I'm writing this blog post with Liam next to me so hopefully I can focus! On Saturday we went to Turkey Mountain again and I'll write a post about that soon. But for today, I'll focus on Sunday's hike around Merrill Creek Reservoir. It was a 5.5 mile trip, flat in most spots, and took us 3 hours of actual hiking time. It was my longest hike distance-wise in 8 years and Liam's longest hike... period! He only rode on Jon's shoulders a total of 10 minutes out of the whole hike - despite ataxia. I'd call that impressive!
On Sunday, we chose the black trail which leads the whole way around the reservoir. We stopped in at the visitor's center to take a quick bathroom break, compared a taxidermy black bear with the one we had encountered (ours was bigger!), looked out at the reservoir, and then found the trail on the other side of the parking lot.
We started downhill to get to the boat launch where there was a sign about the bald eagle nesting spots Can you believe there are bald eagles in New Jersey? Well apparently there are, though I've never seen one. In the area that they nest, there are signs indicating that is against the law to traipse around off-trail there. A federal offense, I believe. Duly noted!
Soon we were on the trail curving around a field of wildflowers with the reservoir to our right before heading into the woods. The path at that point was wide with gravel and very flat. After walking for a few minutes, we took a lunch break on a large log at the side of the trail. I ended up with potato chip crumbs down my shirt, making me feel very classy indeed. Liam jumped when he spied a large spider crawling next to him on the log. Afraid as I am of spiders, I heroically brushed it off the log. Its whereabouts after that were unknown. He ate the rest of his lunch standing up. I couldn't really blame him.
Buckets of sweat were rolling down our cheeks, foreheads, legs, arms, necks, you name it. There wasn't a place we weren't sweating. Liam, who usually never sweats, was even getting in on the act. That's how humid it was.
We walked a little ways before getting to the first dam out of four dams. This was the dam that we walked to with Liam when he was 3 months old in a front pack. We got about as far as 20 feet across the dam before a sharp end-of-winter wind snapped across our path. Liam began to cry loudly so we immediately turned back and ran to get him out of the wind. Well this past Sunday, winds that cut the heat and humidity were most welcome. We told Liam about our experience there when he was a baby and he denied that it ever happened. We must have imagined the whole thing, I guess.
There was one other time that Jon and I had made it around the entire lake and this dam in particular stands out in my memory. At the ends of this dam stood gates that we had assumed were locked. We saw a path heading down to the bottom and back up again so we took the path down. The path was treacherous and steep and we slid several times. At the very bottom, out of breath and with leaves tangled in our hair, we looked up and noticed several hikers getting through the gate with ease. I don't remember what words were exchanged that day, but I feel confident assuming that some were expletives. The way up wasn't any easier and all for nothing. Plus - we found this out only this time - we had missed the best mountainous view of the entire hike. Off, away from the reservoir, was a very pretty view. We had missed it last time, but enjoyed it now. Liam felt uneasy being on the dam and moved us along quickly. I think that having water on one side and a long drop to the other side would make most people nervous.
We walked back into the woods and came across a lot of blown down trees from a storm. Liam complained about being hot so Jon sprayed him with his hydration pack's hose. Liam's happy cackle could be heard quite a ways away, I imagine.
Soon we saw a beachy area off to the side so we took the worn trail out there. Another family was splashing around and the father was playing with a remote control car. Liam chose to stay away with the family - social anxiety - and ran to the sand, ditching his shoes along the way. I took mine off too and we waded into the water, Liam further out than I ventured. The scene was lovely: colorful rocks peeking out of the sand, flower-studded grasses surrounding gnarled and sculptural driftwood. And the lake couldn't have been lovelier. I sighed with supreme contentedness. I flopped down on a dry rock to take my ease and nearly fell into the water. My shorts were soaked on one side, but I didn't care. The wetter I was, the cooler I'd be! After my time in the water, I sat and raked my fingers through the sand, looking for stones and shells and found several handfuls. Finally we got up to leave.
We walked along in the woods again with some ups and downs and the terrain became a bit rougher. More roots, more stones, and more stumbles. I heard crashing around in the brush next to us, but the forest was too dense in that spot to make out anything. I saw movement. I stopped for a second.
"HELLO?" I yelled loudly. No answer. "IS ANYONE THERE?" The crashing continued. I noticed that we were coming to where the road paralleled the trail which made me breathe a little more easily. I figured if it was a bear, we could make our escape on the road and find a house... somewhere. As the forest began to thin, I saw what was making all the racket. A band of wild turkeys! I wish I had gotten a better picture, but they were faster than you can imagine! I counted over ten of them. We took a short break soon after, but the bees drove us away.
By now, we had crossed maybe another two dams, but who keeps track of that many dams? Jon figured that they had REALLY wanted to make this reservoir if they went to the trouble of erecting four dams. At this point, Liam admitted that he had ataxia and took a short ride on Jon's shoulders. Within two minutes, he asked to be let down so he could walk on his own. He would only ride on Jon's shoulders another couple of times and all for about ten minutes total! Between rides, he cooperated with the helmet and ran around. In fact, the whole day we had to remind him not to run.
"Be the camel," we'd say, meaning conserve your energy the way a camel conserves water. Maybe not a perfect analogy, but it makes sense to Liam.
We finally crossed the last dam before we'd be walking back into the woods. By now we had hiked about four miles! I asked everyone along the way how far we had left, but nobody really seemed to have an idea. We had seen a one-mile marker at the beginning, but nothing since then. Jon's app Viewranger lost our signal, we were in a GPS deadzone at some points.
Before we got into the thicker woods, we passed what I affectionately call the "dead forest": a forest of dead trees poking out of the water. It's a very haunting scene, especially in the evening - which we were fast approaching. We ducked back into an area filled with towering pines which - for some reason - took my breath away. There is something about the smell of pine trees and the needles creating a lush carpet that feels ethereal.
We took a break on a little wooden bridge that neatly contained two benches. I turned my head and suddenly saw her: an elegant doe drinking at the water. I snapped a couple of photos and then... the unthinkable happened. My phone's battery died. In fact, so did Jon's. We had forgotten to bring the charger. Everything after that point won't be accompanied by photos and that's a pity because what happened next was something I will never forget.
Two young deer, still dressed in their spots, came running over to their mother. They cried an adorable cry upon being reunited with her. Another doe came up behind them. We sat and watched for a while before moving on. Up ahead, we realized that we'd have to go past them - the babies were on one side of the trail and the mothers were on the other.
"Don't get between mama and baby," Jon warned. I tried to coax the babies along, but to no avail. They were taking their sweet time. They lived in a wildlife refuge with no hunting and they seemed to know it! I came closer and closer, trying to move the last baby along. The mothers barely lifted their heads while grazing.. But, being a mother myself, I don't doubt that they were watching me closely.
"Come on, sweetie," I said to the baby. She crossed slowly in front of me and then stood there by my side. I was no more than six feet away from her. I could have touched her, but I didn't want to face the wrath of mama! But I was so close to her, so tantalizing close that I felt - was it my imagination? - that I could almost feel her breath. As we moved along because of the time, I looked back with tears in my eyes. I had never been so close to a wild deer before and I felt an intense connection. I knew that the deer is my spirit animal, but never had I had such a close encounter. It was magical.
We were close to the visitor's center, but first we walked through old farmyard ruins, crabapple orchards, and lush fields with hundreds, if not thousands, of wildflowers. The terrain was vastly different from what we had just hiked through and yet special in its own way. We came across several more deer including a buck. I didn't get too close to the buck as I didn't want it to became territorial! And after all that... we ended up at the parking lot once more.
I will get photos from the last leg of this hike next time we do it. And you can be sure that we will hike it again as Liam now says that this is his favorite place to hike! And I agree. It is up there with the greats.
Liam at dinner afterwards - hyper and happy!
