 |
|
We hiked in the Great Swamp of New Jersey several times in the past, the most recent being the hike on
January 10th of this year. But we had never hiked the small network
of trails within a sub-area of the swamp known as the Outdoor Education Center (OEC). So, instead of taking our Sunday afternoon walk through
town, we decided to take advantage of the abundant sunshine and head to the OEC, a mere 10 minutes from our house. And over the course of the
next hour or so, we hiked every trail in the park: the Orange, Blue, Green and Pioneer Red trails. Total distance was approximately 1.5 miles,
on a very pleasant afternoon in a wintry woods filled with deer. A trail map of this area can be found
here.
|
 Green trail head at visitor's center |
 Laura goofing |
 Checking animal tracks |
 Self portrait with covered boardwalk |
 Bridge on Green trail |
 Boardwalk on Red trail [Photo by Laura] |
 Curious deer |
 White-tailed deer (duh!) |
 Three deer in gas line cut |
 Two fawns |
 Brave little guy |
 Boardwalk on Red trail |
 Phragmites |
 Red continues along power line cut |
 Is that a beaver lodge? |
 Frozen swamp stream |
 |
 The Prayer of the Woods |
 Wood-burning stove behind visitor's center |
 Orange trail head |
 Curious bamboo structure |
 |
 View from inside |
 View to inside [Photo by Laura] |
 Ceiling |
 Old growth |
 Swamp on Orange |
 Long boardwalks ... |
 ... wind around the swamp [photo by Laura] |
 Rhododendron thicket on Blue trail |
 |
 |
 Raccoon or oppossum tracks |
 Jack rabbit tracks |
 |
 Frozen pond from observation deck |
 Bird house across lake |
 |
 Maple sugaring bucket |
 Wind vane and commercial jet |
|
|
Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |