NJ Pine Barrens Trip

“Just to let ya's know, I updated the trip info for the NJ Pine Barrens trip.

Also, I just wanted to note that this trip may get bumped up a weekend to 30-31 October 2004 to coincide with the Halloween theme.”

“No doubt, I will be back in town for this one, and try to stop me.......anyone.”

“I'm most likely in for this trip, PS.”

“if it halloween weekend, then sorry im out.
thats a big time for us and being in a new house and all, we are looking forward to decorating it and doing the Halloween parade that we do every year.
sorry, have fun”

“So what does everyone else who might be interested think? Would I be stepping on everyone's potential Halloween party plans if I moved this to 30-31 October?”

“As long as you have some candy when I come trick or treating it will be just fine.”

“conk better bring some extra TNT for trick or treaters.”

“I think I'm going to leave the dates for this trip as they are. There's more negative response to changing it than positive...”

“Count me in, I'm looking foward to packin' with you wackos!”

“I'm in, got the ok from my other half.”

“I may be in.”

“Coolness; come on over. We've got a pine forest over here unlike anything else...”

“yes!! WK, you gotta come!”

“Don't wanna put a damper on your plans, but my experience has been that no matter what precautions are taken, you WILL get ticks hiking in S. Jersey during the season. Of course, they're a lot larger now that they are in April or June... about the size of a matchhead... so they're easier to see. Personally I prefer to hike such tick-infested areas as the Pine Barrens or Fire Island National Seashore during midwinter. If you stay in the Catskills and North... and above 2,500' ... you're safe during tick season; otherwise, have a great time... but it's not for me.”

“Ticks are cool”

“yea, i had about 20 that i pulled off me last hike... only 2 were digging into me by the time i pulled them off.”

“I may do this trip”

“I don't think ticks will be much of a problem in November. I could be wrong? 100% Deet baby!”

“I've never heard about problems with ticks in November, but thanks for the heads up anyway.

That being said, the Pine Barrens are right in the middle of the Northeast "tick belt", which is basically Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Long Island. However, again, I don't think they should be a problem in November.”

“if they are, oh well.”

“Boy, they TICK me off. LOL!”

“ticks will not be a problem in November, I promise. We're more likely to camp with the Jersey Devil.”

“Hey PS, did that marcy trip with my son, took your advise and rented a cannister, our neighbors didn't, we gave them our leftovers in the am. your trip sounds cool, they wrote about it in this months Backpacker.. gotta wait to soccer to be over then i can go..have fun”

“Backpacker wrote about the Pine Barrens? (Don't they have better places to go???) No Way! What did they say?”

“yea... that's a little odd.”

“yeah it was in the peak bagging article”

“yeah! I remember the high peaks of that pineland wilderness...it was a real butt kicker! I had to use ice axes and ropes to get to the craggy peaks. The views were astounding. You could see 5 states and the ocean too.”

“the strenous nature of the climb is not measured in vertical feet but rather horizontal feet.”

“is this the Oct halloween trip thread?
and if yes, have the dates been changed?

signed: very confused in NY”

“mapes are you going to the Berks County trip?”

“not sure. it's a high holy day (to honor the dead of all things). so I am not sure. So don't count on it.”

“Now I'm confused. The trips page lists this for 11/6 to 11/7. I won't be able to make it if its really over 10/31. Kiddies need Dad around to celebrate (in a non-Wiccan way).”

“see thats my question, is this the same trip that was to be the halloween trip?”

“I talked to PS the other night and he was saying that it was the first weekend in November so no it shouldn't be on Halloween weekend. Halloween weekend is the Mt. Rogers trip.”

“to do with dead things. It is an ancient holiday celebrating the harvest time and the impending transition into the fall/winter solstice.

Day of the Dead is the holiday that celebrates the lives that have passed. Sheesh...Mapleleaf.

and when I lived in NYC (way back when) I participated in the Greenwich Village Halloween parade...I was the Mad Hatter....hahahahahahaha.”

“it's a high holy day (to honor the dead)=Day of the Dead is the holiday that celebrates the lives that have passed.”

“Ok, listen up folks; this is kind of important:

This is trip is on the dates indicated -- November 6 and November 7 -- NOT HALLOWEEN WEEKEND

Capise?”

“"not sure. it's a high holy day (to honor the dead of all things). so I am not sure. So don't count on it."
MapleLeaf

Are we talking about Halloween or Yom Kippur here? I think that's what the confusion is about...”

“October's edition...page 63, bottom right corner..titled lonliest spot in jersey.”

“So how lonely is the loneliest spot in New Jersey?

Anyway, I was actually thinking about tinkering with, well, at least my route, by spotting a car near Apple Pie Hill early Saturday morning and heading over to Lower Forge for Saturday night, and then resuming the route as originally planned. I figured that covering more ground could increase the chances of a Jersey Devil sighting (still not sure if that's a good thing...) :)

The hike from Apple Pie Hill to Lower Forge looks to be around 14 miles or so (if anyone has a better figure for distance, please feel free to correct me) with very minimal elevation change (South Jersey is all flat).

Of course, the original route (from Batsto to Lower Forge on Saturday) would still be available as an alternative for those who do not with to do the longer hike...

So that being said, what does everyone else think?”

“how can we add some elevation gain to this trip?”

“You could get on Phantom's shoulders Frankie lol”

“i'm not sure if i'm going to be going on this hike anymore.... i've already hiked the pine barrens 3 times and it's very boring to me anymore LOL... we'll see as it gets closer. depends on what other hikes are going on i guess.”

“how will it be boring with such great company?”

“i mean the hike itself... the trail and all.”

“Sounds like scorchy's digging her self into a hole.”

“I know the hike/trail is boring, but with good company, the boringness of the trail can be dismissed.”

“I cannot believe you're even considering bailing on me! I thought we were partners on this trip, but now it seems that you've moved on to cooler people and trips...

Hmmmph! :P”

“this trip is all about the company”

“Besides, Apple Pie Hill is 205ft/62m above sea level (I think its the highest point in NJ south of Trenton) and should provide a fairly decent view of the area. There's a firetower at Apple Pie Hill that I think can be climbed for an "enhanced" view...

Might be worth a try; I mean, what do we have to lose?”