Stonetown Circular

[TJ Karakowski]

I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed this hike. March is my least favorite month of all.  Next up is Harriman Easter Weekend.

[njHiking.com]

That's a challenging hike even when there isn't snow...

[TJ Karakowski]

Dawn - Yeah, my initial plan was to start south at Otter Hole and hike the "Highlands trail" to Monksville, then loop back the next day - like a 16+ miler. Thank god, I read your blog and decided that was too much and just parked at the Rec Center on Stonetown Rd and did this smaller loop. Doing 12-14 miles at Wharton last month gave me a false sense of my winter fitness level! I forgot how much elevation s*cks! Those mountains (Windbeam and Harrison especially)  seemed much higher than the map stated!

[njHiking.com]

Glad the blog helped. The highlands area is deceiving... those mountains don't appear to be much on paper, but once on the actual trail those relentless up-and-downs can wear you out. Especially on Stonetown, with one mountain right after another. Lots of nice views though.

--Dawn