Rugged Tripod Mountain Hike
This area of 1 675 acres offers rugged trails fields forests rock outcroppings and wetlands.
Rugged tripod mountain hike. Tripod rock is a hundred seventy ton glacial erratic which perches atop three smaller boulders on the side of pyramid mountain morris county nj it has been considered a spiritually significant site by local people for hundreds if not thousands of years. This tripod has survived many backpacking trips with me including 210 miles on the john muir trail. The south route is not in the book and is an 11 6 mile round trip hike. Easily visible to hikers are the unusual glacial erratics such as tripod rock a 180 ton boulder balanced on three smaller boulders deposited by the.
But the best hike at pyramid mountain both for new hikers and frequent climbers is the tripod rock trail. Turn left onto this trail which goes through interesting remote and rugged mountain scenery. This group of peaks includes granite peak snowbank mountain and the gem county high point. Before the area was colonized pyramid mountain served as a shelter for the lenape indians for more than 10 000 years.
The trail is primarily used for hiking running and nature trips. I know i m tall but with flip out screen of the sonys i m more concerned about the weight of the tripod head than anything at this point. I m 6 1 need it for hikes landscapes and use an a7riv a7riii but sometimes with long lenses 70 200 f 4 100 400. After passing a huge balanced rock on the left a glacial erratic known as whale head rock the trail bears.
In about a third of a mile you will see a house directly ahead. Pyramid mountain tripod rock bear rock whale head rock is a 5 3 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near butler new jersey that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Tripod peak as viewed from the trail leading in from the south. I ve exposed it to salty ocean conditions continuously and everything still moves smoothly.
The highest point in the park is 934 feet with a magnificent view of the new york city skyline. The rock is the largest of this type in the eastern usa. To create a short but sweet 3 mile loop follow the directions below to tripod rock then retrace your steps to the lot. One slightly difficult rocky descent.
I ve exposed it to salty ocean conditions continuously and everything still moves smoothly. Pretty route that includes rocky footpaths several streams interesting glacial erratics like tripod rock and bear rock and two overlooks. At the 0 9 mile point red mountain trail spins off to the right at an easy to miss junction. Here the trail turns sharply left and climbs to the top of eagle cliff.
South route class 1 access.