Rockhopper Trail

Bhavna and I ventured out to another trail in West Amwell Township we had not visited before. This one was odd in that the trailhead starts on private property. We passed an old barn and some cars. It was a bit strange.

It had rained the entire week, and the trail was more than just soggy; it was "water into your shoe" deep in certain places. Fortunately, Bhavna had worn proper hiking shoes for this adventure, and we pushed through until the trail changed from its carpet of leaves to the rocky terrain we've come to expect when hiking in the Sourland Mountain Range.

It had rained the entire week, and the trail was more than just soggy; it was "water into your shoe" deep in certain places. Fortunately, Bhavna had worn proper hiking shoes for this adventure, and we pushed through until the trail changed from its carpet of leaves to the rocky terrain we've come to expect when hiking in the Sourland Mountain Range.

The trees are still bare, but the spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is blooming.

This week the blanket of leaves revealed the start of new life. Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), which I didn't notice a week ago, is now starting to bloom. I hear the buzzing of invisible insects.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), a flowering plant that I have not noticed in recent and past hikes, finds its life amongst the leaves at the base of the forest trees.