Ash Brook Reservation, NJ - North Trail in the Winter

ABOUT THE PARK: 

I hiked this previously in May 2017.  At that time, Marc Grobman, the trail steward at Ash Brook Reservation, sent me his PDF files, below, to share.  The sign above confuses me. It was not there in 2017.  It refers to the "Swamp Nature Trail" which I assume is the same as the North Trail.  It also refers to other trails that are where?  Oak Ridge Park cannot be accessed from this location.  These arrows are all at the entrance of Union County Vo-Tech; Ash Brook Reservation is at the very back.  The arrows on that sign point to nowhere.  Union County has no information at all about Ash Brook Reservation on their web site.




DIRECTIONS: 

GPS Coordinates 40.61592, -74.35960

Trail parking in front of the police academy.

TRAIL MAP: 

HIKE DISTANCE: 2 miles

THE HIKE: 

When I hiked this in May 2017 it was extremely muddy and buggy.  It IS a swamp so that is to be expected.  I always wanted to go back and hike it in the winter so after a couple of days of temps in the single digits and teens, I grabbed my microspikes and headed back.

The trail starts at the kiosk in the far corner of the parking lot next to the police academy.

The white-blazed North Trail (or Swamp Nature Trail now?)

It starts out nice and dry and is easy to follow.

When it starts becoming frozen, it's easy enough to get around.  For a little while.

Then it starts to become more icy.

OK, I give.  Time to break out the microspikes.  That is not water, it is solid ice.

I swear you can tap dance across a smooth sheet of ice with these on.  These are Kahtoola microspikes.

I could not believe skunk cabbage was sprouting up through the ice. I usually do not see that until March.  I saw it poking up through the ice everywhere.

After this bridge over a drainage, it's another short stretch of ice then ...

... bone dry up Red Hill for an unblazed loop around.  Off with the spikes. 

We left the loop to follow an unmarked path where I found ...

... balloon #1 of 2022.

The path leads all the way to Martine Avenue where we turned around and headed back.

Back on the loop passing the spool.

At the huge pine tree, the loop is complete and we turned right back on white.

Coming  up on that icy patch ...

... then that bridge ...

... then a right turn immediately after the bridge along the drainage.

This spur trail comes out at the opposite end of the parking lot from the trail head.

A left turn along the back of Union County Vo-Tech ...

... back to the police academy and parking.

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