The Garden State: Ramp Season

After living in Brooklyn for seven years, I moved to New Jersey in 2004. Like most people, mention the Garden State and what came to mind for me was that 20-mile dead zone along the New Jersey Turnpike – all immortalized in the Sopranos’ opening theme…

I’m not here to argue that this hostile perception of New Jersey’s urban areas is false or exaggerated. But what surprises me is how bucolic and pleasant the rest of state is for outdoor people. The past two weekends, my family and I have been hiking at a 2,000-acre park a half mile from our house.

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Hopewell, NJ: 2/6/10

I was laying in bed this morning, thinking that the whole Harvey Road staff, except me, was out rockin’ the hills. Jamesdeluxe at Jay Peak, Jason at Belleayre and PDQ out in Utah, roaming the Wasatch. While it DUMPED here – 15 inches overnight – all my gear was in the Adirondacks at NYSB HQ.

Or was it? I’ve got an totally beat pair of XCDGTs, some incredibly long Leki poles, and a pair of ancient Merrill Doubles, I once used on a hut trip in Colorado. Conditions were powder, with a base of asphalt and frozen suburbia.

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