Hike of the Week 9/25/03

WHERE: Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area

FEATURES : This loop hike in the Farny Highlands climbs to a panoramic viewpoint over the Rockaway Valley from the Hawk Watch and goes by an interesting beaver pond.

LENGTH: 2.4 miles.

DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate.

TIME: About two hours.

MAP: Wildcat Ridge trails map (available online at http://f.vanderburgh.home.att.net/imap/wcrtrails.html).

DOGS : Permitted on leash.

HOW TO GET THERE: Take Interstate Route 80 to Exit 37 (Hibernia/Rockaway) and bear left at the end of the ramp. Continue north on Green Pond Road (County Route 513) for 6.5 miles and turn right onto Upper Hibernia Road. (If coming from the north, you can take Route 23 to Green Pond Road, head south for 3.7 miles, and turn left onto Upper Hibernia Road.) Follow Upper Hibernia Road for 2.5 miles to the end of the paved portion of the road. Continue ahead for a short distance, turn left just past Brunache Road, and park in the wide gravel area.

DESCRIPTION: At the southwest corner of the parking area, you'll notice three yellow blazes on a tree, which mark the start of the Connector Trail. Follow this trail ahead, roughly parallel to the unpaved extension of Upper Hibernia Road. Soon, the trail turns right and begins to run along a berm that parallels a ditch - once used to carry a wooden conduit that supplied water to the Marcella Mine complex. After crossing the berm and briefly joining a woods road, the Connector Trail ends on a gated gravel road. Across the road, just to the left, you will see the trailhead of the orange-blazed Flyway Spur Trail.

            Continue ahead on the orange-blazed trail, which goes through a deciduous forest with an understory of blueberry bushes. After a level stretch, the trail climbs to reach an exposed bedrock slab with glacial striations, and then descends. On the way down, it passes a rail with a pointed tip embedded in the ground to the left of the trail. This unusual feature once served as a boundary marker.

            After passing through a valley, the trail climbs rather steeply, crosses a woods road, and levels off. About three-quarters of a mile from the start, it reaches a junction (marked by a signboard) with the white-blazed Four Birds Trail. You'll be heading north on this trail, but for now, continue ahead on the orange trail for another 500 feet to an observation platform that provides a panoramic view over the Rockaway Valley below. This platform was built by the State of New Jersey to facilitate the Hawk Watch. During the fall and spring migratory seasons, volunteers continually record the numbers of migratory birds observed here. On a clear day, portions of the New York City skyline can be seen on the horizon to the left.

            Even if you're not a hawk-watcher, you'll want to spend some time at this beautiful location. When you're ready to continue, retrace your steps to the white-blazed Four Birds Trail and turn right, now heading north. The trail immediately crosses a gravel road (which, to the right, leads to a television transmission tower) and begins a long, steady descent. In half a mile, at the base of the descent, the trail crosses a stream on rocks and begins to climb.

            In another quarter of a mile, you'll reach a junction with the red-blazed Beaver Pond Trail (red). The junction is marked by a white arrow, a single red-on-white blaze, and a small cairn. Turn left and follow the Beaver Pond Trail, which climbs to reach a south-facing viewpoint to the left from a split rock covered with sassafras sprouts. The tower you see on the ridge ahead is the television transmission tower just north of the Hawk Watch observation platform.

            The trail now descends slightly to reach the large Beaver Pond, covered with water lilies. A beaver lodge may be seen directly ahead, with two abandoned telephone poles incongruously sticking out of the water. Here, the trail turns left and joins a gravel road, which it follows along the southern shore of the pond. Beyond the pond, the trail reaches a junction marked by a cairn and three yellow blazes on a tree to the left. Continue straight ahead on the gravel road. After passing an abandoned stone building - a remnant of the Marcella Mine that was once active here - you'll reach the large gravel area where the hike began.

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