Saffin Pond & Headley Overlook



Saffin Pond & Headley Overlook, Mahlon Dickerson Reservation (9/26/2009)

This is hike #15 ("Saffin Pond & Headley Overlook") in Hiking New Jersey: A Guide to 50 of the Garden State's Greatest Hiking Adventures (1st edition). We hiked about half of the trails covered here nearly four years ago, mainly the first half of today's hike, which uses mainly the Highlands trail. The remainder of today's hike was on woods roads, and was all new for us.

There was a chill in the air this morning (it was in the mid-50s when we started the hike) and the fall foliage was just beginning to make its appearance!

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On the Ogden Railway bed

First view of Saffin Pond

Fall foliage begins!

The sun pops out


Saffin Pond from the western bank


View north

Saffin pond dam bridge

 


Climbing the Highlands trail

Trail wildflowers

 


Beautiful mushrooms

Shagbark Hickory

Some leaf drop

Colors beginning to change
 



Significant leaf drop in places

Trail mushroom

 


Tree mushroom

Bridge over Weldon Brook

Weldon Brook

Nature's carvings
 



Climbing

Still on the Highlands Trail

Slippery tree roots
 




Woods stream

Ricketty "bridge"
 



Trail goes through boulder field


 



Mushrooms were plentiful today

More rock hopping

Climbing to the overlook
 


Taking a break [Photo by Laura]

Now where are we?

Bumble bee on Goldenrod

 


Did I do that?? [photo by Laura]


Trail to overlook

Lake Hopatcong from overlook
 


At Headley overlook


[photo by Laura]

View east
 



Mountain Laurel thicket

On woods road

Stream crossing
 


Fall colors on woods road

Bird house

Our lunch spot at Saffin Pond

Saffin Pond reflections
 


Eastern bank of pond



Boulder in pond
 


Signs of beavers!

On edge of jetty in pond

On jetty

 


More beaver activity

Saffin pong from northern tip


 

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