On Saturday I put in 10 miles on the trails of South Mountain Reservation and saw many signs of Spring — early wildflowers like Lavender or the invasive Lesser Celandine, many chirping birds, and trees pushing out new leaves. There are already some signs the second wave of blooms are already on their way — I saw mountain laurel budding and in the muddier areas the leaves of trout lilies poking through. Tis the season of perfect hiking weather, too. Grab a light jacket or heavy shirt and go for miles without getting overheated or cold.

Early Spring 2012 Photos

If you need a bit more of a kick in the rear to get out of your house and spend some time in the woods or the hills, here’s a few images from my hike of the Lenape and Rahway trails this past weekend.

Pink Cherry Blossoms in full bloom on the walk up Warner Rd to the park entrance

Aside from some beech leaves that are still hanging on, this dried tulip tree flower was one of the last signs of the monochromatic brown winter season

The buds of a mountain laurel plant near Hemlock Falls

A Spring Beauty poking out from under a tree root near the river

One of a few turkey vultures casting shadows on the ground and soaring on the warm air

A lovely purple lavender flower on the ground near the Tulip Springs area

Want to Find A Park?

If you want to find a park near you to explore and get some exercise and fresh are here are a few great resources:

• The HikeNJ Park Index
• NY NJ Trail Conference Hike Finder
• GetOutsideNJ Listings

Great Falls (Passaic River), (Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The 397th addition to our National Park system is intended to commemorate both the natural wonders and powers of the falls, but also the history of the industries that had risen up in the Paterson area that took advantage of the great hydropower and other local natural resources. The park, in southern Paterson, can be easily accessed from Route 80, Rt. 46, or the Garden State Parkway.

Plan Your Visit

Trails of Garret Mountain Reservation (photo by Chris Casciano)

If you’re visiting the area, also consider traveling just south and doing a bit of hiking over the 7 miles of trails in Garret Mountain Reservation which provide a skyline view of distant NYC, or stopping into the Paterson Museum at Lambert Castle.

Lambert Castle (photo by Chris Casciano)

Here are a few links with more information on the Great Falls and this week’s dedication ceremony:

• Paterson’s Great Falls now the newest national park news coverage on NorthJersey.com includes video coverage of the dedicaiton ceremony that took place last Monday.
• Paterson Freat Falls National Historic Park (Official Page)
• @GreatFallsNPS on Twitter

Old Pump Station, Campbells Pond

Campbells Pond

Golden Forest

Green is Fleeting

I hope that you’ve found some time to get out there this shortened Fall and catch some of the foliage. And maybe even find that little Maple grove or something with some amazing seasonal colors along the trails.

For more, you can view an archive and map of photographs I’ve taken in South Mountain Reservation on Flickr.

REI Opening Paramus Store: 8/26-27

REI has plans to open a few stores in the NY/NJ area in the next year, and August 26-27, 2011 will see the grand opening of their store in Paramus, NJ. Giveaways, t-shirts, and other goodies will be given out, as well as a chance to check out all the shiny new gear. REI Paramus store details.

REI East Hanover & Marlboro Events

Not to be left out, REI’s stores in East Hanover and Marlton offer gear demos and other instruction (GPS, hiking, backpacking, cycling) both in store and on location in local parks and rivers.

Freewalkers Endless Summer Walk: 10/1

The long distance walking group the Freewalkers (see Lenape Trail Hike Report) are back with another great event—a one day, 30 mile walk along the Jersey Coast from Keyport to Asbury Park on October 1, 2011. The trip goes through some great shore towns and trails around Monmouth County and Sandy Hook. Like past walks, check the schedule for points along the way to start or leave the group if you don’t think you can make the whole distance. Bay2Ocean30 / Endless Summer Walk web site.

BaseCamp Adventure Outfitters Group Hikes: Weekly

BaseCamp Adventure Outfitters, an outdoor gear outfitter located in Bernardsville, offers weekly group hikes around Morris County and surrounding parks. Upcoming hikes include Lewis Morris Park on 8/23, Hackelbarney State Park on 8/30, and Turkey Mountain on 9/12. BC Upcoming Hikes Listing.

Hudson River Valley Ramble: 9/10-25

Relayed from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference newsletter, the 12th Annual Hudson River Valley Ramble starts September 10th with hiking and historical events all month, and up and down the Hudson from NYC to Saratoga.

Did I miss anything of note? Got an event you want to share? Post away in the comments!

Raritan Riverkeeper Bill Schultz tells stories about the industrial past.

The Raritan River runs through the center of New Jersey, with upper reaches that are incredibly beautiful, providing a valuable source of water for more than a million people. But industry took hold of the lower Raritan early on and left its mark.

This one-hour documentary, narrated by actor Avery Brooks, tells the compelling story of a river that has been profoundly contaminated over 200 years and of the extraordinary efforts to clean it up. It reveals how government agencies, powerful corporations, environmentalists, developers, scientists and lawyers have all clashed in their attempts to deal with the aftermath of extensive pollution and environmental neglect.

Kayaking on the lower Raritan River.

The documentary’s web site also contains some great background information including a page with links and books to learn more about the Raritan, waste, and industry. To learn more about the current status of the river, as well as find info on tours, events or access points check out the Raritan Riverkeeper and NY NJ BayKeeper, featured in the film.

There doesn’t look to be any additional television air dates for the film, but you can watch Rescuing the River: The Raritan online.

Photos courtesy of NJN

National Trails Day was started in 1993 by the American Hiking Society and has been held the first Saturday in June ever since as a celebration of our natural surroundings. Here’s a sampling of the events around NJ. Follow @HikeNJ on twitter for updates and other event announcements.

Official AHS Events List

The motherload of this weekend’s events can be found on the American Hiking Society’s New Jersey Events page. The 20+ events listed across NJ span from volunteer cleanup crews at Bass River State Forest or Black Run Preserve, to cycling in Freehold, to outdoor classes at the EMS store in Paramus. Check the event descriptions for details, directions, and registration information.

Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival

The Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival again returns to the Schiff Nature Preserve in Mendham, NJ this Friday and Saturday. The festival acts as a benefit for the Schiff Natural Lands Trust and tickets each night are only $20. The event also includes a hike or hay ride through the park to the theatre, actions, and activities for children. Film schedule, tickets, and directions can be found on the Film Festival site. Here’s a two of the films, a trailer forThe Best Country: People Restoring Rivers, and a short mocumentary The Majestic Plastic Bag:

NY NJ Trail Conference at Bear Mountain, NY

The NYNJTC will be celebrating National Trails Day with a dedication of a wheelchair accessble portion of the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Bear Mountain with hikes for all experience groups, live music, and more. The Summer Meeting 2011 page has all the details.

And if you’re attending or organizing and event not mentioned here, please leave the details in a comment or contact me via twitter.

Hike 1: Summit Field to Washington Rock

The morning started with a early hike out to Washington Rock and the overlook to the south at the Watchungs. The walk wandered a bit covering some unofficial trails and looping back along side Crest Drive. Attendance was light, but it made for a nice warmup for the day.

Hiking south towards Washington Rock

The southern view of Watchung from Washington Rock

Hike 2: Summit Field to Hemlock Falls

This hour and a half or so, slow paced hike to the falls and back was attended by a nice crew of people. With the falls raging from the recent endless rain it was a great day to go down there. The hike mixed it up between the roads/bridal paths and the red/white falls loop trail with the highlight visiting then walking over the top of the falls.

The group hiking towards Hemlock Falls

Enjoying the view at Hemlock Falls

Walk 3: Wildflower Preserve Tour

With 2 knowledgable tour guides we wandered the enclosed wildflower preserve learning about the native plant life and doing a little bird (and woodchuck) watching.

Red Columbine

Indigo bunting visiting the preserve

Watching a woodchuck run off into the woods

Learn More

Learn more about South Mountain Reservation at the Hike NJ park page, or at the Conservancy website. You can also visit the Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland, NJ. The photos above can all be seen in this gallery on Flickr.

How about You?

What did you do this past weekend? Did you hike the 50 miles of NJ2NY50? Did you hike around High Point or visit a lake?

NJ2NY50

Hikers crossing the Garden Sate Parkway on last year's Lenape34

The NJ2NY50 is a 50 mile walk along the East Coast Greenway and Liberty Water Gap Trails from NJ Transit’s Metropark Station in Iselin to New York City (via short ‘hike’ on the PATH) and continuing the walk on the east side to Penn Station (where you can get a train back to the starting point). The hike goes through some suburban and more urban areas, but also meets up with the Hudson and some nice views across the river at New York and then back at New Jersey.

This event is part of the ongoing Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge, a trek of 100 total miles from Trenton to NYC, and organized by the same folks that brought you last fall’s Lenape Trail thru hike.

2nd Annual Mayapple Festival

50 miles along trails and sidewalks wasn’t insane enough for you the trail runners in South Mountain Reservation will be looping around the park to race in distances up to 100k in the 2011 Mayapple Ultra. If you’re interested, race registrations close Wednesday 5/18.

A recent scene at South Mountain Reservation's Diamond Mill Pond

For those not interested in running (and I don’t blame you!) the Mayapple Festival event caters to families, walkers, hikers and nature lovers of all types with an art fair, guided hikes to Hemlock Falls or through the wildflower preserve, and, as an addition this year, live music all afternoon in the Summit. Having missed the festival last year, I’ll be around this year with a camera over my shoulder checking out a little bit of everything.

For more information on the Mayapple Festival, and directions to South Orange, NJ, see the South Mountain Conservancy, or the official Facebook event page.

How will you be enjoying the local parks this weekend? Attending one of these events? Have plans for another trip or event?

Park Information

For more information on Loantaka Brook Reservation, Direction and Trail Maps see these sites:

• Morris County Parks Commission’s Loantaka Page
• NYNJTC’s Loantaka page
• Listing of Park Entrance Locations

Trip Photos

View additional photos on Flickr.

The snow on this less used trail was icy and crusty the whole way, but I only had to break new trail for a short stint around the loop where the markers get a little sketchy without the worn dirt trails to follow. The snow was littered with fallen shards of ice, and glistened in the light, combined with the newly fallen beech leaves it was a pretty sight along this hilly route.