It was snowing, and the roads were a bit slick, as we drove to this beautiful state park nestled in the Kittatinny Valley. We had intended on hiking
Trip #6 "Kittatinny Valley State Park" in the book Nature Walks in New Jersey, but the parking area near the gate at the trail head on Route 206 hadn't
been plowed and parking on the side of the road was not available. So we continued north on 206, turning right on Goodale Road (the western boundary of the
park) to see if the parking areas on that road were OK. Same story -- they hadn't been plowed and we didn't want to risk getting stuck in the 2-3 inches
of freshly fallen snow. So back to 206 we went, this time turning left on Limecrest (the eastern boundary of the park). It was at the Lake Aeroflex boat
launch where we finally felt safe parking. The lot was filled with SUVs and pick-up trucks of ice fishermen who were on the lake.
Getting to to the trails, though, required crossing over the runway for the small airport just south of Lake Aeroflex. There was a road just beween the airport and the lake, the only way (on land) to the other side. But there were signs forbidding us to do so, with directions to get to the trails by parking on Goodale! That's where we just came from! Ugh! Almost defeated and ready to turn back, I had a Eureka moment as I spied the ice fisherman on the lake. "We'll walk across the lake," I anxiously suggested to Laura. And that's what we did. It was frozen solid, 4.5 inches worth. Elated to finally get to the trails, we didn't care that we couldn't find the orange path. We ended up taking a yellow trail in the clockwise direction, and then a white trail along the western edge of the lake before crossing back, over the lake, to the parking area. During our hike we intersected with a blue trail, then a red trail, but never found orange. And once again, the trail maps at the park (online and at the kiosks) were basically useless because while they showed trails, nothing is labeled. So I'm still not sure where in the park we hiked, but it was beautiful and we walked just over 3 miles in 2 hours.
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Regional park office |
Ice fishing on Lake Aeroflex |
Plane waiting for OK to take-off |
Taking off |
Airborne |
Aeroflex Airport |
Tributary from lake |
Bridge to boat launch |
Frozen Lake Aeroflex |
He caught one |
The only one of the day |
Crossing the lake |
Pump hut on western bank |
Inside the hut |
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Quonset-like building west of lake |
Heading south on park road |
Abandoned building |
Snowy scene |
Wiping the informative signs |
On the yellow trail |
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Intersection with blue trail |
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Sign for sphagnum moss |
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[Photo by Laura] |
Winter wonderland |
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Yellow trail near Goodale Road parking |
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Aerial tower west of Goodale Road |
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Laura's there somewhere! |
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Nature's snow cone |
Tufted Titmouse |
Private residence near Park Office |
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Park Office |
Three Black-capped chickadees |
Frozen pier on Lake Aeroflex |
On the white trail |
Back to Lake Aeroflex |
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[Photo by Laura] |
Still ice fishing (lower left) |
Fireplace west of the lake |
Another view |
Giant pipes on frozen lake |
Ah ... coffee! |
Smack in the middle of the lake |
Laura and the airport |
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Cat tails |
This picture ... |
... being taken [photo by Laura] |
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