Buttermilk Falls Recap

Buttermilk falls proved to be a great hike, and worthy of it's billing as a top NJ trail.  There were, of course, the falls themselves which pictures cannot do justice too, and we also enjoyed one of the few remaining northeast Hemlock groves, a majestic Blue Heron, and some lovely sections of the AT.  Crater Lake was arguably better than the falls and was one of the most peaceful places in the area.

Overall we logged about 7.8 miles, a little more length than predicted due to a few side trail excursions and *cough* a few misreads on trail direction; the elevation gain was 1770 feet - nice job everyone!

The highlight though, was catching up with Hani who was late arriving for the start, but braved the trail by his lonesome for several hours until he ran into our  main group in the Hemlock Pond area.  He joined the rest of the excursion with us, great stuff.

Also a special thanks to Mike who scouted ahead and located a few snakes for the group.

Our route and stats courtesy of Lee...

Careful at the start, it's upsy!

Best to ignore that odd detour on the south end of the map

Here are some pictures.  If you have more, please send them to me and I will post.

Not a bad way to start your morning

Crater Lake

A well deserved respite

Mike captured this great cloud mirror on Lake Success.  His side excursions
paid off, no one else saw this.

Hemlock Pond

Eagle-eyed Darlene spotted this rare wild orchid called Lady Slipper.
https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/flower-power/  

The swampy area north of Hemlock Pond courtesy of Mike

Took us a while to get in height order but we did it!  Photo courtesy of Karen

Heading back down was almost more of a challenge than up.

Finishing in fine order