BAck TO NAture

The Batona Trail is a 49.5-mile hiking trail through New Jersey's Pine Barrens. The trail is the fourth longest in the state behind the Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail, the section of the Appalachian Trail within the state, and the completed section of the Highlands Trail in the state. The trail begins in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest) at the ghost town of Ong's Hat and traverses Wharton State Forest and Bass River State Forest. The trail was built in 1961 by the Batona Hiking Club, which began informally in 1928 when Philadelphians began meeting regularly to hike.

I first learned about the Batona trail a few years ago while visiting Batsto Village. After spending no more than half an hour on the trail I was covered in ticks. Time has made me wiser in discovering that sometimes, the best hiking can be done in the cooler months when there are no bugs to contend with.

Over the next few months I plan to hike the entire Batona Trail. Each segment will be an out and back adventure, making the total trip just about 100 miles. I started today at Pakim Pond and headed north for about three miles, turned around and hiked back. I didn’t see one person the entire time. My car was the only one parked in the lot.

When all is said and done I will have spent close to 35 hours alone, hiking in the woods. Physically, the task is no problem. Mentally, it will be a bit more challenging. That was today’s lesson.

We fill up our days with people and places and things. There is so much “stuff” going on that we are rarely placed into situations where we have to be alone. On the trail, I am forced to be with my thoughts. They have no place else to go. I have no other distractions.

A friend of mine once said to me, “don’t ask questions you aren’t prepared to hear the answer to.” Well, ready or not, there are several questions I will be asking myself over the next few months.

“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.”

- May Sarton