They Reopened My Zone

Last year, after 30 years, we decided to choose a new house, in the same school district. For one thing, we wanted closets, and I admit it, central air. We looked around a lot, and considered many factors.

When we found a place we liked, it was in a busier area, but with close proximity to an extensive, inter-borough dirt and gravel trail network. While it certainly influenced our decision, we didn’t fully grasp the importance of the access we have to what I call “the zone.”

I know now that I underestimated my reliance on the zone. Until they closed it, for you know what. That woke me up.

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Wildcat Ridge: The Spring of Our Discontent

“I’m bummed out about the premature end the season.” In light of the exponential change in our lives, this sentence now seems selfish and self-centered. But in the time since I originally submitted this piece, a lifetime has passed. As we’re all hunkering down, I hope this piece gives you some respite from the news that surrounds us.

Split Rock Reservoir


During the second week in March, organizers cancelled the Lake Placid Loppet due to deteriorating ski conditions. I wasn’t surprised: the long-range weather forecast had been awful, with rain and high temperatures over 45 F on several consecutive days.

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Great Piece Meadows Paddle: Flow State

On Saturday morning, eight of us met behind a deli in the Pio Costa industrial park in Fairfield to canoe the Passaic River where it traverses the Great Piece Meadows. We’d hustled canoes down to the river bank and loaded our gear. Now three of us were waiting for the others to spot cars at the takeout twelve miles downriver.

egret in Great Piece Meadows

The waiting is the hardest part.

If you live in northern New Jersey, it’s almost certain that you’ve driven on Interstate 80. And you’ve probably traversed a seven-mile stretch of I-80 that cuts through the Great Piece Meadows.

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