Eagle Rock

If there’s one thing you’ll quickly notice about South Florida (and possibly Florida in general), it’s this: the whole place is flat. Everything sits at or below sea level, save for the occasional modest hill.

So imagine my surprise, having lived in those flatlands for most of my life, when I first arrived in North Jersey. Suddenly, I had to negotiate the treacherous slopes of Jersey City (sometimes in slippery snow, eek). There were cliff faces cordoning the cities on the Hudson River border. Here there be mountains! In not so many words, there was no shortage of altitudes to be had.

New York occupies top of mind as far as notable mountains, but it turns out that North Jersey has some impressive peaks of its own. One of them sits right in my own backyard, in fact.

When hubby and I aren’t gallivanting through Manhattan, we love to explore our town. On one such local excursion, we discovered Eagle Rock Reservation. Perched at the top of First Mountain, it sprawls over 400 acres of mountainous woodland. We only explored a tiny portion of that, of course, but I would love to tackle one of its official trails once Fall returns (and sends insects on their yearly exodus back to their home in hell).

In hindsight, leather sneakers and a white dress might not have been the best choice for romping in the muddy woods. But I’m not known for making the most practical outfit choices when it comes to nature outings. *insert shrug emoji here* Dried Irish mud still spatters a pair of Jeffrey Campbell boots I wore on a trip there—three years ago.

Come forest bathing with me.