I was so motivated to do this hike today! My alarm was set for 4am but I beat it by 12 minutes. I had my lunch and pack all ready to go and was out the door by 4:15. The drive that early was super easy. I got to the trail head with plenty of time to hike up the the summit in time for some great sunrise pictures over the Musconetcong River. I should have realized I was going the wrong way when the trail descended to cross under Rt. 80, but I was a happy little clam hiking along the Morris Canal and thought nothing of it, for about a mile 🙂 Yup! My “quick 2 1/2 mile hike before work” turned into a 4 1/2mile jaunt through Allamuchy State Park. I was a little disappointed to miss the sunrise, especially once I made it back up to the overlook and saw what a lovely view it was. This, my friends, is how hiking goes! I will definitely visit this park again to catch a sunrise for sure. The river valley below the overlook is so pretty!! The Musconetcong River has been a part of several of my hikes now and it never disappoints! The overlook is about a quarter mile from the actual summit of Waterloo Mountain which has no view, but it’s on my NJ1K list. The rest of the hike was pretty and uneventful. I had thought to add another one of the NJ1K summits to my day, but the wrong direction at the beginning added too much time and I had to get to work!
Thought you’d like to see my first “oops” mile. It was so flat, I really should have known that I was going the wrong way. lol