First Musconetcong Gorge Preserve Run

It was pouring rain all day today.  Luckily, there were no thunderstorms though.  I had to run, but also keep it relatively short.  I just didn't know where to go.

I have this hiking blog that I often use to find places to go.  I wasn't really searching, but for some reason I clicked on a place and it wasn't too far away.  I headed to the Musconetcong Gorge Preserve.  It seemed ideal, as it was a relatively short loop.

I headed out with a sleeveless shirt, but also my rain shell.  I wore a visor too.  It was cool, but I got a little hot with all that on.  I was glad I wore that gear though, as I did get quite wet.  The tree cover helped, but I was still soaked by the end.

It was a little tricky for me to find the parking area.  I thought it was bigger lot.  It was on a stone road, but luckily not washed out.  I had a map of the place, but apparently the blazes are different colors than on the map.  I figured it was short enough to not get lost.  I had briefly looked at the map, so I had a rough idea of where I was going.

I decided to take the downhill trail from the start, rather than the uphill one.  This was a fun and smooth singletrack for about a mile.  I was cruising along.  I enjoyed the run in the rain.  I find running in the rain, especially on trails to be fun.  This was the perfect place for it too.

It wasn't long and I came to the stream.  It has small waterfalls and the trail crossed over the rocks.  It was gorgeous and already more than I had expected.  I ran along on the other side of the stream.

This was more fun singletrack.  It was mostly along a ridge.  It was a little overgrown in spots and I think had some poison ivy.  Hopefully, I didn't get any.

There was a stone path below that I could've taken.  That looked like no fun though.  Instead, I took the white blazed singletrack.  This is a switchbacking climb.  I never anticipated it would be as steep as it was.  With the steepness, the rocks and mud, it was tough to run up much of it.  I mostly hiked.  There were some cool stair sections here and there too.  It was fantastic.

After quite a few switchbacks, I finally made it to the top.  I could go right to complete the loop, but that would be relatively short.  Instead, I decided on some short out and back to the left.  I was on the NJ Highlands Trail, running along the upper ridge. 

This was a mix of running and hiking.  I had to be careful not to fall on the narrow and wet ridge.  I didn't go too far out and then I headed back.

This run was so slow because it was so beautiful.  I stopped for a ton of photos.  It was fairly rocky and technical at times.  I got an awesome picture of a big mushroom on the trail.

As I approached the stream from the top, I came to a giant boulder near the trail.  That was quite cool, but it didn't look like it was too easy to get to.  Right before getting down to the stream was a steep descent. 

The upper stream area was also stunning.  A lot of water was rushing down.  There was a trail down the side of the gorge and I want to explore it more in the future.  For now, I crossed the water and headed for home.

Much to my surprise, another runner came down the hill at the stream crossing.  He asked me the direction the trail went.  I didn't see anyone else out there all day.  Figures that the only person on the trail would be a runner.  I definitely need to explore more of the stream in the future.

Coming up from the stream was a stunning singletrack climb.  It was just more ridge running from then until the finished.  I enjoyed doing that though.  I was finished somewhere between 4 and 5 miles.

This place was far more than I could've imagined.  It was beautiful and also packed a challenging climb into a short run.  I will without a doubt be back here again.  What a hidden gem that is so close by.  The only downside is how small of an area it is.  I went from thinking, "this is a pretty cool local place" in the beginning of the run, to "this is a pretty cool place, period" by the end of it.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping the rain will have passed.  Then, I'll get in a decent day.  Maybe I'll trek up to Mt. Tammany.  I don't know.  I'd like to at least hit double digit miles and get some technical running in.

4.90 miles - 1:12:24 (14:47 pace) 674 feet of elevation gain