another day hike: rock scrambling.

[JV3]

took the day off the other day to do some rock scrambling and scout new overnight spots...wasn't able to take that many pics due to me keeping my eyes out for rattlesnakes and partly because there weren't that many things that caught my eye to photograph.




huge boulders everywhere.








despite plenty of deer droppings, these frogs were the only ones i saw plenty of.








no idea what bug this is resting on the oak tree.




my 3rd hike (and one road bike trip) with the hill people gear recon kit bag by the way - works awesome! if you'll notice, i have my fallkniven s1 hanging/tucked on the right side strap now instead of dangling out front - i can't even tell that it's there. looks like i don't have to put up with belt carrying my knife anymore.

the high was 70° f during this hike and i did notice an increase in sweating due to the kit bag but it was still very tolerable...i'll update my review for it as the temps increase and see how hot i can put up with it.

[JV3]

i didn't feel like cooking anything so i just brought my s1 with me (the spyderco para-military 2 tagged along too because i didn't want to leave it in the truck while i hiked).




lunch was raisin bagel with cream cheese while the stream provided a nice background music.




was tempted to go up this 3-story wall just to see what's up top but decided to save it for another trip, i.e when it's warmer...it's spring and with my luck there's probably a rattlesnake up there catching the early sun since the nights can be very cold still right where i'll put my hand :eek:








nice to finally see some green popping out!

[JV3]

more scrambling...my right knee is fully healed from twisting it on the icy trail weeks ago since there's no pain after this hike at all :) it's time to go back to mountain biking i think - i miss the rocks!








no idea what animal this jaw came from.




everything is huge in this particular area - even the burls.




i know we have crawfish in the streams here but this claw looks pretty big for it...looks more like a crab's but no sign of the rest of the body parts.

[JV3]

"127 hours" kinda got me scared to explore boulders with overhangs like this now.






can't beat 'em? grow around it!




another massive burl. there was another one that was the size of a baby's head that was perfectly round but i forgot to photograph it...maybe next time. i'm curious what causes burls.




the most useful woods trash i've picked up so far.




perfect weather for woods time.

[kennethsime]

Nice shots! Making me miss the mountains, I gotta get out more this summer.

[throwback8]

Excellent shots, seems like you enjoyed your trip a great deal! Those burls are intriguing and I love the picture with the tree growing right over the rocks. Great stuff!

[xceptnl]

"if you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough!"

Nice pics and thanks for sharing.

[ViperGTS]

Great pics! Where these taken in nj? Where abouts?

[Zenith]

Thanks for sharing your pictures and showing us some good scenery.

[Guy Vanderveken]

Great pics

[c.joe]

Great pictures. Gotta revisit the outdoors soon. Been too busy with work lately..

[phillipsted]

can't beat 'em? grow around it!

Is it me, or does this look vaguely pornographic? :cool:

Cool stuff, JV! Thanks for sharing!

TedP

[1623]

Great images!

The insect is a Woodlouse, commonly called a Pill Bug or Roly Poly and I'm fairly certain the jaw bone is from a Deer.

[Jazz]

Really nice pics, especially the green leaves! The jet is really nice too, considering it's distance. Where abouts was your hike?

[Fresh Eddie Fresh]

Is it me, or does this look vaguely pornographic? :cool:

Cool stuff, JV! Thanks for sharing!

TedP

Hahaha! Nothing vague about it!

Your hike looked great! Super jealous!

[rodloos]

Looks like a nice hike JV3!

Pretty area, but I bet I'd find a way to twist my weak ankles on all of those rocks :) .

I'm curious about what causes those burls in the trees too.

Around here we have crawfish that get quite large, and turn red or dark blue when they get that size. I caught one and kept it in my aquarium for awhile, was quite surprised to find it had disected a plecostomus armored catfish with those claws. The pleco may have already died, but the crawfish had no problem with the armor.

[KnOeFz]

great pics JV3!

[JV3]

Nice shots! Making me miss the mountains, I gotta get out more this summer.

thanks! i hope to get some more hiking done this summer as well.

Excellent shots, seems like you enjoyed your trip a great deal! Those burls are intriguing and I love the picture with the tree growing right over the rocks. Great stuff!

thanks! i've seen several of those trees growing over big rocks - really amazing to see their tenacity to keep growing.

"if you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough!"

Nice pics and thanks for sharing.

thanks! that's a nice quote...we do have plenty of mountains here - we sometimes encounter mountain bikers from different states and they say we have some of the best trails around.

Great pics! Where these taken in nj? Where abouts?

thanks! this was actually in harriman just across the border into ny. i frequent that area a lot along with ringwood, jungle habitat, and ramapo mountains in nj...they're all within 15 or so mi of each other.

Thanks for sharing your pictures and showing us some good scenery.

you're welcome!

Great pics

thanks!

Great pictures. Gotta revisit the outdoors soon. Been too busy with work lately..

thanks!

Is it me, or does this look vaguely pornographic? :cool:

Cool stuff, JV! Thanks for sharing!

TedP

thanks! haha, yeah i've seen some burls that look like boobies :D

Great images!

The insect is a Woodlouse, commonly called a Pill Bug or Roly Poly and I'm fairly certain the jaw bone is from a Deer.

thanks! good info on the pill bug. makes perfect sense since there's a ton of whitetail deer here.

Really nice pics, especially the green leaves! The jet is really nice too, considering it's distance. Where abouts was your hike?

thanks! this was in harriman just across the border into ny. i frequent that area a lot along with ringwood, jungle habitat, and ramapo mountains in nj...they're all within 15 or so mi of each other.

Hahaha! Nothing vague about it!

Your hike looked great! Super jealous!

thanks!

Looks like a nice hike JV3!

Pretty area, but I bet I'd find a way to twist my weak ankles on all of those rocks :) .

I'm curious about what causes those burls in the trees too.

Around here we have crawfish that get quite large, and turn red or dark blue when they get that size. I caught one and kept it in my aquarium for awhile, was quite surprised to find it had disected a plecostomus armored catfish with those claws. The pleco may have already died, but the crawfish had no problem with the armor.

thanks! yeah, one of these days i'm going to go tumbling down one of those hills - i sometimes don't pay enough attention where i put my feet while trying to photograph something.

i used to have a pleco too - they do have some tough armor.

great pics JV3!

thanks!

[toomzz]

Is it me, or does this look vaguely pornographic? :cool:

LOL, what's on a man's mind :rolleyes: Nice pictures, cool knives, both the black PM and the A1 FK, being in the woods always recharge me and give me energy.....

[Holland]

Great thread! thanks for sharing