Winter is definitely over but the temperature has been hovering in the chillies these past few days. We took advantage of the not-so-hot weather this past weekend to get the heck out of the city and hike up some (mini) mountain. Because we haven't hiked in a while (since Iceland back in September), David decided on a semi-easy 3.5-mile hike up Mt. Tammany trail in Northwestern New Jersey.
I also got a new backpack I wanted to test out since I was having problems with my previous bag around the waist straps. I returned my super light Exos backpack and got this new Aura Anti Gravity edition bag which is the bag I am currently testing out. The rubbing on my pelvic bones continues to be a problem no matter how many times I have adjusted the straps. It could either be that my bag was too light causing it to ride up too easily or the back mold is simply too small for me. I have been fitted at REI a couple of times and found size small is definitely for me but now I think I'm on the borderline of a medium because the waist strap always rides up just a little bit above the bone. Anyway, the Aura AG bag is also one pound heavier than the Exos which makes a world of a difference when you've got 30 lbs on your back for an entire day. I need to try out more bags maybe. That being said, I love REI's satisfaction guaranteed policy!
OKay, so back to our hiking trip. The hike was going to be a short one (3-4 hours long) so we decided to swing by a flea market called Five Acres in a small town called Belvidere. We also grabbed an unhealthy lunch (burger, fries and milkshare) at a cute little diner called Humpty Junior's. After the hike, it was still too early for dinner so we drove into Hackettstown, took pictures in front of the Mars chocolate factory and walked up and down Franklin Street. For dinner we drove to yet another little town called Parsipanny for some vietnamese pho. Man, it's always great to borrow a car for the weekend and drive wherever we feel like. We definitely want to do more hikes this Summer and more flea markets! The flea markets are such bargains compared to the stuff they sell in Manhattan. Lots of things I'm expecting prices to be around $10 or $20 are like $1-$5. The only good thing about flea markets in the city is that the inventory is a lot more curated than what we find at yard sales in Jersey but that's probably where the vendors get their stock! Pay $1 in Jersey, sell for $20 in Manhattan! Easy money.
(I think I have been editing and adding too many filters to my pictures. So here's a mix of unedited pics along with some filtered pics for your viewing pleasure.)
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| An old flight travel pamphlet from American Airlines we found at the flea market |
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| Super calorie filled meal before hike |
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| Tammany trail has rattle snakes. I didn't see any but did see ONE harmless snake on the trail. |
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| Rewarding small waterfall at the end of our hike |
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