This Weekend in METROTRAILS!

 Hey all!
This is a big week...I will be fulfilling a 17 year dream to attempt to walk sixty miles in one day between Albany and Kingston this coming Saturday.
 I know that many of you won't want to do that, so we have a substitute leader for a regular Sunday hike.
 If you by chance DO want to do the sixty, you are responsible for taxi service to get you out if you can't make it, which can be pricey. If interested call me at 908 343 8374.
ALSO: Metrotrails tee shirts will be on sale for $10 each the beginning of December! Looking like available sizes will be medium, large, an X large.
 The following is our friend William "Guillermo" Fabel's trip posting. He has agreed to substitute lead a shorter hike in my place this coming Sunday if anyone is interested.

Hey folks, for those not wanting to do Mike's 60 mile hike-athon, consider joining me (Guillermo) for an 8 mile, town of Hamburg-Reservoir-Port Clinton point to point wandern. For all the groups that hike the Hamburg reservoir, hardly any take the other trails that exist. People always to do the same AT-Pulpit-Pinnacle route. So, gathering at (50 State Street, Hamburg, PA 19526) by 0830 hours, we will shuttle vehicles to the start at the reservoir parking area (401 Reservoir Road, Hamburg PA 18526). We will follow the Appalachian trail West and break off on an abandoned path, then picking up a game lands road. We make a slow traversing ascent (500 feet) up the ridge and intersect the AT again on the top. We continue West and break off onto a blue blazed trail and descend to a stream (Rattling Run). After crossing, we make a winding and somewhat steep ascent up the ridge (800 feet), to pick up the Pinnacle spur trail. We walk this to Fire Tower Road, then follow the road down the ridge, and onto another abandoned road before coming out at Rt 61. After carefully crossing, we walk Penn street into Port Clinton, visiting the Peanut Shop and/or Port Clinton Hotel. We continue through town and over to the Western AT access. We turn onto the John Bertram Rail Trail and follow it back to the first meeting point in Hamburg. Sorry folks, no viewpoints on this route. Non the less, it should be GLORIOUS! Optional post hike refreshment stop at the Westy (279 W State Street, Hamburg, PA 19526). 40% or better chance of rain will cancel. Given the time change, you may want to bring some sort of light in case we experience a delay and/or it is getting dark as we return. I was told dogs are allowed on the rail trail, so it is a dog friendly. Please know your own physical ability and have comfortable footwear. If the hike is not to one's liking, there will be opportunities for early out.
From the Lehigh Valley and/or I-476, Take Lehigh Valley Exit #56 to *78 West, approx 19 miles, take Rt 61 North to traffic light. Turn right to Jetson Drive, take another right on Industrial Drive. The road winds around a bit. At traffic light, turn left, parking lot will be on left side.

Sun. Jersey Perimeter, Northern Cape May Hike and Beyond...

This point to point hike will lead us between Eldora area and northern Cape May area, about 16 miles.

We will also follow backroads through Dennisville and South Dennis, and sand roads through a large nature preserve.
The route of this hike has changed somewhat since scouting the section just to the south of here. To hike the perimeter of NJ, we constantly make new discoveries that merit our attention. In this case, I have discovered another trail in Cape May National Wildlife Refuge that we simply must hike to do the perimeter of the state! This one is called the Woodcock Trail and it passes through meadows and estuarine bayside wetlands. We'll make our way around this at the beginning, then make our way along some short sections of the bayside beaches. NOTE: we will have to take our shoes off to quickly go across the tiny streams that enter the bay. I did it yesterday, and it was just a quick step through sand.
The re-worked route also includes two winery tours!
The first winery, Jessie Creek Vinyards, is $5 to taste all of their wines including bronze and silver metal winners, and that also gets you a Jessie Creek wine glass.
We'll continue north on snippets of beach and back roads, and cover Cape May National Wildlife Refuge's Songbird Trail, then make our way along the road to Natali Vinyards and do a second tasting. We must continue on backroads through Dennis, then follow some sandy roads to our end point near Eldora. As always, who knows what else we'll find!
Meet at Eldora Nature Preserve along Rt 47/Old State Highway at 9:00 am. We'll move to another location from there.

The following week I will be atttempting to cover sixty miles in twenty four hours with a few friends. Of course not everyone wants to do this, and so Guillermo (William Fabel) is subbing for me with a hike in Hamburg Watershed PA. More to Come!

11/10 Philly Hike!

Hey All,
For our next great long day excursion, we travel back to Philadelphia PA, the City of Brotherly love to do a new hike that connects with the great past ones we've done through the area.
Taking the reigns for leadership this time is our friend Jason Kumpas, long time Metrotrails hiker who's helped us in so many ways in the areas with which he's familiar. 

Join us to explore some hidden trails in Philly's Fairmount Park.  The 15 mile route will take us off the bike trails along Kelly and West River Drives and into the woods.  These lesser known dirt trails and paved paths will take us past the Philadelphia Art Museum, Rocky Steps, Water Works, Boathouse Row, Lemon Hill, Japanese House, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Please touch Museum, and the beautiful Master Street and Chamounix tunnels from an old Trolley Line.

Although this part of the park is surrounded by the city, there will be few food stops. Please bring lunch and plenty of water.  The route will be about 15 miles and should take all day since there is so much to check out.  Because it is big loop with the river in between there will be few bailout points.

Meet 8:30am at the Horse stables near the Chamounix Mansion youth hostel. 3250 Chamounix Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19131-3710
This page has great directions:Meetup Location Directions

11/3 Post Halloween Palisades Area Loop (Costumes Optional!)

Join us for a fantastic loop hike beginning at the Palisades Mall and making our way in a circuit using the Long Path and and many other connecting trails, as well as Old Erie Path and other old rail lines! About 15 miles in length. Feel free to wear your costume! Optional of course.For the past two years, the Halloween themed hike has been in and around Sleepy Hollow, but this year I figured we'd re-visit another place nearby and cover some more new ground, right across the Hudson from Sleepy Hollow. One of the centerpieces is the Tweed Tunnels of former Camp Bluefield Firing Range. The tunnels are most all that remain of this camp where POWs were held during World War I. The tunnels were intended to provide safe passage for the National Guard while firing was going on.The hike will begin from the Palisades Mall, no car shuttle needed. We cross the parking lot and make our way east on a couple back roads to the trail head for Buttermilk Falls County Park. We'll view the namesake waterfall, then continue up hill passing views to the west to Clausland Mountain. We continue from here toward the Long Path, but we'll get on side paths that will take us through and around the Tweed Tunnels. At lease one we can pass completely through.We'll head south from here parallel with and on the Long Path. I plan to visit the old Nike Missile Site, now a public park along the way, then return to Long Path. This will take us through some of Rockland Cemetery, then descend into the town of Piermont. From Piermont, we get on the Old Erie Path to Joseph B Clarke Rail Trail.The old rail lines take us west and then north on a pleasant, clear and relaxing path to return. There are places to refill on food and water when we get down near Piermont, but everyone should be prepared with plenty of water regardless.
Although much of this hike will be level on the rail beds, the sections on Clauseland Mountain are at times rugged, on narrow foot paths.
If anyone has any further questions, feel free to contact me at 908 343 8374

Other upcoming stuff: Nov 10: Jason Kumpas takes the reigns for a Philly area/Fairmount Park hike connecting with other great stuff we've done in Philly
Nov 17: Join us for the next Jersey Perimeter hike with Cape May Nat'l Wildlife Refuge trails, back roads, and two wine tastings!
Nov 23 and 24: I am finally going to attempt my aspiration since high school, to hike 50-60 miles in one day. We will be going between Albany and Kingston, mostly on back roads along the Hudson. Who knows what we'll find. We'll move along at a good pace. Plan is to take a bus from Kingston to Albany, then head southbound from the college. A few have already expressed interest. Who else would like to be crazy with us?
More to come...

Sunday Sterling Forest !

This Sunday...close out October with an awesome hike at Sterling Forest NY!
There are two versions of this hike. Brad Anesi and I will be doing a very hard, 25 mile version while co leader Michele Valerio is doing the 15 mile normal version. Both will have outstanding scenery and good terrain.
I'm leaving it up to Brad to approve who can do the fast 25 miler, and anyone can join in on the shorter version. Read on for details on that:
Michele Valerio will be leading this is a shorter, 15 mile, slightly less challenging loop hike in Sterling Forest as compared to the 25 mile version that Mike Helbing and Brad Anesi will be running. We will meet up with them at the half-way stop which is Bare Rock lookout, providing a panoramic view of Greenwood Lake.

 
Since this is so close to Halloween you are welcome to come in costume if you wish.
Please make sure you bring plenty of water and food as there are no places to stop and buy anything. Keep in mind that I said slightly less challenging because this hike is not for beginners and will have a lot of evaluation gain throughout the hike. We will be maintaining a moderate pace in order to finish well before dark.

ALSO: Metrotrails t shirts will be ready soon! We are trying to figure out how many exactly to order. The shirts will be $10 each for standard small, medium, or large, maybe 12 or 13 for x large. Prices will vary for the other sizes. There are also a higher quality material ones for a bit more. Please let me know what you want~

Jersey Perimeter: Cape May Section and More Coming up!

Hey all!
Join us for a point to point hike that will take us between Cape May canal area and the areas around Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, 16 miles.

The meeting point is along Rt 47, North Delsea Road, Cape May Mosquito Control, 35 North Delsea Drive, Cape May NJ. Once we meet here, we'll shuttle with as few cars as possible to our beginning point, where we left off last time on the east side.
The hike will take us on back roads parallel with the Cape May Canal and through little parks, then head north along the waterfront beach.
Part of the hike will be along the Delaware Bay, and half will be back roads and such in the area to get us back northward on our Perimeter of NJ series.
NOTE that since we will be walking along bayside beaches, hikers should plan on taking their shoes off to cross some spots where little creeks enter the bay. The area is lovely, and is a different kind of experience than walking the popular beaches of the barrier islands to the east. The estuary views are quite lovely.
If you need to reach me, my cell is 908 343 8374
We will finish the southern tip of Cape May when the weather is warm again. Hopefully we'll get a good number of people together for carpools and such.

Sunday Delaware Water Gap Hike!

Join us for an outstanding point to point hike between the Delaware Water Gap and Analomink PA by way of Stroudsburg and it's Broadhead Creek Trail system and much more!In January 2013, we did a similar hike in the same vicinity ending at a great party at Michele with outstanding food by her husband Scott.
This year, we will do a variation of that hike, covering different ground than we did on the previous one.
Meeting point will be in Penn Estates. Follow the directions noted on the map from above first. From Stroudsburg area, take Rt 209 business route north to Rt 447 north. That continues out of town, and then turn left on 191 south across Broadhead Creek bridge. Turn right on Hallet Road heading up hill, very curvy. On the left is the gate into Penn Estates at the top. Stop at the gate.
NOTE EVERYONE MUST GIVE THEIR FULL NAME on here to enter. Your name will be placed on a list of invited guests. Not everyone has their full names on Meetup profile, but it is necessary here.
After the gate, continue ahead, then left onto Kensington and then left into Stonehenge. Michele and Scott's house is on left. #3245. This address probably will NOT come up on GPS.


After meeting we'll shuttle in as few cars as possible to Delaware Water Gap. Please indicate whether you plan on attending the after party or not.
Due to closure of National Parks, an alternate and probably much more interesting route will be taken rather than the ones on federal land.
Either way, we will end up in the town of Delaware Water Gap and through interesting parks with little bits of road walk between. We will stop for refreshments in the town.

We then make our way onto a future trail route over a secondary ridge with some great seasonal views into the valleys!We'll continue through Glen Park along the Broadhead Creek on partially a different route, then walk through a bit of downtown Stroudsburg. From there, we get on the Stroud Region Levee Trail. Last time we did the east side, and this time we'll be on the west.We'll continue along the creek heading north through sections of parks until we get to Hallet Road, then take a different route than last time that eliminates the long road walk up hill to Penn Estates. This time we'll make use of a dirt road that leads almost directly to her house!
Then partying will commence.
I will post more details on this hike when the time nears. Michele is also an event host here, and so she will have the ability to alter details, etc.
Hope many of you can join in on the fun!