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Allamuchy Mountain State Park North, Cranberry Lake/Highlands Trail Loop - 05/14/2011

With the weather not looking so good for the weekend, I choose Saturday to hike as it seemed to be the better day. I did not want to go somewhere with a lot of views on such a dreary day and I was pressed for time so I had to pick a place somewhat close to home.  I headed back to Allamuchy Mountain State Park where I had been last month to hike some different trails in the north section.  What a difference a month makes!  Even on an overcast, occasionally spritzy day, the new green leaves…

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Added by Daniela Wagstaff on May 15, 2011 at 3:08pm — No Comments

Allamuchy Mountain State Park Northern Section - 04/17/2011

Although there is nothing overly spectacular about this hike, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The highlights are a view of the Delaware Water Gap and Kittatinny Mountains and two NJ1K high peaks - Allamuchy Mountain and Allamuchy Mountain North, all reachable via unmarked trails.  The park map is not good at all and shows no unmarked trails.  The NY/NJ Trail Conference will have this park included in their new map set coming out the end of this…

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Added by Daniela Wagstaff on April 18, 2011 at 9:21am — 1 Comment

Palisades Interstate Park, NJ (Bombay Hook/Giant Stairs) - 3/27/11

This is one of those hikes that I had not considered worth doing. In my mind, it seemed like the hike would be too urban, too crowded, too noisy, a waste of a good hiking day.  Did I want to be looking straight at New York City and Yonkers across the river while listening to traffic on the Palisades Interstate Parkway? But I needed to stay closer to home this past weekend so I did start to consider it and researched the possibilities.  I found myself drawn to the northern section and decided…

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Added by Daniela Wagstaff on March 28, 2011 at 8:52am — 3 Comments

Belleplain State Forest - 12/5/2010

It was supposed to be about 7 degrees warmer in southern New Jersey so that is where I headed. I believe it was a bit windier there but surprisingly the trees held the wind back on the trails so with sufficient layers, hiking was very comfortable. I was amazed at how many people were camping in the campground in the cold but I had the trails all to myself - not another soul out hiking. The East Creek Trail part of this hike is in "50 Hikes in New Jersey" 2nd edition, page 232. Apparently that… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on December 6, 2010 at 10:42pm — 2 Comments

Big Pocono State Park, PA - 11/14/2010

This hike gives a different perspective with views into New Jersey from the "back door". Only 15 minutes west of the Delaware Water Gap on I-80, you will feel like you have arrived at the top of the world as you summit Camelback Mountain at 2,132 feet. There are unobstructed views of the Kittatinny Mountains where your eye can follow the horizon along miles and miles of the Appalachian Trail. Although I could not make out High Point monument, it is somewhere to the northeast. Mount Tammany,… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on November 15, 2010 at 2:46pm — No Comments

Appalachian Trail: Pochuck Mountain to Wawayada Mountain - 11/7/2010

I did the same hike NJ Hiking did a few months ago but bumped it out a notch to the next parking area to the west to make it a 10 miler, which added another mountain to climb. The nice thing about adding on that part was there was nobody else there. The parking area is small - 2 maybe 3 cars - but I was the only one parked there all day. I ran into no other people while hiking across Pochuck Mountain both ways. The… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on November 11, 2010 at 6:46pm — 2 Comments

Stonetown Circular, Ringwood, NJ - 10/31/2010

This is supposed to be the most strenuous hike in New Jersey. The Stonetown Circular trail goes up and down four different mountains. Add to that a large amount of leaf drop that covered rocks on the trail and yes, very strenuous! Most of the hike is lovely with more views than you can count. The Wanaque Reservoir, however, was quite unattractive this time because the water level was very low - it looks much nicer when full. Ran into one other hiker around 5 miles then a few small groups on… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on November 1, 2010 at 12:53pm — No Comments

Cliff Park and McDade Recreational Trail, Delaware Water Gap NRA, PA - 09/18/2010

The Cliff Park trails are mostly woods roads, some actually very pleasant, others not so pleasant, but the great views you get from along the cliffs come very easily for the little amount of work involved in this hike. After hiking the cliffs I switched to sneakers and did the part of the McDade Multi-use Trail I knew was completed and runs along the valley at the foot of the cliffs. Only ran into two people on bikes, one other hiker and two groups of HUNTERS! Yes, apparently it is crow season… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on September 19, 2010 at 6:21pm — No Comments

Appalachian Trail from Deckertown Turnpike (High Point State Park) to Sunrise Mountain (Stokes State Forest) - 09/04/2010

This is a very easy way to hike to Sunrise Mountain for about 7 miles total out and back. The parking lot off of Deckertown Turnpike holds about 8 cars but does not seem to be heavily used. The parking lot is already at a high elevation so other than some minor ups and downs along the way, the trail is pretty level along a ridge. Some limited views to the west and north early on, probably better views when the leaves are down. I tried to incorporate the Lusscroft Farm trails into the hike but… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on September 7, 2010 at 1:22pm — No Comments

Appalachian Trail from Millbrook Road to Crater Lake, Delaware Water Gap NRA - 08/21/2010

I hadn't hiked this part of the A.T. yet so I wanted to see what was there. The views early on are marred by power lines and towers. Views along the rest of the trail are limited. I think with the leaves down, there would be a lot more to see as the A.T. follows a ridge for a good part of this hike and there should be views to both the east and west. One of the advantages of this hike is it starts up high so elevation changes are minimal if you don't feel like a long climb up to reach the A.T.… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on August 22, 2010 at 11:56am — 1 Comment

Four Birds Trail (Wildcat Ridge WMA and Split Rock Reservoir, Rockaway, NJ) - 6/12/10 and 7/3/10

On June 12, 2010, I hiked the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area portion of the Four Birds Trail/Split Rock Trail and thoroughly enjoyed the hike. (Click here for details of the Wildcat Ridge WMA hike.)



The bat cave.





The old cemetery was very interesting.



Hawk Watch:







Saw lots of… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on July 4, 2010 at 11:00am — 4 Comments

Black River County Park (Chester, Morris County, NJ) - 5/30/2010

I have a strong aversion to holiday traffic and avoid it at all cost so finding a hike for Memorial Day weekend was quite a challenge. The Garden State Parkway was out and from where I live, that is the route to anything hike-worthy. (Sure enough, when I drove over the GSP heading home from the hike, it was a parking lot in both directions.) So I started looking out west since I-78 is generally a good choice to avoid heavy traffic. Nothing out in western New Jersey sounded all that exciting.… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on May 31, 2010 at 2:36pm — 3 Comments

Ramapo Mountain State Forest - 05/16/10

I hiked the reverse of the Wanaque Ridge hike NJ Hiking did in March and added on a loop for Van Slyke castle and a Ramapo Lake loop to make a 12 mile hike. I started a separate blog for some out of state hikes I am doing and am putting directions for all of my hikes there. Refer to that link if you want specifics. I'll just… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on May 17, 2010 at 9:40am — No Comments

Delaware Water Gap NRA: Copper Mines, AT, Catfish Mountain, Rattlesnake Swamp, Catfish Pond - 4/18/10

Another great hike in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Only ran into a handful of other hikers at the fire tower, passed 1 hiker on the AT and none on the other trails, so you should just about have the place to yourself. I saw the rest of the world over at the Mount Tammany/Dunnfield parking lot as I drove by. The trails for this hike are on the NY/NJ Trail Conference Southern Kittatinny Trails Map… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on April 19, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

Stokes State Forest/Del Water Gap - Tillman Ravine/Buttermilk Falls/Rattlesnake Mountain - 4/3/2010

Wow! This was one spectacular hike! It covered just about everything - ravines, waterfalls, valleys, ridges, climbs, and great views in a loop of about 10 miles. The directions are outlined here briefly but I will give a little more detail.



MAPS: You will need the NY/NJ Trail Conference Kittatinny Trails maps number 121 and 122. Each map has half of the hike on it. I overlapped, lined up, taped and photo… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on April 3, 2010 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

High Point State Park - 4/2/10 PARKING LOT AND AT DIRECTION CHANGES

The Appalachian Trail parking lot for High Point State Park seemed to come up faster than I remembered. I also didn't remember the lot being as large or paved. Plus reaching the AT was not as described in any of the hike directions. Turns out (I confirmed this with a park ranger who was checking the lot as I finished hiking) it was not my bad memory, they had, in fact moved the parking lot which changes how you reach the AT.



Heading north on Route 23, you turn left into the AT parking… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on April 2, 2010 at 6:29pm — 1 Comment

Ringwood State Park - 03/27/10

Hiked the Ringwood-Ramapo/Hoeferlin/Pierson Ridge Trails Loop from Skylands Manor. When I arrived at 8:15 am it was a hopping place with several hikers and mountain bikers already there. I had hiked a different section of Ringwood State Park a couple of years ago (by Shepherd Lake) and don't remember hearing the shooting range but this time it was constant gunfire for about the first 2 and last 2 miles of… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on March 29, 2010 at 9:52pm — No Comments

Appalachian Trail (Wind Gap, PA) - 03/21/10

This hike is a good choice for NJ hikers if you want some great views, don’t want to drive too terribly far and aren’t in the mood to battle Garden State Parkway/NJ Turnpike/I-80 weekend traffic. From Clark, NJ (GSP exit 135) the drive was 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the Wind Gap, PA AT parking lot taking I-78 west where traffic tends to be decent on weekends both in the morning and afternoon.… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on March 22, 2010 at 2:03pm — No Comments

Mount Minsi (Delware Water Gap, PA) - 3/19/2010

I followed the trail as outlined on NJHiking.com's website here except I stayed on the AT out to Tott's Gap for a hike of 9.75 miles. Even though I went on a Friday, it was the first 70-degree weather stretch of the year and the trail from the parking lot up Mount Minsi was a busy place! Heading on to Tott's Gap, however, I did not run into anyone else so for solitude, that was the place to be. The AT out to Tott's Gap runs… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on March 22, 2010 at 12:57pm — No Comments

Monmouth Battlefield State Park (Manalapan, NJ) - 3/7/2010

I arrived at Monmouth Battlefield State Park at 8 am and it turns out the park does not open until 9 am so the gates were closed. However, there are about 6 parking spots off to the right before the gate where an early morning jogger had parked so I left my car there and walked in. I had picked up a Monmouth Battlefield map a while back while at Cheesequake State Park so fortunately I had one. I never got close enough to… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on March 7, 2010 at 5:50pm — 1 Comment

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