Hike Reviews

Has a little bit of everything - Water, several GREAT views, some scrambling. First bit is a bit steep, then it levels off an is pretty great.

<p>I just completed this loop on Sunday. &nbsp;I did it counter clockwise with a hike out the Appalachian trail to the Prospect Rock view point in NY. &nbsp;On the way back I noticed yellow blazes and took that trail for some distance before it dawned on me that I hadn't returned to the State Line intersection and continued North on the Appalachian Trail to the start of the Ernest Walker Trail, I was still in NY. &nbsp;The lack of trail markers is what got me thinking since all of the trails I encountered in the Abram S. Hewitt State Forest were very excellently marked and easy to follow. &nbsp;Back on track I found my legs getting a bit tired of the ups and downs from before West Pond until Suprise Lake where I finally stopped and drank my water and had a snack. &nbsp;The trek back down the State Line Trail to my car was on rubber legs to say the least. &nbsp;The description above is very accurate and the views made all the effort well worth it. &nbsp;I was goiing to carry a 45 pound pack for training purposes, very glad I chose not to. &nbsp;A walking stick was OK in parts, but cumbersome on the scramble sections around West Pond. &nbsp;If you haven't tried this area its a must do! &nbsp;A big thanks to the volunteers for the great work on the trails and the markings. &nbsp;Does anyone have a good estimate on the total elevation gained on this loop?</p>

<p>Did the hike today solo. &nbsp;Streams over the trail had a decent amount of water. &nbsp;Wet feet and a few near miss slips (would not have been an issue if I'd picked up a walking stick).</p> <p>I agree with a previous post that next time I may do the hike in reverse and have my snack overlooking greenwood lake. &nbsp;What a view! &nbsp;Thanks to all who help mark and maintain these trails. &nbsp;Loved the hike.</p> <p>The only time I had trouble keeping track of markers was on the way down the state line "blue over white" trail just after turning off the AT. &nbsp;But that trouble was minimal.</p>

<p>Daniel,&nbsp; Thanks for the comment.&nbsp;As a white collar worker, with "tenderfeet" hands, I was glad to have gloves for the scrambles, and happy&nbsp;to have a decent pair of hiking boots, too. The folks I met in their way up also seemed to be less than seasoned hikers and I&nbsp;thought it was worth the warning to everyone else to "Be Prepared". Relied on your description so much, that I handed my printed copy off to some youngsters on their way up.&nbsp;I also used your map to help some through-hikers from the Warwick Tpk&nbsp;find their way around West Pond to the AT. Again, kudos to the Volunteer(s) who marked the "Yellow"&nbsp;trail.</p>

<p>First, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed this hike and want to do it again. &nbsp;I can certainly understand why you say this, as it is one of my favorite hikes, too. &nbsp;And, yes, it is the same hike as the "Surprise Lake Loop" hike that also appears on this website. &nbsp;We usually post only a single description for each hike, but in this case, there are two descriptions -- this one, which I wrote, and a second one, written by George Petty, the author of<em> Hiking the Jersey Highland</em>s.</p> <p>As to the comment regarding the "hand-scrambling," my description states that there are "many short, steep ups and downs, some of which require you to use your hands as well as your feet." &nbsp;I think that this is pretty clear. &nbsp;I have done this hike many times without using gloves, so I do not think that you need to use gloves (except, of course, in the winter). &nbsp;Yes, there are probably about four separate vertical ridges that need to be traversed toward the end of the hike.</p> <p>As for the marking of the junction of the State Line Trail with the Ernest Walter Trail, the comment to which you refer was posted over two years ago, and the blazing of this junction has been improved since then. &nbsp;I am glad to hear that this junction was clearly marked,</p> <p>I'm a little surprised to hear that you seem to have missed the junction of the A.T. with the State Line Trail. &nbsp;I thought that this junction was pretty clearly marked with paint on an open rock. &nbsp;But I will bring the comment to the attention of the trail supervisor of the area so that corrective action can be taken, if necessary. &nbsp;</p> <p>Thanks for bringing these matters to our attention!</p>

<p>Daniel, thank you very muh for the excellent detailed hike, this was my first hike ever and couldnt be better, i enjoy te outdoors and very active so the rocks were awesome! Felt great pacing up the rocks and the heart rate pumping, couldnt be better, thanks again.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>what othe ride would you say i should do next? I mostly look into loops as i have no idea how to get back to the car if it isnt anloop lol, thanks again have a great summer all!</p>

<p>I decided to strap on the fishing gear, and head to surprise lake. I started out at the marina, and headed up the state line trail. Armed with a .PDF trail map, and GPS, I headed up the mountain. The area is beautiful, and I sure wish I got to see the views of greenwood lake, and surprise lake. Now I love a good hike, but my main goal was to fish surprise lake.</p> <p>The first leg of the trip was strenuous as expected, but I was hoping it was worth the reward. I finally met up with the "White" trail, which I believe was the AT, and began to head south. I happened to notice that to the south was suprise lake in the distance. I had passed it! No where along my route did I see any "yellow" trail heading southwest. I doubled back almost all the way back to the area where the homes are visable, and started the ascent again. I was cross referencing my GPS with the map the entire time, and that "yellow trail was just not there! I do not know if it was over grown, or is just that subtle and easy to miss with out a marker. My eyes were fixed on the southwest side of the state line trail the entire time, and nothing! Needless to say, after almost 2 hours of that state line trail, I was exhausted, and discouraged. Probably will never go back.</p> <p>Wawayanda needs to clearly mark this trail if it is going to be on the map. Unless the map is completely wrong, which I doubt since I saw surprise lake to my southwest. Too bad I really didn't get to enjoy this area. One of the more tranquil places in all the NJ highlands.</p>