Highlight Hiker Blog
Norvin Green State Forest
Manaticut Point to Camp Wyanokie
I had intended to hike from Crescent Drive to Manaticut Point all the way to the Will Monroe Loop, and head back.
Instead, I made it to Camp Wyanokie (about the halfway mark) and called in a ride. I just couldn’t go further. With my LeHigh Gap the next day, and Colorado hiking trips in the future, I had no intention of pushing myself here and risk sustaining further injury. My hip was in fairly good shape after the rest but it was still painful. So I popped two Advil, had a snack, walked around the Scout camp, and then headed down the road to meet my ride.
I was feeling tentative about the major climb in Pennsylvania the next day… the descent down from the point on the pink trail is no joke. It is steep and the trail is ribbon thin. But it’s no LeHigh Gap. Even if I were young and injury free, there’s no way that I would tackle that trail without trekking poles. I loved the challenge of it, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t want to push myself too hard with the big push I had planned.
Having said that, I enjoyed this trail a lot. It was a great challenge and then became this long, winding, serene thing. A place to explore that is full of silence and solitude. I only saw one person throughout the entire hike. And it was a weekend. In Norvin Green. If you’ve been to Norvin Green on a weekend in the summer, you know what I’m talking about!
I really only interacted with woodland creatures all along the way. Of course, I could only photograph the creatures that didn’t want to move at the sight of me, but there were plenty of sweet and small skittering mammals that darted about doing the work of summer.
And…. NO TICKS. Which, c’mon let’s face it, is notable.
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Do you like the look of Camp Wyanokie? You can make a reservation to camp there! If you’re a resident of Caldwell, Fairfield, North Caldwell, Roseland, West Caldwell you get a discount. The rest of us schlubs have to pay full freight. But if you follow the link below, you’ll find plenty of information about the camp and its reservation page.
Norvin Green State Forest
Manticut Point to Camp Wyanokie
Once again, I parked on Crescent drive and did the ol' familiar walk up. It's a great climb!
Ah, the views from Manaticut Point. Or... almost at the point. This is the first scenic viewpoint on the way there
Same spot, just wider angle. Which one do you like better?
There aren't many pink blazes, and I wish there were. I was not able to photograph this descent - it was too steep and I needed my hands free to hold my poles. It was fun, though!
After the descent, you walk along West Brook for some time. And it was just kind of maintained. I had some problems with obstacles
The bugs weren't too bad, for being the height of summer. Some areas were swarming with mosquitoes, and others were not.
I thought this was interesting and wondered how that perfectly round hole got into such a big piece of glacial erratic
At the end of the pink connector trail. WHEW! I recognized here that I was feeling pretty wiped out. I popped two ibuprophen and kept going.
I got a phone call from my husband as I was taking this photo. He asked how I was doing because he knew I was worried about my injury.
I stood here and talked to him for a long time while I decided whether or not I had the stamina to do the whole loop.
Before I moved on, he convinced me better to be safe than sorry and he said he would pick me up at Camp Wyanokie so I wouldn't worry about climbing back up that steep descent when I wasn't feeling 100%.
All of that, while taking this series of pictures of West Brook.
I met a fisherman on my walk into this section. He said he usually had good fortune fishing here, but not that particular day. He was a really nice guy. I appreciated the conversation.
There are some spectacular view points along the brook. You can rock hop right to the middle of the water and get some nice long shots, like this one.
Along the brook the trail is wide but the further you go into the interior of Norvin Green, the more slender it becomes. This is not a very popular trail and I'm not sure why. I fell in love with its beauty.
You walk right along the banks of West Brook, listening to it babble the whole way
Moss laced rock and lazy ferns growing under the forest canopy
I startled a deer here and she turned and quickly vanished into the woods.
The brook was a bit low at this time of year. The area became a bit swampy but I still hadn't encountered swarms of any bugs, which was wonderful
Eventually I didn't see or hear any water at all, though I know I was near the brook
It was bright and green everywhere. A well fed forest, happy and alive
This reminded me of the Sankara Stone from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with its three stripes. That's the only reason I photographed it. NERD!
TOAD!!
A very patient model, it just sat there while I paparazzi'd
I made it to Boy Scout Lake in no time at all, and believe me, I slowed down and took my time.
I sat down at the edge of the lake and had some water and a protein bar while I waited, and I had a visit from a local!
That's a snapping turtle, right?
It wanted whatever I had. I had a long conversation with it. We talked about the weather.
Boy Scout Lake is just gorgeous in the summer with the clouds and the lily pads =sigh=
I made the quick trip around Boy Scout Lake and admired the camp sites, but there were a lot of bugs swarming around my head, so I decided to walk down Snake Den Road West until I got picked up by my family.
Yes, I ate some of the wild raspberries that lined the road. And they were delicious!!