yeayy...long weekend! Memorial Day - a much needed respite from the monotony of daily life! To commemorate the event, :) I went hiking with a few friends on Saturday, May 26th.
We chose a relatively easy hike in the New Jersey area itself, called Governor Mountain. This hike is on a Peninsula of state-owned land in the southwest section of Ringwood State park. It is located south of Skyland Gardens and Ringwood State Park. Out and back trail starts out going southwest, then it heads in a clockwise loop. There is a nice view of the Wanaque Reservoir from the top of Governor Mountain.
The day started off beautiful and sunny. Woke up around 5:30 am, got ready and went downstairs to meet up with the group at the local Starbucks nearby. It always amazes me how I can wake up at the crack of dawn, on a non-working day...and yet I can't get up on time for work to save my life!! Must be one of those mental psychological conditionings! :)
Anyways, we all drove out there (about 40 miles from where I live) and reached Ringwood Manor around 10:30 am ish. Got ourselves maps and instructions from the park rangers to the start off on the hiking trail. And off we went - the interpid hikers! there were 6 of us so it was a decent group. There was a lot laughter, jokes, songs and wise-cracks along the way to keep us all entertained.
It was a 6 mile round trip hike.....said to be comfortably doable acording to the maps in about 4-5 hours. But we got a little side-tracked initially as we ended up following an incorrect trail marker which looped around and brought us back to the road. The hike was pretty uneventful....we didn't see any fauna, however, there was plenty of flora all around. I was hoping a deer or two would jump out and give us a treat but i guess they had better things to do than come in the way of wandering humans. :)
The hike wasn't that steep at all, in retrospect. There was an initial incline followed by majority of semi-flat/hilly terriain. It was extremely dense in some places with trees & shrubs and we had to bend and crawl through thick curtains of green. A friend on the hike, Andy, nicknamed it the 'Liliputian crawl'.
We made it up to the top of the mountain and sat down to enjoy the view of the Wanaque Reservoir. It was beautiful and quiet all around - a soothing cool breeze all around us, fanning away our exhaustion and the humidity. I lay down and closed my eyes....and let my mind drift.
You know, it is a totally different experience altogether to be out in the wilderness.....away from the maddening crowds and the humdrum of cars, music, cellphones, restaurants, & people. It provides one perspective and most of all time to contemplate. To be one with nature...to absorb the balance that exists outside of urban existence, to realize that things exist in mutual harmony is truly a humbling experience. I opened my eyes and look around me. Nearby someone had left some beer bottles lying by. I felt a twinge of sadness! If only we human beings took more time to appreciate and participate freely with the bounties of nature, rather than destroying it....life on this planet would be much more happier. IF ONLY!
Anyways, quiet time over...and much as we would have liked to have stayed a while...we started our hike back down. By then my feet and ankles had started aching and I was seriously wishing I could paraglide or parachute down to the base or something. :)
we made it back down to the park in an hour and half which was real quick. By then it was exhaustion all around, and the first urge was a dip in a cold pool and FOOD!
But all in all...it was a day well-spent and absolutely worth the effort!!!
Next up, camping, white-water rafting or a more strenuous hike to Cakskills or Adirondacks/Lake George etc.
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