Saturday, after getting a parking permit from High Point State Park, we dropped one car off at the parking area on NJ 23. Then we drove south to the Stokes State Forest office to get a permit to park at the Sunrise Mountain parking area just off of highway 206. When we arrived, they were randomly closed for most of the day. They also had no apparent self-registration. We drove back over to the parking area to see if there was a self-registration area there. No dice. A woman sitting in the parking area chatted with me for a minute and said they definitely tow from that lot if you don't have a permit. A check of another website confirmed that. She also suggested we check with a nearby local hiker-friendly bar to see if we could leave our car there. That also didn't work and I was pretty frustrated at this point.
After a bit of commiseration, we decided to do an out and back from the first place we parked. Instead of 14 miles, we would hike 6 miles to the shelter where we had planned to stay and then return the same way on Sunday. So, another half hour in the car and another parking permit (after waiting for the office to open after lunch) and we were finally on our way. Phew! Ten minutes down the trail, all frustration was forgotten in the bright, warm sun.
The trail mostly keeps to the ridge top. There were a few steep climbs, but they were short and there were plenty of rocks. There were also several nice views. We took a short detour at the halfway point to get water. The shelter we were headed to doesn't have a water source. We thought we were going to have to hike an extra half mile each way to the spring at Rutherford Shelter, but in less than half that distance, we found a nicely flowing stream.* We took a long break and enjoyed the weather while we filtered water. Hauling a gallon of water each is never fun, but we only had three miles to go to get to Mashipacong Shelter, so it wasn't too bad. A short distance from our water stop, we passed a trail junction. On consultation with the map, our friend suggested that we take that trail (the Iris Trail) back to the car the next day, making a loop instead of an out and back.
We spent a very pleasant night eating dinner and playing cards. One nice thing about Mashipacong Shelter: They have a bear box there (basically a large steel locker), so we didn't have to hang our food. The next day we headed back the way we came and turned onto the Iris Trail when we reached that intersection. It was a great decision. The trail passed by interesting wetlands, old stone walls and house foundations, and a beautiful lake.
We all (I hope!) had a great time. Adaptation was key to this trip and everyone played a part in making it work. It was also beautiful. We are now discussing a longer trip on the New Jersey Appalachian Trail later this year.
*For anyone researching this section of the trail, I suspect it is a seasonal stream and unreliable later in the summer).
