New Jersey Trails with Minor Tribulations

   We were experiencing a bit of a break from the intense summer heat and humidity, so I decided to do a bit of a cycling road trip and head into northern New Jersey for some trail riding. I had been to High Bridge before on the excellent Columbia Trail, and because I heard that it had been further developed since my last visit, I thought that would be a great starting point for this adventure.

   The Columbia Trail had covered 11½ miles into the center of Long Valley, but now it stretched an additional 3 miles east. Although the temperature wasn't brutally hot this day, I know from past experience, the thick canopy of trees keeps things cool on this trail, as its course winds along the South Branch of the Raritan River.

   I planned to return the full length of the trail, so I had initially plotted a route on some smaller interconnecting trails to reach the Black River Wildlife Management Area Trail - yeah, that's a mouthful (more on that in a bit). Anyway, it turned out some of those paths weren't really bike-friendly, so I used some parallel roads to reach my destination.

   There was some minor confusion when I arrived at the trailhead, and saw it marked as the Patriot's Path. At first I thought that the Black River folks may have realized all those words would be too difficult to fit on a simple trail marker and had renamed it. There were a couple of guys taking their mountain bikes down the trail, so I confirmed with them that I was headed in the correct direction. This trail was really going to be out in the middle of nowhere for about four miles, and I didn't want to have to backtrack.

   Later when I returned home, I read about the Morris County Park Commission's development of the Patriot's Path, which is so named because of its proximity to Washington's Headquarters in Morristown. The Patriot's Path is a 43-mile network of trails, with 27 miles of spur trails that will link parks, historic sites and other points of interest throughout the county. I also read that the first parcel of land was acquired in 1968 and that its first dedication ceremony as a bikeway was held back in 1975!

   It turns out the Black River Trail and Patriot's Path share a segment here. I wouldn't say this was the best-maintained surface I'd ever been on, as it had plenty of ruts, muddy spots and tree roots poking up here and there, but I had the correct bike for handling the terrain, so it didn't matter much to me. I encountered a more consistent crushed gravel surface as I neared the community of Ironia and the trail became the West Morris Greenway. I did love the feeling of seclusion all along this route, even though I knew I was not far from civilization.

   After about six miles I was pedaling through the Horseshoe Lake Recreation Center and spotted a remnant of tracks, evidence that this was once the Chester Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. I circled the lake and headed back west on Eyland Avenue and eventually reconnected with the Columbia Trail at Bartley Road, just south of the community of Flanders (I got a big kick out of that name).

   I have been putting in some serious miles this year, and have noticed that I feel stronger later in rides. The trail is mostly downhill from Long Valley back to High Bridge, and I was really flying along as I buzzed by the Califon Station. In my mind were historic images I had seen of Jersey Central freight trains going by this location.

   I then remembered seeing an ice cream shop on my way into High Bridge and used it as motivation to pick the pace back up and keep it going those last few miles!