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photo by kristin k. that’s my impression of a bald eagle. seriously.

since the last trip i took to mount tammany seemed like so much fun, a bunch of friends came along when i returned at the beginning of november. it was absolutely perfect weather. the turnover from the summer that wouldn’t end to autumn was in full effect; leaves had changed on most of the trees but hadn’t fallen off yet and the temperature was about twenty degrees cooler than when i’d gone in october.

we hit the ground running. knowing where i was headed seemed to make the trip go faster yet it was still troublesome getting over some of the rockier parts. and while i like hiking with a group, it can be almost too much fun to the point of distraction. without thinking about it, i totally rammed the side of my knee against a fallen tree trunk as i’d passed over it. we were too busy talking about pilates and kip ups to pay attention.

on the plus side, we found an outcropping that i somehow missed the last time. it was maybe 30-40 yards from the very top, less crowded and made for a nice spot for lunch. the way down was long and strenuous but having company makes it much easier to deal with. there were a few sights, including a stream that was much more active than i’d seen before, more fallen trees and a working manual water pump / drinking fountain at the exit.

to reiterate some of my previous thoughts: this is far from a leisurely hike but the amazing view and sense of accomplishment (as we drove home we looked up and were like “we were up THAT high?”) make it a worthwhile trip for sure. and none of us were sore the next day. bonus!

on a related note, in addition to a fake mustache kit, kristin and kevin got me 50 hikes in new jersey for my birthday. it’s a great resource that i’d been meaning to get my hands on but the only copy at my library was an outdated 1997 edition. there are more trails in jersey within driving distance of your home than you’d think. i plan on taking a few more hikes this winter; cheesequake state park sounds like it would be a laid back yet scenic and interesting hike, even moreso once there’s some snow on the ground.

funny story about cheesequake: one summer monica & i worked at a camp that bordered on the state park. we used to tell the kids (they were between 4 and 10) to be good or else “cropsy” (a cross between jason voorhees and freddy krueger) would come out of the woods and grab them. it worked pretty well. one day, these people had gotten lost while hiking through cheesequake and started coming through the forest towards our camp. predictably, the kids totally freaked. but at the same time, they never caused any trouble or gave us a hard time again.