ABOUT THE PARK:
Cold Brook Reserve - Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.67468, -74.74965
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| Parking lot just to the right off of the entrance drive. |
TRAIL MAP:
Cold Brook Preserve Trail Map - Hunterdon County Parks
It might be different in the winter but at the time of this hike the map was pretty useless since there were very few blazes and the ones I did see did not match the map. Field perimeter trails were overgrown and virtually non-existent. I only did about half of what was on the map because it was too cumbersome to get through and ticks were horrendous.
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HIKE DISTANCE: 2.7 miles (hiked together with Hill and Dale Preserve - 1.7 miles 2.3 miles away)
THE HIKE:
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| American Robin |
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| Walking in along the entrance drive to the start of the trail. |
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| American Goldfinch |
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| Yellow Warbler |
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| The beginning isn't too bad, the entrance road starts to become overgrown but there is still a visible trail. |
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| That post hidden in the brush must be a trail marker but there is nothing on it. We turned right here, |
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| The grass starts getting ... |
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| ... longer and longer and thicker. |
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| Gray Catbird |
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| Brown Thrasher |
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| Farms to the right of the field. |
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| The path into the woods which should be blazed red here but there are no blazes visible, |
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| Fortunately, after the initial overgrowth, there is a visible trail. I am guessing this is mostly due to horse traffic as there were hoof prints visible. |
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| A bridge but not where it belongs. |
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| Yellow blazes! |
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| Then red blazes but I was on the opposite side of the wooded area from where the map says the red trail should be. |
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| Coming back out to the fields. |
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| Meow. |
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| Eastern Kingbird |
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| Back on the entrance road where the going gets easier. We cut the hike short since it was so difficult to follow anything remotely resembling a trail. |
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| Pretty scenery, though. |
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| Straight ahead is the exit, left is the parking area. |
Hello: Since I've already had Lyme disease, I primarily stick to well used open trails and woods roads and hope for the best if, for some reason, I must go through grass above my boots. For trails with grass overgrowth, I wait until it gets cold and kills the overgrowth and even then I wear insect shield treated clothing. Nothing kills them quickly, I have heard 45 seconds on treated clothing if they are not repelled and get on. It would seem that in this day and age someone would find something to 100% repel and kill ticks quickly. Some say that the lyme pill also works to protect our canine friends.
ReplyDeleteI had read where ticks were going to be particularly bad this year and they certainly are. I have never encountered ticks like this before even on trails that are not overgrown. Shawnee has had Lyme disease for years but she is not symptomatic from it. I used to have her tested regularly and put her on a round of Doxycyline but she comes up positive regardless. Whether it's resurrection of the infection or a new infection, no way to tell. So the vet and I decided to stop testing and treating her a few years ago.
DeleteI drive by this one regularly but have never stopped. I think I'll be waiting til winter!
ReplyDeleteThat might be a good idea :)
DeleteSurely does not reflect what one would expect of public space or, as in this case, a County Park/Preserve in the wealthiest county in NJ! Disappointing, to say the least. 🤬
DeleteUnfortunately, it happens sometimes so I always approach a hike with Plan A, Plan B and sometimes Plan C because you never know what conditions you will find until you get there.
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