Batona Trail - Pakim Pond to Franklin Parker Preserve, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK: 
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest - NJ Division of Parks and Forests
Franklin Parker Preserve - New Jersey Conservation Foundation
New Batona Trail Section Debuts - New Jersey Conservation Foundation

DIRECTIONS:
Pakim Pond picnic area parking lot:
GPS coordinates 39.880188, -74.533664


TRAIL MAP:
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest Trail Map - NJ Division of Parks and Forests
Batona Trail Re-Route - New Jersey Conservation Foundation

HIKE DISTANCE: 8.3 miles

THE HIKE:
We had just hiked a different section of the Batona Trail 2 days before.  What a difference 2 days of temperatures in the 40's and 50's makes.  The snow was almost gone!  And thanks, Jim, for the recommendation.  This is a very lovely section of the Batona Trail!

The half moon was visible throughout the entire hike.

Started at the far left corner of the parking lot.

Trails to the left, restrooms and Pakim Pond to the right.

Pakim Pond

To the trails.

A short distance ahead, turn right on the Batona Trail which follows the white Mt. Misery Trail.

Swamp on the left,

Pakim Pond on the right.

The Mt. Misery Trail leaves to the left, the Batona Trail to the right.

The other side of Pakim Pond where we started.

Through a swamp on boardwalks.

Sometimes she thinks being up on the boardwalk is a better idea,

sometimes not.  But just wait, this comes back to bite her in a bit.

After the swamp the trail dries out, amazingly dry after two days of snow melt.

We would have used this sign the other day when we went the wrong way.  But just as well because we came back to much less snow.

The re-route of the Batona Trail starts at Route 72 leaving Brendan Byrne State Forest and entering Franklin Parker Preserve.

The trails follows Route 72 on a woods road for a short distance before heading right into the woods.

Done for this season, thank goodness, but FYI in the future.

Another swamp where you alternate between tree roots and boardwalks.

Dry again for a bit.

Until this section of wobbly, floating (?) boardwalks.  They sink when you step on them so Shawnee figured, what the heck.  At one point we both stepped on the same section and sank.

A log bridge over a creek.

Cranberry bogs to the right.

And quite a bit of snow and ice still along the cranberry bogs.

OK, this is where it happened.  Shawnee's indecisiveness about whether to bridge/boardwalk or whether not to got her in big trouble.  At the end of this bridge there are trees in the middle and it's tricky to get around then you have to jump over water into a large animal hole before you hit solid ground.  Shawnee stepped to the right where the foam is and as I yelled NOOOOOOOO she stepped off completely.  One minute she was there, the next minute completely gone.  I will forever remember SEEING HER HEAD UNDER WATER as she struggled to the surface.  Thank goodness for the handle on her harness.  That made hauling her out much easier, otherwise I would have been going in after her.

Totally, 100%, completely, every single strand of fur soaking wet.

Not too far after the cranberry bogs, the trail was totally flooded out and our mileage was getting a little long so we turned around to head back.

Where the Batona Trail turns right on the way back, I kept straight thinking I could go around the cranberry bogs a different way and meet back up with the Batona Trail.  Unfortunately, that way was flooded out, too, so we had to retrace.  (I saw later looking at my track in satellite view that had I slogged on through, I was almost at the turning point and would have ended up on a path to Laurel Lane and could have taken that a short distance to where the Batona Trail crosses over.) 

This is the view of that bridge where Shawnee stepped off as we headed back.  She once again tried to go that same way - I suppose the foam looks like solid ground to her - but this time I forced her to the right of those trees in the middle and she got over without going in.  That water is DEEP!

Just ask her.

The cranberry bogs on the way back.

At this point I noticed her limping and when she stopped she held her left paw up.  Oh no, now what?  I thought maybe she did something to her leg during her ordeal but when I checked her paw, she had a thorn stuck in her pad.  Once I yanked that out, all was well once more.  Not a good Friday the 13th for Shawnee :(

A spot of warm sunshine!

We took a break and let Shawnee's harness and fur drip dry for a bit.

Back through the swamp.

Crossing back over Route 72.

Back through Brendan Byrne State Forest.

The Batona Trail along Pakim Pond.

Chicken jerky makes everything better.  Except the wet swamp dog smell during the drive home.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, NJ - Batona Trail from Pakim Pond to Park Office

ABOUT THE PARK: 
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest - NJ Division of Parks and Forests

DIRECTIONS:
Pakim Pond picnic area parking lot:
GPS coordinates 39.880188, -74.533664

TRAIL MAP:
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest Trail Map - NJ Division of Parks and Forests

HIKE DISTANCE:  6.6 miles

THE HIKE:

The trails start at the far left corner of the parking lot.

The trails to the left, Pakim Pond and rest rooms to the right.

Pakim Pond

Hiking a section of the pink-blazed Batona Trail which runs along with the red-blazed Cranberry Trail for a bit.

I turned left on the Batona Trail which isn't exactly what I intended to do.  I had planned on hiking the new relocation through Franklin Parker Preserve which turns out to be to the right.  We'll just have to go back again.  The part we did hike was a section we had not hiked yet so it all worked out.

The Batona Trail leaves the Cranberry Trail.

A boardwalk peeking through the snow - and those boards are worse than walking on ice when wet!

Shawnee was more on melting ice than boardwalk ...

... and crashed right through the ice.

She's OK!

Sections of trail were blissfully clear.

Other sections not so much but it was interesting to see how long this raccoon followed the Batona Trail.

A flooded section but only in this one area - much less than I expected with a sudden heat wave after over a month of snow and ice.

Snow on the trail but nowhere else.

Then a very snowy section that was pretty tedious to get through.

A blue trail to the park office.

We looped around on the paved road ...

... around to the park office and the start of that blue trail ...

... connecting back to the Batona Trail.

Retracing back.

Our tracks going the other way.

Instead of going back over those slippery, flooded boardwalks, we took the paved roads back around ...

... to Pakim Pond up ahead on the left.

At some point during the past month while Shawnee was out of hiking commission due to the awful weather, she had (or is having) a birthday.  Don't know the exact date but she was about 4 months old when she was sprung from the shelter on 7/11/2001.