Weāre in that sweet spot between summer and fall where itās not too hot to take on a trail, and itās not too cool to prefer staying indoors just yet.
New Jersey may be mostly flat, but there are great hikes hiding in plain sight. Jason Nark points us in the right direction with his hiking picks for the season. Grab your boots and letās go.
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āļø Your weekend weather outlook: The weekend looks mostly sunny. High 70s for Saturday and 75 for Friday.
ā Paola PĆ©rez (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)
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Slowly but surely, weāre getting into fall. Going for a hike is one solid way to score a spectacular view of Mother Natureās transformation.
Jason Nark flat out thinks fall is the best season to hike ā and Iām compelled to agree ā but he also points out that it feels like the shortest.
So where should we go while fall lasts? Jason narrowed down some spots to check out in the link below, plus some important tips:
Hiking on sand can be deceptive. It may be flat, but it can slow you down. You might not want to break in your new boots in some adventures.
The Pinelands are home to two monsters (no, not the Jersey Devil or rattlesnakes): ticks and chiggers. Protect yourself accordingly.
If you see a black bear, remember to stand your ground and yell. Donāt play dead.
From large and small, easy and hard, see Jasonās list of five great hikes to try this fall in the Garden State.
News worth knowing
Officials in New Jersey say there have been no reports of used hypodermic needles or other garbage washing up on local beaches after incidents in Delaware and Maryland last weekend. Sadly, needles washing ashore along the Atlantic Coast is nothing new.
Sept. 24 is National Public Lands Day, the nationās largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. Use this online locator to find events observing NPLD in your area.
Did you catch the āsupermoonā rise this week? Conditions werenāt great, but good news: another one is due in October.
For the best in hyperlocal organic produce, you could shop at any of Philadelphiaās upscale supermarkets ā and expect to pay a high price. Many food-insecure city residents can get the best in hyperlocal organic produce, too, and itās free.
š¤ Now weāre passing the microphone to Jason. Youāll always find his work here. Hereās one I wanted to bring you from earlier this year.
Neatly folded notes crammed with just about every conspiracy theory and internet buzzword imaginable keep popping up in rural Pennsylvania, some illegally tucked inside cereal boxes and others pinned to pine trees in state and local parks.
Unfolded, the notes are mostly indecipherable, containing a coded run-on sentence of secret societies, sci-fi movie mentions, and name drops like āMuskā, āBill Gates,ā and āOprah.ā
āItās tied to Saturn, Lord o/t Rings/time,ā one line reads.
The FBI, Food & Drug Administration, and elected officials in Pennsylvania are all aware of the notes, but no oneās been caught in the act of actually planting them.
Philly had its own strange ānoteā phenomenon with its Toynbee Tiles, which were found embedded into city streets and, eventually in other states, with messages about Stanley Kubrick and Jupiter, mostly in the 1990s and 2000s. While the Toynbee Tiles had an art house vibe, the Schuylkill Notes feel a bit darker. ā Jason Nark (Jan. 2024)
Read on for whatās inside the conspiracy-laden notes and what officials are asking the public to do if they find one.
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Have fun out there.
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