Yes, I’m getting a little bored with the gym. Other than all the great socializing and hanging out opportunities, the gym offers little else than a convenient way to run and lift out of the elements. But when it’s the elements I want, there are so many fun ways to challenge myself physically in the great outdoors. I’m not talking about speed-walking through suburbia; I want beaches, trails, mountains, and urban playgrounds. Who needs a stairclimber when you can be scaling hillside boulders?
Last Saturday, Justin, my friend, Shannon, and I took the two-hour drive to the Delaware Water Gap at Worthington State Forest for a day-hike. None of us have ever hiked the DWG, so we didn’t know what to expect. We packed some beef jerky, trail mix, and water and decided to take the most challenging trail out of the Dunnfield Parking Area. The Red Dot Trail rises 1200 feet in 1.5 miles to the top of Mt. Tammany {1549 feet above see level}.
I can’t say that the trail wasn’t a challenge. We worked up a good sweat on the way up, climbing over boulders and negotiating loose rocks all along the path. When I was most tired, I sprinted short distances up the trail just to keep my momentum up. After a short break for bananas and beef jerky at the top, we took the Blue Blazed Trail {a more gradual 2.5 mile climb, most of it on wide trails and old roadbeds} back down to our starting point.
Before the end of our hike, we took a detour to explore the stream bed. The water was spectacularly clear and refreshing. We hid out under the boulders, took pictures, and climbed over dams made of fallen trees.
Though in the same state, the Delaware Water Gap experience was completely different than the Pine Barrens. The dense forests, rocky terrain, and threat of rattlesnakes and black bears made it feel like a real adventure. All in all, we spent about four hours on the hike and were ready to head right back in to explore some more. We ended the day in Pennsylvania at the Sycamore Grille where we stuffed ourselves with French onion soup, ribs, quesadillas, and chocolate lava cake… it was glorious! We all fell in love with the DWG that day, and we’ll definitely be back for more hikes and camping adventures this season.
For more information on New Jersey and New York Trails, visit the New-New Jersey Trail Conference website. Click here to view the Facebook album of our hike.
GYM UPDATE: I took a kickboxing cardio class at Florence Family Fitness on Sunday afternoon and it was pretty good. It was nice working out with some ladies for a change. The came in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and the class moved smoothly and quickly even though there were varying degrees of fitness levels. My son’s fourth grade teacher runs this class along with a couple others {including plyometrics and bootcamp} at the gym and also does personal training. I have my first training session with him tomorrow {Tuesday} morning at 6am… I’ll let you know how it went in the next fitness entry.
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