Salt Shakers runners group enlist for Highlands Challenge
HACKETTSTOWN – It was nine degrees Saturday morning at Stephens State Park in Hackettstown, with snow on the ground and a bitter chill in the air.
What sounds like the perfect day for a warm fire and hot chocolate was just the opposite for 30-plus runners completing the first leg of the Highlands Challenge, a series of runs navigating all 168 miles of the Highlands Trail.
The Highlands Challenge is designed to bring awareness to the trail, which ebbs and flows through parts of Sussex and Morris Counties.
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"It's so local. It's a gem in our own backyard, an amazing trail," said Rob Davidson, creator of the Highlands Challenge. "Miles and miles of it cut through Sussex and Morris in places like Hopatcong and Jefferson. I want to showcase the excitement and let people develop a knowledge of the trail. People are very knowledgeable of the Appalachian Trail but not the Highlands. The goal is to bring that awareness to it."
Highlands Trail Supervisor Glenn Oleksak said the Highlands Trail is a one-of-a-kind path because of how varied it is. It has also been awarded a Millennium Trail designation, giving it national recognition as a long distance hiking trail.
"Much of it is in deep woods or on remote ridges, but it sometimes ventures into town or follows old railroad beds or the Morris Canal tow path," Oleksak said. "It links state and county parks together, sometimes utilizing permission to cross private, otherwise inaccessible lands in the process. Vast parcels of land that would have become subdivisions have been and are being preserved for the trail. In development-heavy northern New Jersey this is quite an accomplishment."
Oleksak said he's drawn to the Highlands Trail because it makes it possible to navigate northern New Jersey almost exclusively through wooded areas.
"There are still some road walks, but we are constantly working to eliminate them," Oleksak said. "I'll sometimes meet someone who is not from here and when I tell them I'm from New Jersey, they sometimes express their negative feelings about the state. I smile and think to myself, 'You don't know my New Jersey.' "
Salt Shakers group
For the Highlands Challenge, Davidson enlisted the help of his fellow Salt Shakers, another group he founded that goes on trail runs that typically end at Salt Gastropub in Bryam where all runners receive a free beer.
The 6-year-old group typically attracts crowds upwards of 50 for spring, summer, and fall runs. But Davidson didn't expect anything more than half a dozen to brave the cold Saturday, so he was "shocked and thrilled" to see nearly three dozen shakers show up for the run.
And they were in for a challenge, because the first run of the series was a tough one.
The Salt Shakers braved the 9 degree weather for a nine mile run down Waterloo Village Road, along the Morris Canal, under Route 80, and through Waterloo Village itself.
"The first five miles were flat but the last four were tough, a lot of hills," Davidson said. "The Highlands Trail is very challenging. It's not easy terrain."
Davidson said some sections of the trail are linked by roadways at the moment, but those sections are gradually heading into the woods. He hopes to one day run the trail from start to finish.
Adrian Gonzalez said the three-mile stretch in the middle of the run was roughest part — very technical — but nobody ended up falling or getting hurt.
"It got to the point where you were basically hopping from rock to rock, which were kind of slippery from ice and snow," said Gonzalez, 45, of Byram. "But you set your feet carefully and follow the tracks of the person in front of you."
Gonzalez said the cold didn't bother him during the run, though it took him awhile to warm up after it was complete.
"There's something about getting out during the winter. The terrain can be difficult and challenging but you're outside with good people,' Gonzalez said. "I would absolutely do it again. Rob has these crazy ideas but they always work out. I told him we should make this run official and do it every year. To get 30 people to run in single digits is something. This group really comes together."
A new runner takes the challenge
Kelly Wertman is a relatively new runner, following her husband's footsteps two years ago joining the Salt Shakers, but was more than ready to take on the Highlands Challenge.
"It was awesome, getting to discover all these trails so close to home," Wertman said. "This is a great group of people with a common goal. I'm looking forward to the next run."
Wertman, 50, of Byram, said she didn't mind the freezing temperatures, as long as she kept moving.
"It's when you stop that you feel it," Wertman said.
She said the middle of the run was some of the toughest terrain she has ever navigated in her two years of trail running.
"Now I can say I conquered the toughest climb in Allamuchy," Wertman said. "600 feet up in a half mile, after already running five miles."
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Finish with a few beers
Saturday the group ended — as they usually do — at Salt for a few beers.
"We like to meet, start, and finish at Salt whenever possible. It's not always feasible, but it made sense for the inaugural run," Davidson said. "Everyone did phenomenally well. And we raised a lot of awareness of the trail just within the group. An amazing success."
The next Highlands Trail run will be Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m., a nine-mile stretch from Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in Jefferson to the tip of Lake Hopatcong.
People are invited to meet and park at the northern part of Lake Hopatcong in the Woodport section at the former location Smitty's Marina. The group will then shuttle to Mahlon and run back to the cars on the Highlands Trail.
More details will be available on the Salt Shakers Facebook page or at www.SaltShakersRun.com leading up to the run. Davidson can also be reached with questions at robdavidson@optonline.net.
Davidson said people are also invited to check out the group at the Salt Shakers winter meeting, Feb. 24 at Salt owner Brad Boyle's new restaurant, The Trout and the Troll.
The restaurant, located on Lake Lackawanna, 172 Lackawanna Drive in Byram, opens Friday, Jan. 23.
Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@dailyrecord.com
If you go:
Salt Shakers Winter Meeting
Where: The Trout and the Troll, 172 Lackawanna Drive in Byram
When: Tuesday evening, Feb. 24
Next Highlands Challenge Run
Where: Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in Jefferson
When: Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.
Contact: Rob Davidson at robdavidson@optonline.net