Before our 9 a.m. hike today in Watchung Reservation, NJ I had plans to make one very important stop at ShopRite. I know this sounds odd, but I have been WAITING for the grand opening of the new Washington ShopRite since 2009. The day had finally come and I had my coupons all clipped and ready for the big event. I went in with my itemized list at 7:30 a.m., when the store opened. I immediately felt like I was at a party, as I observed people laughing, talking and smiling, and my nose enjoyed the smell of fresh baked, hot cross buns. I admired the neat, fully stacked shelves and wished I had more time to shop! I was on a time crunch, so I was in the checkout lane by 7:45 (15 minutes of speed shopping was a nice warm-up before my hike!). Just as I was about to pay the cashier, I was handed a canvas ShopRite bag, a free loaf of bread, and a dozen multi-colored roses! I was told, "Thank you for being the first female customer!" -AND THERE would be my first, of many "roses" on this beautiful Sunday!
Carra and I quickly caught up on a week's worth of "happenings" during the 1/2 hour ride to the parking lot where we were to meet out hiking buddies. We were so happy to see many new faces today, and to catch up with some people we hadn't seen since the first hike, back in December. This hike however, presented some "thorns" for me.
First of all, literally, there were a lot of thorny branches, like the one in this picture. You'd have to hold them (gingerly, as to avoid being pricked!) off of the path where you would be walking, and in the event that you didn't - they would say "hello" in quite an unfriendly way! They latched onto my pants and rubbed across my un-gloved hands on various occasions!
I also have to say, this hike did not allow for a lot of spicy conversation (or any conversation for that matter!) The crunch of the snow under your feet, and the narrow trails made it difficult to hear people in front or behind you. We were happy to spend a little time together under a pavilion, equipped with benches and tables. Many of us removed a layer or two of clothing, due to the mild temperatures today (40 degrees), but not Linda!
As the day progressed my right foot's yak trak (coiled foot gear) snapped (THORN!!!!), which required me to be even more cautious in the icy trails to come. Luckily, as the morning went on, we encountered less snow and ice, and more mud and brooks. One of the prettiest things on our hike was seeing the awakening waterfalls housed on the massive rock. While you can't see it in the pictures, the water was dancing off of the rock to the slushy, snow-covered ground.
Today's hike incorporated a little bit of history. Here is a picture of a still, which was used during Prohibition to store whiskey and other types of liquor!
We also happened upon some natural bridges that we hiked underneath, 
and climbed to new heights where we were able to see waterfalls and the beauty of the woods from above! 
One of my favorite parts of the hike was finding this tree trunk to climb upon, and hang upside down (opposum-like!). I wonder why no one else wanted to do the same?!
After our jaunt of 7 1/2 miles, a group of us headed to 22West Diner for brunch. This was definitely a rose in the day! We talked about our future trip to the Canyon, started planning out our Celebratory Dinner (that follows the hike), caught up on some of the Olympic events, and had a hard time parting ways after eating. My final rose of the day was finding a Whole Foods store out near Springfield. One of our fellow hikers mentioned the need to get bath salts from there...well let me tell you~ they had a WHOLE BAR of bath salts that you could smell and pack up for home!
After a HOT bath (with my new 'salts'), I started thinking about the week ahead's Soup Cook Off (Friday) and our hike to the Delaware Water Gap on Saturday! The weekend can't come fast enough!
