For those that pay really close attention, you may have noticed that with a new website comes TWO new sections! Dun da daa!
The first is a section dedicated to New Jersey’s pine barrens, the biggest patch of woodlands between Boston and Richmond and one of my favorite areas on Earth. I’ve covered a lot in the pines over the last four years, but this brings all of that together in one spot, with a chance to expand a bit into new pine barrens topics like camping.
The second new section is one of hope – offroad biking. I don’t do this myself (I don’t have a great relationship with bikes), but I get asked about it fairly often. So I finally [...]
Belleplain State Forest – Woodbine, Cape May County, NJ Distance – 47 miles of trails (seriously). So far covered – 1.6 miles of trails (have a few more miles to do here) Difficulty: 3 of 10 – some muddy spots to navigate Admission cost – Between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend! Cost is $5 on a weekday or $10 on a weekend per VEHICLE if you live in the great state of New Jersey. For folks from other states, it’s double.
Website – Belleplain State Forest Open – Sunrise to Sunset. Camping is also available here! Make it a weekend!
Terrain – Woods, swamp Surface – Various
Trailheads – Nature Trail 1 [...]
Cattus Island Park – Toms River, Ocean County, NJ Distance – 7 miles of trails, but getting to some will require backtracking, so distances covered will be longer than listed trail distances. (we did 4.5 miles total just doing the Blue and Orange trails and the road connecting them) Type – Series of loop trails. Difficulty: 1 of 10 (and should always be easy, just as long as you prepare for bugs and direct sunlight in the warmer months) Total score: 10 of 10 Reviewed: 12/29/16
Website – Ocean County Parks Facebook – Cattus Island Facebook Open – Dawn to dusk.
Terrain – woodlands and swamps Surface – various natural surfaces, [...]
Two Saturdays ago, I went out for a little 45 mile bike ride with 7,000 of my closest friends to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We had a perfect day for riding – cool, dry, and partially overcast (keeps the sun off!)! I enjoyed my ride from Hammonton through to Ocean City, finishing the earliest I’ve ever finished. Overall, the ride raised about $6,000,000 for Multiple Sclerosis research!
BIG thank you to my loyal readers who helped support my own ride – Barbara, Mike, Ann, Erin, the Smith clan, and our ol’ AT thru-hiking friend Dr. Dave and his wife, as well as Kellie, my cousin Susan, and my boss!
A look at my day!
