High Mountain (Wayne)

[Glancing Aft]

I'd offer to play tour guide but I'm heading out to PA tonight and am tied up on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday or Thursday next week could work for me however.

 

[Shaggz]

gotcha. i was looking to avoid backtracking towards north haledon from the office.

 

[Glancing Aft]

There is another entrance to the park in franklin lakes somewhere off of reservoir drive, but I've never been to it. I don't know if that would help.

And speaking of Haledon, one of my favorite watering holes, the Shepard and the Knucklehead is right around the corner from high mountain, always good for a quick drink after a ride.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shepherd+and+the+knucklehead,+north+haledon+nj&ie=UTF8&cd=1&mpnum=0&ll=40.94989,-74.175825&spn=0.034747,0.055618&z=14&iwloc=A&om=1

 

[elzoller]

maybe today

So, I have the gear & bike in the car but I forgot the shitty backup light I have (in case i get lost and it gets dark before I get out of there )

So I am still debating if I'll ride here or go for a quick loop at Skyline.

Shaggz do you have your bike today?

 

[Shaggz]

I do, but I need to go to Mahlon tonight to check out the proposed changes to the wall re-route.

 

[elzoller]

bummer! we'll do it another time then

 

[elzoller]

Short notice,
I am heading out there today (around 5.45pm) finally for some exploration.
If anybody is interested lemme know.

 

[Glancing Aft]

damn. would love to go but have a birthday party to attend.

 

[elzoller]

Did any of you ever make it up there? What did you think?

Well finally I made it there today and I found my way OK thanks to another "old-school" GPS (see attached) and Glancing Aft's directions. I did take my single speed despite GA's advise.

The place is OK. I wouldn't go out of my way to ride there, but if it is close to you it is a good place for a quick spin.

The stuff I rode was mostly fire road and double track with a lot of loose rock. The place was wet (what did I expect after yesterday's rain), not really muddy but just wet. I started off incorrectly from the parking lot and found this:

So I turned around and finally found the red trail head. I went on RED, then to YELLOW towards High Mtn Peak. I had to walk most of the YELLOW climb. It was long, steep and with a lot of loose rock.

this was the start of the climb:

Then almost at the top it turns into a short singletrack but I had a hard time trying to get momentum going with the singlespeed. However, I don't think that if i had gears I would've made the whole climb without taking a break.

Once at the top it is mostly a wide trail in a grassy area. There is a small rock formation that is cool to ride on but nothing really technical.

I kept following YELLOW down the mountain and it was a little bit more fun on the descent, it became single track at one point and at some points you were rolling off some rock steps. I kept going down until I got to Reservoir Rd. Then the trail loops back into the park. This area was very wet and overgrown. After a little while I went onto WHITE. Again mostly double track, wet, & overgrown in a few sections. I was riding next to a golf course when I saw a some small rock drops/rolls on the side, so I had to stop and play

After this I began to climb, but again I had to walk some areas because it was slippery and steep and my legs gave up on me.

The WHITE connects back to RED and then I took RED back to the car.

I rode for about 1.45 mins, but I stopped a few times to take pictures to document my findings Unfortunately a lot of the pictures came out blurry. But I agree with GA, you can probably do this loop in 1hr-1.15hrs if you just ride at a good pace.

I saw a lot of deer and 3 turkeys and at the end I was soaked. It looked as if I had jumped in a pool with my clothes on.

... Park in the rec center at Willy P and access the trails from there. It's good for about an hour ride with some great climbs, and some unridable climbs. It will take you a few times to get a good route in so don't be discouraged your first time there. The Willy P cops don't seem to mind night riders which is good too....

I did park there, thanks for the directions. I didn't see anybody on the trails and neither did I see any Willy P cops.

No, I never have, the guys I ride with have told me that the trails in that area are mostly underdeveloped and not all that great.

I did miss the western part of the park, perhaps there is more single track. According to the map YELLOW keeps going and then there are other lookouts a waterfall an ORANGE and a BLUE trail. I might go again to check that part of the park, but I will park at a different spot.

 

[Glancing Aft]

Great trail report, seems like you found most of the stuff that I normally would ride although there is some more single track to the place mostly over in the golf course area.

 

[mergs]

bit o' late notice, but I plan to ride HM tonight (13 Sep) around 6pm. Anyone is welcome to join in. Its just me so far, exploring for a bit, while traffic dies down on Skyline Drive.

I'll be parking in Franklin Lakes at the circle (the intersection of Resevoir Dr and Navajo Lane) near here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...17,-74.204793&spn=0.006585,0.009205&z=17&om=1

blue wrx.