Wild New Jersey Exclusive: Climbing Wawayanda, New Jersey's dramatic Highland peak

                                        

Wawayanda Mountain is one of New Jersey's most dramatic Highlands peaks, rising abruptly from the rolling farmlands to the north and west. Wild New Jersey's David Wheeler hiked this mountainside trail, with switchbacks lining the way to the top of the cliffs. A young blackbear ambled off halfway up the mountain, and a host of millpedes, toads, vultures, and ravens could be found along the way.
 

                            
                    Trail leading up the mountain. Wawayanda's beauty lies in its rough and rugged terrain,
               decorated with wild versions of garden flowers on top of bedrock that is 1,150 million years old.

                           
                    The soft, slimy bodies of slugs are prone to desication,  so land-living slugs are confined to 
                        moist environments and must retreat to damp hiding places when the weather is dry.

                           
                   Many toads have leathery skin for better water retention, and brown coloration for camouflage. 

                                
                        Millipedes by nature are non-aggressive and despite their many legs are slow 
                                    movers whose diet is simple; decomposing leaves.

                      
                                           Edison Wetland's very own David Wheeler finally reaches the summit.

                                                        All photos by David Wheeler.

Stay tuned for next week's installment!

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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 10/5/2009 7:00 AM
Categories: WNJ Exclusives
Tags: Wawyanda Mountain climbing clifftop
 

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