High Point

So my planned trip to the Adirondacks this weekend was canceled because my hiking partner got sick. Given that the drive is a bit much to not meet anyone there (it's about 6 hours from where I live) I decided to stay local. I have a book, "50 Hikes In New Jersey" by Scofield, Green, and Zimmerman, so I thought I'd just pick something and go. I chose the first hike in the book, "South of High Point".


South of High Point
Total distance: 6 miles
Hiking time: 4 hours
Vertical rise: 300 feet
Rating: Moderate to strenuous

Trail started on the AT and was rough and rocky; hiking poles were useless. Lots of good views along the AT. I'm pretty sure that the map included in the book is out-of-date or otherwise incorrect since it shows the trail running on the wrong side of the ridge. I took the option of descending to the Rutherford shelter, where I stopped for lunch. Nice enough place... Could see it being nasty in bug season though, given that it's low-lying and surrounded by marshland. As I was eating, two deer that had the same idea walked up and started munching the foliage outside the shelter. I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of pics, one of which even turned out. (Side note: I need to get a new camera or get my current one fixed. I made the mistake of using it in gale force winds over the winter and I'm pretty sure some sand got driven into the zoom apparatus, and now it makes grinding noises when I zoom in or out.) After lunch I continued on. At the intersection to the Iris trail, I met a guy who said that no more than 20 minutes prior, he saw a bear in a tree along the trail I was going to take. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. On one hand, it would be cool to get a picture of a bear; on the other... Well, it's a bear for cryin' out loud! Anyhow, I took out my hiking poles and made lots of noise as I walked. For better or for worse, I didn't see it. Moving along, I took some pictures of an old bridge that cast some pretty neat shadows. The pictures had promise, but ended up not looking too hot. Note to self: take sunglasses off when using the camera.

My actual time to complete the hike was 2 hours 55 minutes, which included some picture taking and a leisurely lunch break. While I was moving, I went at a pretty good pace and kept up the intensity I was looking for without going overboard. Given my time to complete the hike, I figure I can trim the estimated completion times for other hikes from this book by 25%.