Allamuchy Mountain and North Allamuchy, November 11, 2013, Allamuchy Mountain State Park

Looking south from the Allamuchy Ridge

The 10 mile hike to the summits of Allamuchy and Allamuchy North - two peaks on the NJ 1000K list - had all the makings of a pleasant - and non-strenuous - ascendant adventure. Well-graded trails, mixed woods, glacial rocks, ruins, multiple wildlife sightings, and total solitude with not a single hiker, biker, or hunter on the trail. The only problem - the incessant road noise from nearby I-80. You can't hear it so much in the valleys, but at the higher elevations on this hike the din is outright loud.

Parking Area off Tranquility Farm Road

I pieced this hike together using limited details that I found online and the official state park map. The trail head can be found north of Hackettstown just off Route 517. Once across I-80, look for a small brown sign that says "trailhead" and make the next right on an easy-to-miss a dirt road called Tranquility Farm Road. The parking area and trail head are at the end.

Summit

Following good blazes, we took the Orange (Switchback Loop) Trail to the Purple (Cardiac/Ditch) Trail to the Allamuchy Mountain ridge. I have no idea why it is called "cardiac" as the trail is very tame the entire way up. The Geodetic Survey marker on the Allamuchy summit is embedded into a rock outcropping at the true summit, which you reach by taking a short spur trail off of the Purple Trail.

The White Trail to Allamuchy North

From the summit, the Purple Trail descends to the White (Waterloo) Trail which we took to reach the Allamuchy North. Though blazed, the White Trail can be a little tough to follow as it descends to a low point and then turns southeast, passes the Green Trail, and starts to climb again. On the border of land owned by the Boy Scouts (evident by their overkill of no trespassing postings), a spur trail with an old wooden sign reading "Ice Cream" comes in from the right. This is the trail that takes you to the Allamuchy North summit ridge. It skirts Boy Scout lands the entire way to the top, so be sure that you stay on the trail or to the right.

Descending from Allamuchy North on the "Ice Cream" trail

For the return, we took the White Trail all the way back to the parking area... passing the intersection with the Purple Trail which we had come down on earlier in the morning. The final stretch of the White Trail, located just before the parking area, took us to within sight of the ruins of a late 19th century estate. The ruins are strange, profane, and a little eerie... probably why they made it into Weird New Jersey.

Profanity House in Allamuchy State Park

Peaks: Allamuchy and Allamuchy North
Elevation: 1,240 and 1,222 feet
Distance: 9.7 miles, out and back/partial loop
Route: Orange Trail, to Purple Trail, to White Trail, to Ice Cream Trail
Conditions: Partly Cloudy turning Cloudy, 40 degrees F

Lago Vivo, October 26, 2013, Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio, e Molise

Since we had spent most of the trip exploring the Maiella and Gran Sasso, we made the resolution that our final hike would take place in the third big park near Sulmona - the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio, e Molise. Although we have not spent that much time in this park, I always enjoy it when we visit. It contains the headwaters of the Sangro River, which runs south and then east to the Adriatic Sea passing the home town of my Italian ancestors. Our destination - an up and back to a lake called Lago Vivo.

It took about an hour to get from Sulmona to the trail head, located at a hair pin turn in the road from Alfadena to Villetta Barrea. It can be a little difficult to find the right spot. The key is look on the road map for the last hair pin turn before the road enters Villetta Barrea. That's where you find the trail.

From the parking area, the trail is well marked as the "K6" and follows a 4x4 road along a level grade. At a small water supply building, the trail up to Lago Vivo joins from the left (south). On the map, it is marked as the "K5."

The old K5 markers are old and faded...

... and have been largely replaced by blazes indicating that the trail is now called the "K4." Another case of an outdated park map causing us havoc.

From the junction with the K6, the tree-covered K4 trail proceeds up through a ravine with spectacular wooded cliffs on both sides. At one point, we heard the faint sound of cow bells. As we ascended, the sound grew louder and louder until we came face to face with an unattended mule hauling a heavy load of firewood coming right towards us. Apparently, villagers use the park to stock up on their supply of fuel for the coming winter. That explains the steaming piles and buzzing flies on the lower reaches of the trail. We had been cursing equitrekkers for the mess.

After we completed what turned out to be a substantial amount of elevation gain, the trail exited the trees and into a large open meadow with spectacular views of craggy mountain peaks.

Our destination for the day - Lago Vivo - really should be called "Lago Morto." At this time of year, the lake wasn't much more than a big brown mud patch.

Despite the let down, the other surroundings were absolutely stunning and we decided on an extra long lunch break. K also opted for a power nap... Exhausted from the climb, she looks like she got flattened by a steamroller a la Looney Tunes.

Monte Siella, October 24, 2013, Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso

Descending from Monte Siella Summit

It's always pretty depressing when we come to the final days of our visits to Abruzzo. When we first arrive, we marvel at all the time that we have and all of the things that we want to use that time to do. Then, in what seems like minutes, we are talking about how to maximize our final days before turning our attention to packing for the return. This year, we decided to make the Campo Imperatore the location of one of our last big hikes.

The Campo Imperatore is a grandiose, high elevation plain surrounded by the huge mountains of the Gran Sasso National Park. It's the home to the Corno Grande and a bunch of other jagged peaks that are evident from most points on the Campo.

We decided to climb Mount Siella, the smallest of the Gran Sasso peaks on the Club di 2000 m list. But in the Gran Sasso, "small" still means 6,500 feet! The trail starts off from the large car park at Fonte della Vetica, which also serves the approach trail for the very popular Monte Camicia. Getting on track is a little tricky. The idea is to locate the rifugio building at the far end of the parking lot and then follow a path leading into the woods to the left of it. The trail through the woods goes to Sirella; the trail to the left of the woods goes to Camicia.

As always, I needed the map and compass for way finding as the red and yellow blazes were faded and very inconsistent. The Gran Sasso map calls the trail that we were following "242." But we didn't see a single number the entire day. After a short distance of traveling to the northwest, the trail suddenly turns at a near right angle and then heads due west. It's a easy point to get off track.

After the shift to the west, the trail leaves the pine trees and goes up fairly steeply via switchbacks with amazing views back to the Campo and Monte Bolza on the other side.

It then arrives at an open meadow below the summit ridge. From the meadow, a long diagonal trail (sparsely marked) takes you up to a col between Monte Siella and Monte Tremoggia.

The col provided a nice picnic spot out of the wind and we enjoyed our fourth panini di porchetta of the trip - a new record!

Although the blazes are too faint to follow, it is easy enough to find the Sirella summit by walking along the summit ridge to the west. The summit is marked by a large cairn and stick. The view to the south reveals the long auto road that we drove on to reach the parking area far below.

Peak: Monte Siella

Elevation: 2027 meters (6,650 feet); Gain: 1,312 feet

Distance: 6.5 km (4 miles ) roundtrip, up and back

Conditions: Sunny, Windy, 65 degrees F