On Saturday night, I considered heading north to Mohonk or Lake Minnewaska. But I drive too much in winter to ignore snow right out my back door. I slept until the slothful hour of 6:30 AM, then cooked up a mess of pancakes and went to Lewis Morris.
The crusty snow wasn't kind to my ancient rock skis, which were inappropriate for what was basically back-country skiing. Negotiating downhill turns was fraught with drama as I couldn't make the skis do what I wanted. Nevertheless, it was great to veer off the Patriots' Path down an old road with no trail markers of any sort. I had no map or compass, no GPS; just a dim memory of having run this trail once or twice 15 years ago. The path through the trees kept curving around and I ended up back on the main trail, after thinking "5 more minutes and I'm turning around" for about 30 minutes.
Patriots' Path heading east towards Washington Valley Road.
Looking north, across old Route 24, to the main part of Lewis Morris County Park
Off trail
Your faithful correspondent