And it was!
We parked in the lot next to the Nature Center (the main entrance), and followed Gunpowder Trail to where it intersected the Swamp Trail. Most of the Swamp Trail is a boardwalk, so it is easy to follow.
And unlike another boardwalk trail which shall remain nameless [grrr], this one was very well constructed, signed, and maintained. There was obvious recent trail maintenance done after the summer storms:
These signplates are on the borders of the boardwalk at each intersection, and at certain points along the way as mile markers, e.g. "Nature Center 1.5mi -->":
My only complaint would be something that confused the girls: the blaze colors on the trails were different than the ones on the map. Part of my goals in this little adventure of ours is teaching them how to navigate, and they have gotten more attuned to paying attention to signposts, blazes, and other trail markings. The colors on the trails were consistent all along the way, but if you were using a handheld map to try to find your way it could be confusing initially. Speaking of maps, here's the very detailed trail map.
It's available at this link. There is another map, with approximate walking times (assuming a 3MPH pace). I found this really useful to help us choose from the various segments. We typically keep a 2.5MPH pace -- hence the blog's name LOL -- so I just adjusted those estimates up a bit. And of course, when you need to stop every 100ft or so to examine "the most amazing thing EVER!!!!", it affects that pace time too...
Speaking of which, we did see some really neat "flora and fauna" as the middle girl was saying. Wild blueberry bushes and pitch pines line the trails, and we had an opportunity for a science lesson. I remarked to the girls that we were suddenly seeing many more ferns and reeds, and hypothesized that we were coming into a wetter area. Sure enough, the land under the boards became boggy then yielded to a small creek. As the land became drier, the number of ferns and reeds diminished. When we saw this area, they wondered what made the water orange colored, which led to a brief lesson in geochemistry:
We wondered what this bush was (I suggest a variant of blueberry, but was shot down by my fellow scientists who pointed out the leaves were "totally different, Mom!":
(Please excuse the focus being off there, I'm not really any good with a camera. It's sad, actually...)
As far as critters, er, I mean "fauna" were concerned, we had lots of company from them! Birds sang to us the entire time. We wondered who lived in this little space:
Hard to see, but it's some kind of large burrow
It seemed there was an entire tribe of five-lined skinks living along the Swamp Trail, some of whom we were quick enough, and stealthy enough, to grab a photo of.
Look carefully, just to the right of the reddish leaves for the little dude
While I was pretty sure those little cuties were skinks, I wasn't completely certain. When we got home I Google'd "skinks new jersey" and confirmed they were indeed skinks. Most of the time when you think of skinks (because honestly, who *doesn't* think about them??) you get an image of a rather corpulent lizard, not these svelte, azure-tailed ones. But, this better photo is exactly what we saw:
Image stolen borrowed from this website
NOTE: If my sister reads this, DON'T CLICK ON THAT LINK! Snakes, snakes, and more snakes!
After seeing what coolness is waiting to be discovered if you look carefully enough, the youngest girl spied with her little eye this green snake wrapped around a branch. I have to say, I was really impressed with her observational skills because he was doing a really good job making himself look like a vine!
Okay, I didn't warn my sister about this snake, but he's really not very scary looking, is he?
My personal favorite "Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom" moment came when we were on one of the straightaways, like the one below. I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye when I was looking off to something on the side, and when I turned to look ahead on the trail I was blessed with a view of some type of raptor about 50ft ahead, flying low on the trail -- like probably only 5ft off the ground. Where we live we see raptors in our back yard and beyond all.the.time, but never that low. I yelled to the girls and they got a glimpse of it too. We were all amazed, and in some way I felt humbled to share the space with that amazing creature.
Just as their energy and enthusiasm were starting to wane, and the whining began, we came upon some ruins from the Bethlehem Loading Company, a munitions company from the early 1900's. This sign the little one was reading didn't give any clue to what might be behind the crumbling walls, so after walking all the way around the perimeter to see if there were any low breaks in the wall, my crew learned the fine art of interlocking-your-fingers-and-letting-your-buddy-stand-in-your-hands. To their delight, the walls were apparently watertight enough to have created an artificial pond, complete with lily pads. Of course, I was not able to see it myself (the walls were about 6-12in above my head and I wasn't ready to risk reinjuring myself climbing or using the buddy hoist), so they may have been having a group hallucination, but I'm willing to believe them... this time...
The walls of the building are hidden behind all that foliage. I promise, it's there!
That unexpected find gave them the little burst they needed to finish off the rest of the hike in good spirits. We looped back to the Nature Center, which has a lovely butterfly garden in front of it. The middle one loves the contemplative nature of watching butterflies!
Unlike my two older girls, I never had Julie Bruce's monarch butterfly science unit,
but I *think* that's a monarch and not a lookalike one.
So, all in all a great hike! If you followed the link to the trail map, our route today was Gunpowder Trail to Swamp Trail, left at the Y intersection south to the observation area and onto Frog Pond Road, which dead ended at North End Trail. Left onto that and back to the Nature Center parking lot. They all agree they'd love to return and explore the other trails and areas we didn't get to today, and the oldest is wondering if she can talk her Girl Scout troop into coming there to camp.
Speaking of Girl Scouts, after we finished I was talking to my mom on the phone and when I told her about the skinks, she asked how I knew as much as I do (and believe me, it's not THAT much) about the wildlife and plants in the area. I told her some of it was the degree in Biology I have (GO HAWKS!), but more than that it was from my years in Girl Scouts. There was a naturalist who worked in our council frequently, and that man knew the Pine Barrens and all its creatures and plants like the back of his hand. When he taught you something while you were out hiking, not only did you remember it, you wanted to learn more. So, if you happen to read obscure little blogs written by a mama with three kids who likes to walk around in the woods, this blog post is dedicated to you, Dave Orleans! Thanks for being a GS volunteer!
ETA: In case anyone was wondering, my back and hip were doing okay during and after the hike. At one or two points I needed to do some extensions to reduce some pins-and-needles I was getting in my legs, but no worse than a standard day at work. Yippee!
ETA: In case anyone was wondering, my back and hip were doing okay during and after the hike. At one or two points I needed to do some extensions to reduce some pins-and-needles I was getting in my legs, but no worse than a standard day at work. Yippee!
