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An additional 6" of snow fell this past week (in northern NJ and upstate NY), followed by temperatures in the 50s and lots of rain over the past few days. This made
us very hesitant to head north this week. I figured the snow that was still packed (for the most part) last weekend was probably a very soft, slushy mess by now.
So we decided to head south where the snow was mostly all melted.
This park is a peaceful little oasis ... and it was a delight walking on firm ground after about two months of snow! Using the map supplied online, I put together a hike that used almost the entire Meadow Run, Tatum Ramble, Dogwood Hollow and Holly Grove trails. In essence we covered almost every trail in the park, save the India Springs trail which parallels Red Hill Road far too close for our tastes. Early signs of spring were in abundance at every turn, after a very tough winter. The highlight was the holly tunnel on the amazingly beautiful Holly Grove trail. It's one of the prettiest places in all of New Jersey. Total distance hiked today was 5 miles in just over 2 hours.
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Everything yields to horses |
Bridge on Meadow Run |
Not sure what this is |
Ascending to upper meadow |
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Typical trail marker |
Early buds |
Red-winged blackbird |
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Heading south ... |
... on Meadow Run |
Remaining snow [photo by Laura] |
Intersection looking south |
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Heading west |
Some ice here |
Heading NW on Meadow Run |
Swamp |
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Bat house |
Snow along southern meadow edge |
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Hunting ended last weekend |
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Woods road east of Van Schoick Road |
Beachy sand on this road |
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Yaktrax anyone? |
Twisted trees |
Heading east on Tatum Ramble |
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Heading east on Tatum Ramble |
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Green on Tatum |
Fossils in rock on Tatum |
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Graffiti tree |
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More graffiti |
Old foundation on Tatum |
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Winding north on Tatum |
Winding trail looking west |
View of meadow |
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Heading north on Tatum along meadow |
Laura finds ... |
... a deep hole |
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North on woods road |
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Bridges on Dogwood Hollow |
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Looking west |
Huge trees ... |
... on Dogwood Hollow |
Ice only on trail! |
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Holly trees ... |
... on the ... |
... gorgeous ... |
... Holly Grove trail |
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Hollies off trail |
Hollies on trail |
Playground off Red Hill Road |
Huge trees on Dogwood Hollow |
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They dwarf Laura |
Ascending to ... |
... ivy-covered trees |
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Culvert on Dogwood Hollow trail |
Beautiful buds |
Patterns in sand |
Visitor's center on Holland Road |
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Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |