With freezing rain forecast for Sunday in southern Vermont, I decided to catch up on sleep and stay local. I don’t mind skiing in that stuff, but I’d prefer not to drive in it. After a leisurely breakfast, I set out for a run in Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Rockaway, NJ.
Wildcat Ridge covers about 3700 acres. With the nearby Mt Hope Park, Picatinny Arsenal, Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, and the Rockaway Valley WMA, you’re looking at around 17,000 contiguous acres of open land. Compared to New York’s big parks, that’s a drop in a bucket, but there are plenty of opportunities to run, mountain bike, and, at times, in the winter, you can even ski. If you’re ambitious, you can go off trail to look for signs of the old ski jump at Lake Telemark.
For years, Wildcat Ridge was my go-to destination for Sunday overdistance runs. The hiking trails intersect with old roads dating back hundreds of years. The area had iron mines that supplied the raw material for Revolutionary War cannons. You can see the gated opening of one of the original mines, the remains of a blast furnace and a 19th-century cemetery abandoned when the local parish closed.
Last Sunday, I parked along Meriden Road and set out on an old woods road that leads up to the base of the dam at Splitrock Reservoir. I don’t know this section of the park well; usually I start from the trailhead on Green Pond Road. After Saturday’s 80-degree high, it was cool, cloudy and humid. Running half a mile, I turned on to a trail marked blue, crossing the Beaver Brook, which is the outlet of Splitrock Reservoir.
There’s plenty of up and down, especially around the reservoir. Twice I’ve tried to circumnavigate the reservoir, and I failed both times. The first time, I went clockwise, but the trail kind of faded away and I had to struggle to find my way back.
The second time, I went counterclockwise. Below the houses of the Smoke Rise development, I couldn’t find my way around the north end of the reservoir and ran out of time. As my knees have broken down, today’s goal was modest. Get out, have fun, see stuff I haven’t seen before.
In this part of New Jersey, the woods are strewn with boulders. Like a giant threw them all up in the air and let them drop. With no understory to speak of – a high deer population despite hunting – boulders and dead leaves covered the ground. In places I was hopping from rock to rock; looking for the next trail marker. In other sections, there was a discernible trail. I passed a bungalow-sized glacial erratic and recognized it with a start: 15 years ago, when this was more of a bushwhack, I’d seen a coyote here.
Today the only wildlife was a lonesome tom turkey – I just missed a photo of his full display – and a small deer herd. I used to see plenty of bears, but the reinstated bear hunt has changed that.
The trail wended uphill, and as I topped the ridge, I recognized the landscape. The nameless blue trail dead-ended into the Four Birds trail, a main north-south route in these woods. Having run Four Birds countless times, I turned back.
I crossed the brook and continued east of the logging road. Again it went up. In some places easy running, in other places I walked. The trail intersected with the green marked Righter Mine trail, and I turned north on that. Four Birds and Righter Mine have nice signs, but the poor blue trail didn’t get much love from the state. I went another half mile, and saw Splitrock Reservoir glistening. Then I descended down to within a couple hundred yards of the reservoir. Mission accomplished; I hadn’t seen Splitrock from this angle before.
The temperature was dropping, and it was time to turn around. It’s not always easy to get up to the Adirondacks or the Catskills, and I’m fortunate to have a big woods in my back yard that after 25 years, I haven’t fully explored.
I lived right on Lake Telemark growing up as a kid. Those woods were are playground. It’s become a park? I had no idea. Are trails being managed and areas destroyed by quads/motorbikes being restored?
Josh: There’s Farny State Park, Wildcat Ridge, Morris County-owned lands, the whole 9 yards. There’s some trail management as near as I can see, but there’s also sections where people have gone with motorized vehicles.
Totally agree on the importance of our “backyard” wild places. For me it’s Harriman State Park. Great story, Peter
Did the green trail today with my son. As we were on the trail heading in the direction of the parking lot but still a good 10 to 15 minutes away from the lot we had a large coyote run from left to right across the trail. It headed down into a valley that had a pond and disappeared. I heard the leaves rustling and figured it was a deer and went to show my son but quickly realized it was a coyote. Very large for a coyote. Looked grey and may e some brown in it but ran very fast. Almost the size of a large german shepherd. Cool to see in the middle of the woods.
Tom, LOL. 12-15 years ago, in that section of the park. Running past a house-sized glacial erratic. As I left it, I saw a coyote trotting away from the other side. Since then, that erratic is known as Coyote Rock.
That’s great! I’m glad they’re still around. I had just mentioned to my son that i have heard there are Bobcats and coyotes in that area. Less than a minute later the coyote ran through. Couldn’t have timed it any better. Actually made me look like I knew what i was talking about lol. Tried to get a picture but he was in a sprint down the hill towards a swamp like pond. Stood there and just tried to spot him as there are no leaves on the trees but he was gone. Definitely will be hitting that trail again in the future. Great end to the day!