Our hike time was limited this weekend so on Friday night I cracked open NYNJTC North Jersey Map 115 to search for trails that: (1) weren't far away, and
(2) allowed for an escape plan if the hike was taking longer than expected, and (3) we hadn't yet hiked. The third condition made this nearly impossible,
until my eyes fell upon a "star" (which indicates a particularly good view) at a peak called Manaticut Point just north of West Brook Road (and west of
Stonetown Road). It's accessed from the southern trailhead of the northern portion of the Hewitt-Butler trail (not to be confused with the southern portion which
is not contiguous with this portion and which is contained in Novin Green State Forest south of Otter Hill Road). It was within 40 minutes of us, there were no
other intersecting trails (which meant it would need to be an out-and-back which is the perfect hike to elongate or shorten as need requires), and we never
hiked it before. Perfect!
We parked on the eastbound shoulder of West Lake Road just a few yards west of a roadside mailbox with the number 711. There is enough space for 3-4 cars. The trailhead is across the road just a few yards east. We hiked about 2.5 miles in until we reached a woods road at which point we turned around and headed back. The hike took about 3.5 hours and was wonderful. There were terrific views (and several, not just one), a challenging crossing of West Brook at the beginning, a beautiful lake with a gazebo (not even on the map), lots of wildflowers blooming, birds soaring, and critters crawling. (Click on the thumbnail to bring up a bigger image in a pop-up window)
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Tricky crossing of West Brook |
West Brook |
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Already a layer comes off |
Saddle Mountain across the road |
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Mountain Pink |
Nice scramble to the peak |
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On Manaticut Point |
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Houses below |
Blueberries ripening |
View of Norvin Green mountains |
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Butterfly |
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Lake and gazebo (not on map) |
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View from West Brook Mountain |
[Photo by Laura] |
Mountain Laurel in bloom |
Chimpmunk |
Jaw bone |
Close-up of teeth |
Mountain Pink |
Sea of grass |
Mountain Laurel |
Soaring hawk |
Dragonfly |
Rock jumble |
Why blaze this sapling? |
Beautiful caterpillar |
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Dragonfly |
View of mansion |
Back to the lake |
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Tiny, tiny frog! |
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Millipede |
Lovely ferns |
Hawks |
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View of quarry |
Close-up of quarry |
Open hips |
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Raspberries |
Blurry red eft |
West Brook crossing |
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Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |