After nearly a two-year hiatus from the club, I rejoined the NJ/PA/NY Hiking Group for a group hike on Pyramid Mountain. The last hike in which I participated took me through the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Morris County. Flat and not exceeding two miles in length, the trail posed no difficulty at all. For the most part, we remained on a boardwalk until the group arrived at a life-sized recreation of an early Native-American settlement. The "swamp thing" was, quite frankly, anemic unless bogs, reeds, and tidal pools captivate your imagination. Pardon me for a bit of being unfairness and insensitivity. The hike, after all, was advertised as a trek through the swamp. There was truth in advertising, you might say. Disappointing or not, the hike served as a warm-up for those who do not hike in the cold months; we went early in the Spring. Good thing, trudging through the Jersey swamps in the hot months would be like offering yourself as a smorgasbord for the bugs.
Mea culpa before I go any further. I have been violating one of the cardinal rules of safe hiking which is to always hike with a companion. A companion increases the probability of your rescue from trouble. If you can get one, then why not? But if I were to hold off on my hikes until a companion showed up, my activity level would almost come to a standstill. I don't have many friends to begin with, and the numbers fall dramatically when it comes to trustworthy friends. So, giving up some added safety for expediency, I trek through the woods with just a hydration system and hiking poles for companions. Just two things to remember: don't fall into a crevasse, and don't give the snakes a chance to practice their spit.
Located in Boonton, New Jersey, Pyramid Mountain offers a circuitous and undulating network of trails in varying degrees of difficulty. There are three entrances to the park with space for public parking. The Visitors Center is located at Mars Court. If in the future Pyramid Mountain will no longer suffice, Turkey Mountain lies across the street like a mirror image.
From the trail map given out at the visitor center of Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area (PMNHA), our route isn't too difficult to follow. We began with the Blue Trail at the trail head located at the parking lot. At the wooden bridge over the Stony Brook, we turned right to follow the Yellow Trail which was easy-going for a short while until we began to gain some elevation at the junction of the Yellow and Orange Trails. The trail got narrower and more rocky. Getting a good foothold before planting your other foot forward was imperative. At one point, even with two hiking poles assisting my climb, I slipped and bruised my knee. You can see this rise on the trail map which came replete with topographical lines. The push to the top ended only after the trail rejoined the Blue Trail. Once on top, we followed the Blue Trail up to Tripod Rock where we had our first rest stop and photo opportunity.
Doubling back South and downhill on the Blue Trail approximately 300 feet, we turned right into Lucy's Lookout. Finding an advantageous spot on this rocky promontory shouldn't be a problem for the solitary hiker, but you must jockey your way if you are part of a large group. Everyone wanted to have an unobstructed view of the hills to the West, but there were no wide spaces, no viewing decks typical of scenic overlooks. Just tiptoe your way from rock to rock, and hope you don't go crashing down the ravine.
We picked up the Yellow Trail once more and go downhill and West to Bear Rock. This mammoth rock was, obvious to those with a little knowledge of geologic science, dragged there, ferried you might say, by an even more powerful force known to us--- a glacier from millions of years ago. Bear Rock, actually, is a good example of a Glacial Erratic.
Erratics are rocks whose geologic characteristics are dissimilar to the rocks in the local area. Thus, it becomes obvious that they are different in origin, and dropped off there by some powerful force of Nature. Erratics are often found to be in rather ungainly positions, causing people of modern times to gawk at them.
We headed North from Bear Rock, on generally level ground, on the Blue Trail, passing Bear Swamp on our right. And then, we turned East on the RS Trail. The RS Trail, represented by a blaze of Red with White Stripes, led us to one of the two toughest parts of the entire trail system at Pyramid Mountain. I loved the way our group leader kept up the conversation with the latter part of the group, those trailing behind, as if to divert our attention away from the near vertical climb ahead. In single file, the more gung-ho among us have gone ahead, and nearing the crest. Bringing up the mid-section, I followed the exact footholds of those ahead of me, and kept up with the pace so a jam didn't form behind me. I swear, at some point, if one stood upright, he would fall over backwards and tumble down the hill.
When our group leader finally addressed the situation, he implored us to establish a firm footing, to plan every step, and not to rush. These seem like obvious precautions. But in reality, there is a tendency to hurry and be done with it particularly when the top is in sight. Fight or Flight? The correct choice is to pick your spots and ascend cautiously. If only our ankles could speak to us, they'd tell us so.
Over the top, we came upon another Glacial Erratic called, Whale's Head. It seems more precariously balanced than the Tripod Rock, but the erosive effects of rain, wind, and snow over millennium have not toppled this giant. Even the frivolous antics of humans who mimicked Hercules or Sisyphus, pushed and heaved at the rock, proved futile. No kidding, I wouldn't want to be the one to finally roll it off the mountainside, and face the unappeasable wrath of the park authorities. I can already imagine them scrambling their way up the hill in their Olive-Green uniforms and Smokey-the-Bear hats. And with arms akimbo declare, " Who the Hell did that!? "
We paused at Whale's Head long enough to have lunch au natural. Just choose a rock on which to rest your derriere, a tree to lean on, and refuel. Liquid propellant should always be water. On the cool day, like 65-68F, I would bring approximately 2 pints minimum for a 4-hr hike. The hotter the day, the more water you'll need. Soda is not acceptable. It's sugar content will make you thirstier. As for food, people brought all sorts of high energy snacks; one had a green salad. I packed a double-decker Muenster cheese with mayonnaise and lettuce on white bread. If that sounds stark to you, it is because I am on a low potassium diet. More on that in later posts.
From here, we trekked along the RS Trail which linked up with the White Trail and then finally the Orange Trail. As in most trails, the way took baby turns in many, seemingly opposite directions, but the general direction was East and downhill. We entered the Orange Trail at its northernmost point, stopping to take in a sweeping view of the highlands to the East. That is Turkey Mountain on the far side. I found the view here more edifying than at Lucy's Overlook where high tension wires spangled the landscape. What a shame.
On the Orange Trail, we were finally on the home stretch. The trail ran on a North-South axis for nearly a mile, closely followed the shore of the Taylortown Reservoir which lay to our left (East). Here, we met many casual hikers and their dogs. The area is also known for its boundless opportunities for bird-watching.
The Orange Trail is probably the trail of choice for those who just want an easy and pleasant walk in the woods. High, leafy branches formed a canopy above our heads while the reservoir huffed a cool breeze over the ground. One got the feeling that he was inside a well-vented dome tent.
For those who are aroused by gargantuan proportions, massive and wrinkled rock formations lined the route, surely as old as the Earth herself, muted witnesses to the almost unfathomable geologic history of our planet. They reminded me of how fleeting and relatively insignificant the human lifespan is, a mere micro bleep in the cosmic timeline, while these rocks sit unperturbed through all the political and climate changes, despots and starry-eyed messiahs come and go, much older than the pyramids, probably a match for time itself.
The Orange led to the Yellow which, in turn, joined the Blue where it all began. In conclusion, this 4-hour hike turned out to be more challenging than I expected. The group leader expanded the route to include almost all the sites in the trail system, and so it wasn't the boilerplate tour listed on the club's website. I was dead on my feet, for sure.
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