Mt. Tammany

Did this hike at the end of July (wearing my KSO Treks of course ).  It’s a pretty short hike but also pretty challenging.  I think it’s only about 3 miles round trip but very steep climbs.  I probably stopped at least 4 times to take a break before I reached the summit, but it’s worth it!

The view at the summit is really nice.  You can see eagles flying around and a nice view of the Delaware River and Route 80.  If you have binoculars make sure to bring them with you!

Some pics below.

Sunfish Pond

I went hiking at Sunfish Pond today in Columbia, NJ (just before exit 1 on Route 80 West).  My iPod Nano’s pedometer shows I walked just over 18,000 steps, so that’s roughly 9 miles.  The terrain is very rocky but the hills are not very steep so a beginner hiker should be fine, it’s just pretty long.  Just follow the white trail all the way to the pond.

The main attraction, the Sunfish Pond, is very nice and big.  There are plenty of big rocks around it where you can sit down and relax.  I spent a few minutes checking out the area and then found a nice spot where I can take a break, eat my lunch, and enjoy the scenery.  About 5 minutes later, a park ranger stopped by just letting everyone know that there’s a severe thunderstorm warning (great…).  And sure enough, a few minutes after that as I was finishing up my lunch it started raining! .  So that pretty much ruined my plan of chilling here for at least an hour reading Vagabonding.

This trail is supposed to be a loop so I was thinking of just continuing to follow the trail but I spoke to some of the hikers there who were also going to the same direction and it looks like they parked at a different parking lot so I decided to just go back the same way I came from.  I was wearing my new KSO Treks for this hike, by the way.  They’re very comfy thanks to the soft, flexible kangaroo leather but they’re even more comfortable with Injinji socks.  They also do a great job protecting your feet from sharp rocks thanks to the thicker rubber sole.  You can still feel the rocks but they don’t hurt at all!

On my way back, the rain got worse, saw a deer crossed the trail right in front of me (I guess it’s running from the rain), and still saw a lot of people on the way up to the pond.  I guess this is a pretty popular trail, the parking lot near this trail was actually full when I got there (around 11:00ish) and had to wait for someone to leave.

My KSO Treks really got a nice test today.  The rocks on the trail are now wet but the Treks seem to do a  good job hugging them, they didn’t feel slippery at all.  Also works great on mud.  The kangaroo leather is also water resistant, I was hiking in the rain for about 4 miles and when I got home my Injinji socks were completely dry, I don’t think even a drop of water got through.  I also started running downhill near the end of the trail and it felt great! With my regular KSO I really had to watch my steps when going downhill as I’ve landed on some things before that hurt my feet, but with the Treks they don’t seem to be a problem.

I’ll probably still use my regular KSOs and alternate the two.  But for long hikes on rough terrains, the KSO Treks would be my choice.  For easier terrains and water activities I’d wear the regular KSOs as they give a better “barefoot feel.”

I was pretty soaked when I got back to the parking lot.  I’m glad I brought my MSR Packtowl (learned about this from Tim Ferriss’ blog) with me, which I was originally planning for just wiping off sweat on my face.  I’m also glad that I bought this backpack (love this backpack!) a couple weeks ago as my old one is not water resistant.  I was also wearing a polyester shirt that wicks moisture and dries very quickly so it was still pretty comfortable hiking in the rain.  The only piece of clothing that wasn’t prepared for the rain was my shorts, I actually just ordered one that is water resistant/quick drying (and if you’re wondering what underwear I was wearing it’s this one – “17 Countries, 6 weeks, 1 pair of underwear” ).

Well, next time, I’ll be more prepared.  It was actually a pretty good experience hiking in the rain and it cooled me off.  I’ll probably post something in the future about hiking gears/clothing as I get more experienced (I’m still a newbie hiker).  Right now the only parts of my body that are sore are my ankles, I guess they’re still pretty weak and need more strengthening (thanks shoe companies that make thick-soled shoes and offer too much foot “protection”).  Looking forward to next weekend to do more hikes!  Some pictures below (hmm…this blog seems to be turning into a hiking blog).

Ramapo Valley County Reservation

I hiked for almost 3 hours this afternoon at the Ramapo Valley County Reservation in Mahwah, NJ with my VFF KSOs.  I’ve been hiking a lot lately and I can thank the VFFs for that, it’s just so much fun to hike/walk with these shoes!

This is a pretty nice park for hiking, it’s big and there’s quite a variety of terrains.  There’s a paved section, dirt trails, rocky ones (both with big rocks and small rocks), some area with grass, some covered with leaves, etc.  There’s a lot of people also walking their dogs here and there’s a lake area where they take their dogs for a swim (this is a nice spot to take a break as well, nice view and breezy).  I also passed a couple of old guys riding their big horses further down a narrow trail, which I thought was pretty weird (definitely didn’t expect that).  There’s also an overlook (follow the blue trail) but it wasn’t that nice of a view, the trees are blocking most of the view.

There’s a bunch of spots I missed, though, so I’d probably come back here at some time.  There’s supposed to be a waterfall here, some old ruins, and another lake passed the other lake where I stopped to take a break (someone was asking me about it on my way down).

My feet are a little sore right now, I guess it’s a good sign that they got a pretty nice workout, I just hope it doesn’t get worse when I wake up tomorrow!  Vibram also has a  KSO Trek model which is designed for this type of activity and I’m actually considering a pair of those.  They’re supposed to have a little bit thicker sole which would definitely help on rocky terrains as I’ve stepped on some sharp rocks and they hurt quite a bit (didn’t leave any bruises or cuts though, so the VFFs did their job).

I also found this nice website while doing some research on the KSO Treks that seems to be dedicated to Vibram Five Fingers and has a lot of information: http://www.birthdayshoes.com

If you’re near the area and like hiking, check out this park.  Just watch out for snakes…and dog poop!

Some pics below: