Father’s Day meant a quick hike at Hacklebarney State Park in Long Valley, NJ before family time. The park was loaded with people hiking and picnicking with their dads. It reminded me of all my childhood hikes with mom and dad (and sister, when she joined the pack).
I need to get them out into the woods again soon.
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Harriman State Park is an enormous, beautiful spot just across the NJ/NY state line. Much like Ramapo and Pyramid Mountain, Harriman is full of steep inclines and plenty of boulders.
I know you’re not supposed to pick favorites, but Knox is by far my favorite dog to hike with. Dexter is great for off-leash hikes, but he tends to wander and pee on everything. Denali is way more focused, but she never stops pulling.
Knox, on the other hand, keeps a steady pace without pulling me over. He also seems to love climbing mountains as much as I do. I call him my little “billy goat”. He’s my usual choice for the longer, more intense hiking trips.
About two hours into our hike, I was pretty lost. We were on a trail, but Harriman is a huge park with many, many miles of trail. They don’t mean much if they don’t lead back to your parking lot.
Luckily, we hit a road that cut through the park, and I was able to follow that for awhile before dipping back into the woods, onto a trail I knew would lead us back. Also, props to a dad and his two kids for steering us in the right direction.
The whole hike lasted over four hours and probably close to nine miles. I’m already eager to go back, though, since the park is so gigantic and has so many more awesome spots to see.
Full album on Flickr.
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The woods are lively this time of year. Yesterday, Dexter and I were followed by a curious little deer during our hike at Watchung Reservation. Dexter is tan with a fluffy white butt, and I think deer mistake him for one of their kind.
This past week has been very grey and gloomy. It rained before this hike, and stormed again right after. I’m glad we made it out, despite the mud.
More photos on Flickr.
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On Sunday, I hit the trails with my mom and Denali to check out Tripod Rock at Pyramid Mountain.
Tripod Rock is a glacial erratic boulder, estimated to be approximately 127 metric tons. It sits balanced on three smaller stones, as it was originally transported to the spot by a glacier.
Aside from the rocks, we crossed paths with two garter snakes and a couple toads. Other hikers warned us about a pair of bears in the area, but we didn’t see them.
All in all, a great weekend of hikes. Can’t wait to see where next weekend takes us!
Full photo album is up on Flickr.
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Knox and I hiked (and climbed) at Ramapo Mountain State Forest on Saturday to check out the abandoned Van Slyke Castle.
The “castle” is actually the ruins of a mansion built in 1909 and torched in 1959. Still, it’s an awesome and unusual place to explore.
The rest of the photos are on Flickr.
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I’ve said this before, but Six Mile Run is one of my favorite places to go in any season. On Friday, Dexter and I hiked the trails we dryland mush in the fall and sled on in the winter.
It’s amazing how much the landscape changes over time – just look at my post from February. I love mushing in the cold, but the colors of Spring and Summer are a nice change.
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It’s Thursday night and I’m anxious to hit some trails this weekend. The dogs don’t seem to share my enthusiasm. Temperatures have been in the mid-80’s all week, and they’re settling into their laid back summer routine.
I’ve been anything but laid back. Each week means another weekend to plan a new adventure. New Jersey hikes are fun, but I’m looking to put some miles on my truck and head outward in all directions.
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Hiking Round Valley with Knoxville!
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“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”
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I’m really very lucky. Sometimes I need to stop and remind myself. Especially when I’m feeling pent up and frustrated about my current location.
The above picture was from our last decent run. We got a few more local runs in, but the past two weeks have been surprisingly quiet for my team. Even though we’ve had snow on the ground, luck has been against us. We did get a seven mile and an eight mile run in prior to this slump, which I think contributes to my desire to run even more. I’ve had a taste of what I’ve always wanted, and now I want it more.
We got a decent storm last Monday, which is essentially the worst day for snow. It’s the start of my work week, and I had no time to take the sled out around the neighborhood before the plows came. Shortly after the snow, we got hit with lots of ice. Then with melting and re-freezing, the snow on the ground has developed a hard, thick crust.
The route I run around my house has become impossible. The plows have piled up mountains of rock hard snow, blocking off two sections of our 1.7 mile local “trail”. The few spots that I can go are covered in ice, making them too dangerous for a rig.
This means I need to drive out to trails on the weekend, which has been equally troublesome. North Jersey is still covered with icy snow while south Jersey apparently has just ice. I decided to stick with hiking this past weekend to keep the dogs active, since mushing seemed too treacherous.
I almost had a panic attack about our inactivity, for a number of reasons. Most importantly, I feel like I’m failing the dogs when we don’t get out at least every two days. Along with that, it’s my own favorite pass time. My soul needs it. And least important, but still a factor: I set a goal of 125 miles for this season. We’re close, and I’m sure we’ll make it, but I’m eager to surpass it.
Why do I consider myself to be lucky? Because my dogs haven’t given me an ounce of trouble. I’ve got two young, high energy huskies and they’ve been content to chase each other around the frozen yard and go for walks to the local park. Dexter isn’t exactly low energy, either. All three have been incredibly well behaved in the house while I’m working, or while I’m away in NYC for meetings. So thank you, dogs, for making things easy on me when they could easily become mayhem. We’ve got snow coming tomorrow… I promise we’ll be running again real soon.
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