Departmental Hike October 7th 2006 at Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area
WHEN
Saturday October 7th at Noon. Bring a lunch, we'll eat at Tripod Rock.What to bring
Families are definitely invited! The hike takes between 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on what you choose to do. Bring a lunch, some water, a camera and just in case bug spray and sunscreen. Hiking shoes of some sort are recommended, but certainly not mandatory.WHERE
The hike starts at the Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area: http://www.parks.morris.nj.us/parks/pyrmtnmain.htm 124 Boonton Ave Montville, NJ 07045 (973) 334-3130 To get to the park: Interstate 287 North Bound, Exit 44 Main Street Boonton. Proceed to Boonton Avenue (County Road 511). Turn RIGHT. Proceed 3.3 miles on Boonton Avenue. Visitors Center on LEFT (Opposite Mars Court) A google maps link is here If you do not have a car, you can take a train from Penn Station to Maplewood, NJ and John can ferry you.About Pyramid Mountain.
Extended description
The following description is from http://www.dailyrecord.com/25walks/walk13.htm
BY DAN GOLDFISCHER Special to the Daily Record
MONTVILLE TWP. Pyramid Mountain has been a favorite spot for hikers for many decades.
As suburban development reached closer and closer to this wilderness tract, citizens conservation groups and the Morris County Park Commission banded together in the early 1990s to preserve the land as the Pyramid Mountain Natural Historical Area.
The terrain here is similar to that found further northwest in New Jersey: rocky, hilly and heavily wooded. Bobcats and bears live here.
And even though Pyramid Mountain is only a few miles from busy Boonton and Butler and has become very popular with hiking families in the past few years, this are is still an excellent place to find quiet and solitude, and gain an appreciation for the works of nature.
Besides the chance to spot unusual wildlife and hike under a beautiful canopy of trees, this walk features several unusual rock formations deposited by glaciers of the last Ice Age.
Start the walk by the Visitors Center on Boonton Avenue, which is an excellent place to learn more about he area.
Follow the trail marked "To the blue trail." Turn left at the wide gravel trail; this will lead you down to the blue trail, which crosses a small creek and then gives walkers a boardwalk over a muddy section.
Climb with the blue trail up and to the right to an electrical transmission tower. The blue trail takes a sharp turn to the right here and re-enters the woods.
Soon you will be climbing some more, sometimes south, with New York City visible on clear days. Continue north on the blue trail, which now is atop the ridge and has settled down to any easy, gentle roll.
You will pass several junctions but stay with the blue trail until it makes a sharp turn to the left. At this point continue straight on the white trail, which will take you to Tripod Rock, the most famous landmark of this area and destination of most hikers.
Tripod Rock is a large boulder somehow balanced on three very small rocks, an amazing feat of natural engineering.
If you have very young children or do not wish to tackle more challenging trails, a hike from the Visitor's Center to Tripod Rock and back is a very satisfactory hour or 90-minute jaunt. For those wishing to see more of the area, continue north on the white trail until you meet the red trail coming off to the left.
Follow the red trail, which is quite a bit narrower and more rocky than any trail you've been on up to now, as it heads by a large rock formation called Eagle Cliff and passes the appropriately named Whale Head Rock.
The final descent of the red trail is quite steep and rocky, so take it slowly. At the bottom, cross two stream bridges, and turn left (south) on the blue trail.
In 10 minutes or so you will be at Bear Rock, an enormous boulder that does look like a sleeping bear. Shortly past the rock, turn left on a trail marked with both white and blue blazes ( a white trail also goes straight).
Cross a steam, walk a few hundred feet and turn right on the yellow trail. This trail climbs somewhat deeply under giant mountain laurels past what are called the Cat Rocks.
At the top of the climb, turn right as yellow and blue walls go together for a short distance, then turn left to continue on the yellow trail. After a while the yellow trail descends steeply along the underside of some high rock formations to the right. The trail is quite narrow for a short bit, requiring a bit of caution in walking.
