We're at the trailhead at Batsto Historic Village. There are four of us: me, Eric, John, and John's friend Tim. We're all in good spirits and ready to get out on the trail. We met in Springfield at 9:15 and had an easy ride across the Walt Whitman bridge into Jersey. There was one hitch - a bridge on Rt. 542 was out, and the detour signs weren't great, but there were enough smartphones in the car to help us find our way to Batsto. Much of the last bit of driving was through farm fields of berries that we finally saw a sign identifying them as raspberries.
The day is sunny, cool, and clear, with a little breeze. We're chilly in the parking lot getting ready, but I know I'll be plenty warm as soon as we start moving, as I generate a crazy amount of body heat. I'm wearing a short-sleeve polypro hiking shirt, a long-sleeve polypro shirt over that, and a hiking jacket I recently got off eBay, and am happy to be wearing for the first time. It's a yellow and black North Face Gore-tex jacket with a hood, and I think I'll be able to use it as a wind jacket, a rain jacket, or as the outer layer on a cold-weather hike like today. I have a fleece hat in my pack, which I don't think I'll need, but no gloves, which is a silly oversight.
Our plan is to do the hike described here, but going counterclockwise. We'll pick up the pink-blazed Batona Trail, follow it north for 5-6 miles to Quaker Bridge, where we'll cross the bridge, pick up the yellow-blazed Mullica River Trail, which will bring us back here. Off we go.
We're taking a rest stop at a canoe put-in on the Batsto River. It took us a few minutes to find the Batona Trail, but once we found it, we've had no trouble following the pink blazes. It's been a very pleasant hike so far through scrubby pine woods. The day's getting a bit warmer, and I'm comfortable with my layers. The trail is as flat as can be, and the trail is sandy and often covered with pine needles (which is just dreamy under the feet, especially compared with the biting rocks of Pennsylvania.) We've been going at a good clip, though speed isn't the goal. This is the first time the trail has taken us to the riverside, and there's discussion of Pine Barrens canoeing/kayaking, which we'd all like to do. The water is dark brown cedar water, which looks murky, but apparently is very clean and healthy.
1:25pm
Quaker Bridge, and our turnaround point. The map and trail description showed a road, and we expected a paved road - but what we've found is an unpaved sand road. But sure enough, there's the bridge. We've covered 6.70 miles by my iPhone GPS app, which seems to indicate that this loop might be more than the 11.5 miles we were led to expect. But no matter, it's still a beautiful day, and the Batona Trail was lovely to hike. Now we'll pick up a green-blazed connector trail, then hit the yellow-blazed Mullica River Trail to bring us home.
We just passed a sign saying it's two miles to Batsto. I think we're all happy about that, as we've definitely slowed down. I'm getting a little sore through the hips - nothing serious, but I haven't hiked any "big mile" days in months. Where the Batona Trail was seldom in sight of the Batsto River, this trail is often in sight of the Mullica River (to our right.) It's a pretty little Pines river, just like the Batsto, with the dark cedar water. Where the Batona Trail was a real trail (where the four of us had to walk single-file), this is more a sandy fire road, and we can easily walk two abreast.
We had no problem finding and following the trails we're looking for, but I have to say that the decision to blaze the connector trail in green was not a well-thought-out one. The green paint was the same color as the pine needles, and also the same color as the lichen patches on many of the trees. We never had difficulty with navigation, but the green blazes were often hard to see.
3:48pm
Back at the trailhead, Batsto Historic Village. The last section of trail had us going along Batso Lake, which is created by a dam at the village. We stopped at one point to take pictures of the lake, and someone noticed that the clouds were reflected perfectly in the water, making for very pretty pictures.
We ended by going through Batsto village itself, across the dam, and back to the car. I think we were all happy to get in the warm car, sit back and relax for the ride home
This was a very pleasant hike. It's not strenuous at any point, but it's significant in length. According to the MotionX-GPS iPhone app, we covered 12.9 miles in 4:53. That's a bit more than the 11.5 miles in the hike description. But no complaints, I was thrilled to get out into the Pine Barrens and have a good hike with the guys. The Pines are not that far away, and I'd love to do more hiking here - hopefully soon.
As far as clothing/gear, there are a couple of things I would do differently (with perfect hindsight.) I would have had a pair of lightweight gloves, and I would have had a base layer under my very thin hiking pants. John says silk long-johns are perfect, and I'm sure he's right. My jacket was great, and looks like it will be a suitable replacement for its missing-in-action predecessor.
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