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A hot dog with mustard and relish and a root beer snow cone is a tradition when I drive through Chatsworth in the summer. If you're ever in the Chatsworth area and you see a guy with blond hair on a trail or a lake, with relish on his chin wearing a t-shirt with brown, yellow, and green stains...

It must be brand new. I was on that section of the trail on March 5 and I didn't see it. This past Saturday I hiked round trip from Evans Bridge to Batsto, didn't see a soul all day on the trail. However on Sunday I saw about 10 people on a round trip hike on the Batona from Carranza to...

One issue is not to build a campfire so big that as you're sitting there gazing up at the heavens, basking in the warmth of your fire, you see an ember float up into the sky and set a nearby tree on fire. Naturally, the fire will occur on a branch that's 15-20 feet in the air where you can't...

I have a Smith & Wesson Viper knife [link below] that I purchased legally here in the USA. It's a great compact knife and it's razor sharp, but it's a flip blade so it's probably considered a switchblade in NJ. http://www.knifesupplycompany.com/knives-smith---wesson-smith---wesson-viper.html

I had a similar frustrating incident trying to notify the authorities in the pines about a dangerous situation. I was hiking the Batona Trail about 4-5 miles south of Batsto. When I reached Bulltown road there was a large pitch pine that had fallen and was completely blocking one lane of the...

I've never seen a bear either and I suspect the people who claim they've seen the Jersey Devil are the same people who leave the empty whisky bottles behind that I pick up off the ground. :rofl: TabernacleNative, make sure you keep that knife concealed. NJ knife laws are as restrictive as NJ...

I wouldn't worry at all about coyotes. The chances of a coyote attacking an adult human are virtually nil. I've hiked thousands of miles in the pines (probably several hundred miles after dark) and I've also solo camped a bunch of times. While I've heard coyotes howl dozens of times, I've only...

I pack my stuff in dry bags then conceal it very well under branches and pine needles in a spot off the trail where it's very unlikely somebody will be walking. I pick some place where the brush is so thick, people would naturally walk around the area to avoid it. I've been pretty fortunate...

Good luck, Karl. It's a rare breed that attempts to thu-hike the AT in the winter. I tried it 5 years ago in the spring but was knocked off the trail by Lyme Disease.

I was out hiking for a few hours the Friday they were supposed to leave. It was windy with torrential rain and temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark. Not a good day to hike and REALLY not a good night to sleep out in the woods after you've been walking in cold rain for 10 hours and...

I'd love to join you guys but I don't think my work schedule is going to permit it. If you leave coal road by 7am Friday and head north, you might make it to Lower Forge campground by dusk. Even if you don't make Lower Forge by dark, the trail is very well marked the few miles before Lower...

Sandy areas really aren't a problem. I think the worst spot for sand is maybe a 1/10th mile inclined stretch as you're approaching Apple Pie Fire Tower from the south, but you can easily walk around it. I find horse manure to be more of a problem than sand near Carranza. GRRRRR....LOL A good...

It's probably 1-2 miles longer each way, but you can hike from Carranza to Apple Pie Hill using only dirt roads, which will keep you from brushing against vegetation and greatly reduce your chances of getting chiggers and ticks.

WATER: Heading north to south (ongs hat to stage road) you can find tap water or well water at the following locations: Brendan Byrne State Park office - tap water (5 miles from ongs hat) Pakim pond - well water and tap water (8 miles from ongs hat) Batona camp - well water (19 miles...

The only things listed on the Batona Trail map published by the NJ Park Service as prohibited on the Batona Trail are horses and mountain bikes. I have hiked the trail end to end 36 times and have seen plenty of people walking their dogs. I'm not aware of any prohibitions against dogs on the...

He had blisters on the bottom of his feet the size of hamburger patties after only 8 miles? What was he wearing on his feet, those wooden Dutch shoes? LOL

On hiking trails that have been marked with colored blazes, trail heads are usually identified by three blazes. Congratulations on your successful completion of the Batona!

Hi Bob, I discovered the Batona Trail 5 years ago and set goal to hike it end-to-end 100 times. So far I have hiked it 35 times. Unfortunately you're probably already too late in the season for bugs. Chiggers shouldn't be much of a problem just yet, but the ticks are definitely active now...

I have hiked the Batona Trail end-to end 35 times and have never worn anything but trail running shoes, which I think are more than sufficient for the conditions. Actually, regular running sneakers are probably sufficient. Personally I have never worn anything heavier than a trail running shoe...

The deer flies can be tortuous, especially when you're near a swampy area where they're in abundance. Greenheads will bite you anywhere, but deer flies tend to attack you from behind and usually go for the back of your neck, so I wear a baseball cap, then drape a head net over that and tuck it...