, it also adds possible swimming opportunities in a river, a must for the Summer hikes. The only other opportunity is earlier on, along Baby Brook which ascends Schunemunk. Dorothy also has a pool, and maybe we'll get invited back to it...we'll see!

The terrain on this hike will be difficult on the Schunemunk sections.There are also no likely food stops on the way so everyone should bring plenty of water and plenty of food for lunch and such. The secluded nature of much of this hike make early outs both unlikely and impractical.

If anyone has further questions about upcoming hikes, contact me at (908) 343-8374 or at sneezehorse@hotmail.com

Trexler Hike

This next hike will be a point to point through the Trexler Preserve and State Game Lands following some of the completed and proposed Jordan Creek Trail.
We will meet at 9 am on the corner of Rt 309 and Levans Road, at the CVS Pharmacy this Saturday (yes, Saturday this week!).
I'll be posting more about this trip very shortly, but should be a really cool one!

Next Up: Manasquan Hike and More!

Hey all,

As usual, we have a lot of interesting stuff coming up. This Sunday's hike will be in and around Manasquan ending at the beach! In addition to this hike, there will be another Tuesday night hike, this time with the Warren County Board of Recreation Commissioners for whom I am currently serving as Chair. We will do a loop on abandoned rail lines I wish to promote as a loop hike, then continue on other area trails possibly in a loop.

This Manasquan hike will be a point to point, between the Jersey Shore at Manasquan and Manasquan Reservoir. The hike roughly parallels the river, but has a lot of other stuff to see. It will hopefully be a welcome break to the crazy tougher hikes we've had lately. I've scaled off 15.5 miles, but as usual we are scouting a lot of new stuff too.
We will be meeting at Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area, a lovely little park that is where the original natural Manasquan Inlet once joined the ocean. The lot is on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Pompano Avenue in Manasquan. If the lot is full, use on street parking nearby, but it shouldn't be. Plan on leaving early to avoid shore crowds on the parkway and such. The parking area is just a couple blocks from the ocean where the hike will end with a great swim.
Once we meet, we will shuttle as few cars as possible to Manasquan Reservoir. There, we will hike their trail system and visit the visitor center, which looks to be quite lovely. The trail will skirt the southern end of the reservoir, and when we reach the east side we will try to trace an old railroad bed and maybe do some off trail stuff and woods/sand roads. NOTE: there is likely to be one river crossing with no bridge, so hikers should have a change of shoes to wade across. The section ahead may require a road walk, or otherwise we're following another clearing into Allaire State Park. We'll follow the abandoned Freehold and Jamesburg Railroad out to another trail on the northern perimeter of the park. Maybe we'll stop by the camp grounds for showers!
The rail bed continues out of Allaire toward Manasquan is is easy and open. We last covered this trail the end of Summer 2008. This time we'll skirt the south side of Stockton Lake to the end near the ocean.
Meeting time is 9 am. Until we get near the end where there's a convenience store, there are no known food or drink stops so hikers should have plenty of water and snacks or lunch with them. Most of the terrain this time is pretty level, so we should have a much easier time.
If anyone has any further questions, feel free to contact me at sneezehorse@hotmail.com or at (908) 343-8374
M'ke