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| View to the west from high point pipeline bushwhack |
One of the nicest trails in the Kittatinnys is a relatively newly-cut trail called the Blue Mountain Trail. The problem is that it runs on the edge of a closed-in-winter campground and an environmental school so to get some peace and quiet you need to hike it in the off season. Furthermore, the near 14-mile loop hike that incorporates the Blue Mountain Trail also involves a bushwhack along a pipeline right-of-way. This section has to happen in the cold season. Come spring, the no-mow trace is a tick and bramble haven. Further, the warm weather brings out the rattlesnakes that love to sun on the off-trail rocks found there. Closely monitoring the calendar and the weather forecast during the first week of April, I resolved to use what might be the last cold day of the season to go out and get 'er done.
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| Shag bark vernal pond on Parker Trail |
This hike starts at the Mashipacong Shelter Appalachian Trail parking lot on Deckertown Road. That's a two hour drive, one-way, making it the extreme limit of my in-car time tolerance for a day hike. 13.9 miles on a trail per day is easy; 4 hours in a car is not. I still managed to hit the trail by 7:45 a.m. and started the loop in a counter clockwise direction on the AT. It makes the most sense to do this hike in this direction since it puts the pipeline bushwhack in the early morning -- before the rattlers slither out of their holes. Utility cuts are unsightly scars on the environment and this one is no different. The upside, as birdwatchers know, is that the open land in the middle of dense forest is always a great habitat for our avian friends. There's a nice rocky high point here, too, where I paused for a short break to pull out the binoculars.
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| Blue Mountain Trail |
The reason for the bushwhack is to access the Parker Trail, a lesser-used trail with its northern terminus at the headwaters of Big Flat Brook, which the trail shadows for some distance heading south. Its a nice trail, with a number of pleasant, vernal pools and occasional glimpses of the brook to the east. I took Parker Trail all the way to the campground and my planned destination for the middle of the day - Blue Mountain Trail. The trees on Parker Trail are largely decidous, while those on Blue Mountain Trail are coniferous, which makes the changeover from one trail to the next all the more pleasant in the winter. I hit the 6-mile mark just as I was passing from the stark, barren forest of the Parker Trail into a lush green canopy of Blue Mountain Trail and resolved to take a break to enjoy the scenery. In addition to the pretty conifers, Blue Mountain Trail runs adjacent to picturesque Big Flat Brook. I found a great creekside break spot and took my time relaxing to the sounds of the light rapids.
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| Blue Mountain Trail break spot on Big Flat Brook |
I spent so long at this pleasant spot, in fact, that I forgot that it was a pretty cold day in the mid 30s and got chilled from sitting around. I always have more gear that I need and pulled out a down puffer to warm up before hitting the trail again. This entire section of the hike is along the brook and amid the pleasant pines. Past the New Jersey School of Conservation campus, which was fortunately empty at this time of year, I reached the low point of the hike, elevation-wise, and then turned to the south on the Webster Trail for the long climb back up to the AT. I took a second trailbreak to divide the uphill into two parts and caught a nice sighting of a Red-tailed Hawk careening through the trees just a few feet from where I was resting. All in all, it was a good day for bird sightings and a great day for solitude. Didn't see a single person on the trails and just one car driving along Crigger Road when I was using it as a connector.
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| View back up to the Kittatinny Ridge and the AT |
The only downside of this hike is that the elevation gain is later in the day. I much prefer doing the climbing first thing. But the grade is easy and the footing is good, so it's not that big of a deal. Once up to the AT, of course, I found myself back on the rocks... and the notoriously rocky AT, unfortunately, proved to be the demise of my trusty, 7-year-old Aku hiking boots. One minute, all was good. The next, I felt a flapping on my heel. Sure enough, the entire sole had separated from the uppers. I lashed them together with duct tape (long ago, my brother suggested that I carry it for exactly this purpose) and managed to make it the last 2 miles back to the Mashipacong Shelter and my car just beyond.
Time to go boot shopping. These boys are done.
Destination: Blue Mountain Trail and Big Flat Brook
Distance: 13.9 miles
Elevation: 1,789 feet (gain)
Route: Loop, AT to Pipeline cut to Parker Trail to Blue Mountain Trail to Swenson Trail to Crigger Road to AT
Conditions: Partly cloudy to partly sunny, 45 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Red-tailed Hawk, Great Blue Heron, Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Nut Hatches, and plenty of LBJs of all sorts
Elevation: 1,789 feet (gain)
Route: Loop, AT to Pipeline cut to Parker Trail to Blue Mountain Trail to Swenson Trail to Crigger Road to AT
Conditions: Partly cloudy to partly sunny, 45 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Red-tailed Hawk, Great Blue Heron, Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Nut Hatches, and plenty of LBJs of all sorts
