Elephant Swamp Trail

Once again, we found ourselves with The Gift of a Chase Car. The Wonderful Husband took the day off to go visit friends a few hours away, but wasn't leaving until the afternoon. Coincidentally, I had planned to hike in the morning because it is suppose to get up to the high 90's this afternoon. Given the fact that Wonderful was willing to help us, I decided we'd hike the first part of the Elephant Swamp Trail in Elk Twp. We had briefly checked out this first segment before, but only went in about 15min and then doubled back. From the trail head at Aura-Woodstown Rd to the first road crossing at Swedesboro-Franklinville Rd. looked to be about 1mi, based on the scale of the map. The littlest one hasn't been as enthusiastic about mileage as the bigger two, so our tentative plan was to start at the trail head and have Wonderful meet us at the first road crossing. If the littlest was doing fine, we'd continue on, but if she was pooped out or just plain cranky she'd join Wonderful in the chase car. After that we'd continue to the next road crossing at Monroeville Rd where we started out the last time. Once we made this trek we'd have hiked the whole trail (in segments). From the trail head to Monroeville Rd is approx 3mi.

This trail head is not marked, and you have to go alllll the way to the back of the recreation area behind the soccer fields to find it. If you have the last field and Port-A-Potty on your left, the trail head is directly in front of you, looking dark and lush and inviting =). This is definitely a buggy area, so unless you like anti-itch lotion and tick treatments, use bug spray! Most of it is heavily shaded too, which is nice.

Because of the recent storms, there were a few downed trees across the road, although most fell in a way that formed a natural gate, for active imaginations:

photo taken by the Middle One!

The littlest one started out strong in the lead, but quickly tired. When we got to the first crossing she gladly joined Wonderful in the van and the bigger two and I continued on.

This second section is more "developed" in that there is a fancy trail entrance area:

(from Trail Link)

and there are informational signs along the way highlighting flora and fauna. I'm not sure about all kids, but our kids really love that kinda stuff! Today they learned how to identify a sweet gum tree (the one that produces all those sticker balls). About halfway through the second part we came upon a creek, which was a fun little diversion for a while:

I'm not sure what the deal is with our kids and accidentally slipping into creeks, but it happened AGAIN, only with a different kiddo this time. Other than soggy shoes, there was no harm done. At one point you actually cross the line from Gloucester County into Salem County, and there is a stone marker to let you know:

(from Trail Link)

We played a few minutes of "Look! I'm in Gloucester County! Look I hiked all the way into Salem County! Now I hiked back to Gloucester County! Whew! (all the while taking giant steps back and forth at the post...)" Their hiking speed is improving, so even with playing in the creek for a while and this silliness, we still made it back to the Fire Department parking lot on Monroeville Rd by the time we said we would meet Wonderful and the littlest.

As it turns out, the littlest one amused herself while waiting by playing "bongos" on some cut up logs. She was not too disappointed when she was told about the creek, thank goodness. After we left, Wonderful showed us some neat things they found exploring while we were hiking, including Lake Garrison and a farm with our family's name! 

We rounded out the trip with lunch at one of their favorite places, The Country Crock Restaurant in the Stolzfus Amish Market. Millard Hahn was a gracious host as always, my family ordered Corn Fritters (as always LOL), and everyone was satisfied. The Hahns and their employees always make you feel like family friends =), especially Mrs. Hahn and Wanda, who we frequently get as our waitress.

I already have a plan for the next hike!

NB: Two of the above photos I borrowed from an entry at Trail Link , a website powered by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. It's a fantastic resource for finding trails for hiking/biking/running/riding. Check it out!