It has been a while since the last time my fiancée and I went out on a hike. Part of the reason why because my fiancée injured her ankle during the Breakneck Ridge hike. However, her ankle has since healed to nearly 100%, so we decided to go out to the Sourland Mountain Reserve in Hillsborough, New Jersey over the weekend.
Other than that we had not been to Sourland Mountain before, the trails are not as intense as Breakneck Ridge elevation-wise. As a result, we felt that it was an ankle-friendly place that would also provide a good hike.
Unlike Breakneck Ridge, the contour lines are more spread out and the elevation change isn't as drastic.
We almost hiked through the entirety of the reserve with the exception of the eastern portion of the yellow trail. Much of the hike is relatively flat, though there are spots where we did have to climb up and down hills. Certain parts of the trails were rocky or muddy, so we had to watch our step occasionally. That said, the hike was less so difficult and more so lengthy.
The day we went to Sourland Mountain was somewhat sunny and hot, but there was a lot of tree cover that shielded us from the sunlight and heat. It was particularly nice when the weather would get cloudy and breezy. The overall atmosphere was very peaceful. While there were plenty of visitors, the area was pretty big, so we would only occasionally bump into other hikers.
A picture of the Sourland Mountain forest on one of the wood bridges.
Another picture of the forest. From my rough memory of the botany classes I took, there were red oak, red maple, and black walnut trees. The floor had a lot of grasses and herbaceous plants.
We also passed by a few creeks as we navigated around. Nothing too special, but I think I took some pretty decent shots with my phone. The creeks definitely came in handy during the second half of the hike when I began to sweat more (we hiked for around 3 hours). I splashed some water onto my arms and forehead which definitely helped cool me down.
Probably the biggest highlight was the amount of arthropods that roamed around the forest. We would notice some daddy long legs crossing the hiking trails. We spotted a number of butterflies including a variegated fritillary (not to be confused with the monarch butterfly). In addition, we also came across some damselflies (not to be confused with the dragonfly) of various colors. I managed to get a semi-decent picture of a shiny blue damselfly before it flew away.
The variegated fritillary butterfly. Monarch butterflies have white spots whereas variegated fritillaries have black spots.
The blue damselfly. This was the best I could manage as it was easily disturbed. To tell the difference, damselflies have slender bodies whereas dragonflies have thicker bodies.
Overall, it was a very pleasant and peaceful hike and the insect pictures were a nice bonus. And best of all, no twisted ankles.
