You're Goin' Down!

A beautiful day for learning how to walk on size 40 shoes. H takes a dive re-learning to walk in snowshoes. We found ourselves on the NY/NJ border off Oil City Road in the Wallkill Valley Wildlife Refuge. We "shooed" on the Appalachian Trail for about half of the total 2.66 miles in a nearly perfect rectangle. We've been here before, but the snow was much more welcome than the torrent of mosquitos we suffered in this swamp (during our attempted 115-mile section hike early in September 2004). Have to mention the phenomenon of the water table at this site. Some time ago the water level throughout the swamp was much higher and the water had frozen to about four inches thick. Then the water receded and re-froze about a foot lower. This effectively left an "air sandwich" between the two sheets of ice; the higher of the two slabs was suspended in mid-air by trees, grass, and saplings. This was visible throughout the park. We also saw fresh bear tracks, a red cardinal, and, um, snow.

From NYC take Rt. 80W to Rt. 23N to Sussex NJ and head north on Rt. 284 back into NY state. Turn right onto Oil City Road and look for a parking area within a mile on the right marked "Wallkill Valley Wildlife Refuge." Take the Liberty Loop Trail east or west.