Fri, May 1 2015 - Annual Spring Adventure Weekend at Beautiful Dauset Trails! Hiking, Paddling, Mtn Biking, Group Meals, R&R and more. (View Original Event Details)
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Let’s hear it for Dauset Trails Nature Center! Our friendly fun-loving group of AOCers had a blast and newcomers were quick to agree what a marvelous place it is.
The spring weather all weekend couldn't have been better! No rain, highs each day in the 70s and lows both nights fine for sleeping. The clear skies were perfect for skygazing and observing the beautiful full moon. Herm brought his big telescope and wowed us all with amazingly sharp views of Saturn and its rings, Jupiter and its moons, and our own Moon with its giant craters. Special thanks also to Kevin for being my co-leader, organizing our mtn bike riding and overseeing our barbecue grilling.
Saturday afternoon about a dozen of of us enjoyed hiking the beautiful 3.5-mile lakeside trail that conveniently connects Dauset Trails with Indian Springs State Park and its quaint, historic adjoining village. The delightful ice cream shop and “whimsical botanical garden” at its eastern trailhead in Indian Springs are equally accessible in just 10 minutes by car. Special thanks to Julie Buyer for meeting us hikers there in her nice Lexus and giving many of us rides back to our group site!
Thanks to all for your enthusiastic participation in our group hikes, wildlife trail & museum visit, canoeing & kayaking floats on the lake, shared “potluck” meals at the pavilion, and big blazing campfires both nights! We appreciated everyone's delicious and bountiful contributions to our snacks and refreshments all weekend. Everyone pitched in impressively with food prep, serving & cleanup, and with making sure that we left our dining, camping and lakefront area even cleaner than we had found it.
We jointly took lots of fantastic photos over the weekend including shots of the amazing wild critters. I'll be glad to post links to our online albums below as I receive them so if you were on the trip please email those links to me at Cott4Treks@aol.com. I also welcome individual humorous trip anecdotes, etc. which I'll be glad to add to this archival event writeup. Note that you can still retrieve our original event announcement article by clicking on "View Original Trip Details" above this archive.
I look forward to our next AOC weekend at Dauset Trails, Sep 25-27, 2015 when we again have the lakeside camping area, dining pavilion and boats reserved exclusively for the Club's use. Mark your calendars and expect to see my article posted on the AOC website by early August.
- Submitted by Charlie, Mon May 4, 2015
Photo Link added May 5th: Many thanks to Sondra Russ for sharing her colorful "Dropbox" online photo album with us! Here's that link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/44ijz6ikifo2d0u/AABo7V2SuBdRwk3I89-wajeBa?dl=0
Photo Link added May 19th: Thanks also to Herm Donatelli for sharing his colorful "Plus.Google.com" photo album with us! Here's that link: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/112622999570113142700/albums/6144804947483142945
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