I had planned all year to see the Tree in Times Square during the holidays. I haven't seen it in person since I was young, and I don't remember how it looked, or anything about my trip to the city. This Christmas Eve morning, I woke up dreading going into the city and dealing with crowds. We decided to skip THE tree and go for a hike to see many trees! (for free!)
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| look at alllll those free trees |
We exchanged early Christmas gifts- Steve got me the
Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (it's GREAT) and I gave Steve the
New Jersey Walk Book. I had gone back and forth with what hiking/outdoors books to purchase for him; there are many cool books about specific great hikes throughout the Tri-State area. I chose the NJ Walk Book because it goes into detail about every park, every reservation, and every trail, down to the flora, fauna and geology of each site!
Steve chose the Rahway Trail in South Mountain, one of our favorite parks. The Rahway Trail begins in the Southern part of the park, in the Locust Grove lot and meets up with the Lenape Trail (yellow blaze), lollipopping back to the parking lot. With the Rahway Trail plus the half of Lenape, we hiked about 5.5 miles.
About 40 minutes into our hike I began to overheat and not feel too well. I had noticed in the beginning of our hike that I just wasn't feeling "strong." I felt sort of weak but figured it would pass... it didn't. After 40 minutes I had to stop, eat a banana and drink 1/3 bottle of water, with my coat off. I considered heading back but we were halfway up this really steep area of the Rahway Trail and I decided to rough it out. I felt better after a 10 minute rest but remained sort of iffy/queasy/dizzy for the rest of our hike (which was about three, three 1/2 hours).
Once we hit Lenape we headed .1 miles to Hemlock Falls, then made our way to the Washington Rock Lookout, where we very very surprised to find A CHRISTMAS TREE. There, right after the lookout, right as the ground goes paved, was an evergreen tree growing next to the path. It was covered in ornaments and handmade paper chains.
It was beautiful. As I approached the tree I got teary-eyed... what a neat surprise. I didn't need the big flashy tree in Manhattan, I had this beautiful scraggly tree in the middle of nowhere, decorated by passersby. I wanted to take more pictures of the individual ornaments, but a family approached and a young girl ceremoniusly placed one of her ornaments on the tree as her family watched from a nearby bench. I could tell it was a special moment, and so Steve and I continued our hike.
I've been thinking about the tree since we went there a week ago, and of the ornaments adorning it- there were handmade ornaments by children, tribute ornaments to family and friends no longer with us, notes on paper tied with simple string. In a world with so much chaos and emotional "graffiti," here was a sweet, pure gift that really meant something to a lot of people.
Next year Steve and I will hike that same trail... I hope the tree is still there so I can place a special ornament on it and share in the memories and meanings of the ornaments of others.
Here are some shots and notes of our Christmas Eve Day Hike:
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| the trail begins! |
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| action shot of my neat earflap hat |
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| the lake beginning to ice over... Winter is here, right after the Solstice |
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| HUGE Rhododendron groves throughout the Rahway trail |
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| Clearing out some leaves that were holding up flow |
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| A very interesting trail marker tree! |
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| elf house |
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Right near where we saw deer only 25 feet away ~
Couldn't get the camera out fast enough for the deer, but hey, look at that storage shed! |
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| We had to cross this |
I have to make a comment about the above picture- while crossing, Steve slipped off a rock and his entire right foot fell into the creek, soaking his shoe. Like myself, Steve wears Merrell Moab Ventilators, breathable (read: not waterproof) hiking sneakers and WigWam Comfort Hiker socks when we hike. Steve's foot being soaked would not only have ended our hike but could have bordered on a dangerous situation as we were about 2 miles away from the lot and it was freezing out. Unbelievably, Steve's foot remained dry and warm. The Merino wool sock wicked away the moisture and the shoe allowed the sock to breathe and dry, all while keeping the foot warm and comfortable.
Expect a bunch of gear reviews in the new year!
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| Hemlock Falls |
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| someone left their Spiderman gloves! :( |
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| Hemlock Falls starting to ice |
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| Washington Rock Lookout |
I've been thinking about the tree since we went there a week ago, and of the ornaments adorning it- there were handmade ornaments by children, tribute ornaments to family and friends no longer with us, notes on paper tied with simple string. In a world with so much chaos and emotional "graffiti," here was a sweet, pure gift that really meant something to a lot of people.
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