Secrets of the Henry Hudson Trail Hiker

I've explored the wilderness of Freehold previously: , and , to name a few.

Recently, I learned of the Henry Hudson Trail during my . The trail is only minutes down the street from the library and I left with a hand-drawn map to guide me.

Armed with nothing more than my trusty camera, I followed the directions to Dutch Lane Road. I was looking for John L. Mont-something or other (as indicated on the map). It turned out to be John L. Montgomery Care Center and the parking lot to the trail is just next to the parking lot for the care center.

There was a big sign with some maps of the trail. I noted a sign that said the trails might be slippery due to seasonal conditions. What were these seasonal conditions and would I run into trouble? No matter, I had a small pocket knife (within the legal boundaries) in my pocket and was prepared to cut off my arm should I run into trouble. Heck, that other guy who cut his arm off wound up hosting the Oscars this year (hiker humor!).

The day was particularly warm so I set out wearing my favorite pair of cargo shorts and sneakers without socks. I took my first step on the trail and noticed all the brush. Were ticks carrying Lyme Disease crawling around under there? I called my girlfriend at work and we had the following conversation:

Me: Should I be afraid of ticks?

Her: Where are you?

Me: I'm not wearing any socks. And I have shorts on.

Her: There aren't any ticks in the condo.

Me: I'm not in the condo. I'm in the woods.

Her: What are you doing there?

Me: Hiking. Kinda. Do you think there are deer around here?

Her: They're dead.

Me: The deer are dead?

Her: The ticks are dead. It's winter.

Me: Yeah but the weather is really warm today. You know how when the weather gets warm and then bugs think it's spring and come out when they shouldn't. Do I have to worry about----

Her: Hey, I have to run. Text me later!

It was with that ominous phone call that I ventured onto the Henry Hudson Trail.

My first problem came very early. I took a step onto the smoothly paved trail and had no idea which way to go. To my left, the trail seemed to go on forever. To my right was an oddly curved metal fence that resembled the fence behind home base on a baseball field. What were they trying to keep off the trail? Or, more importantly, what didn't they want me to see?

Being the man-of-adventure that I am, I knew I had to take the side with the strange fencing. A few feet in I saw a sign that made me think I'd made a mistake. Or went the wrong way. The sign read, "Attention: No Trespassing, Violators Subject To Arrest." I had seen a similar sign just on the entrance to the trail. Was I even on the right trail or was I trespassing on government property?

Most people would have turned around at that point. But I carried on. I had to know what was beyond this mysterious metal fence. Even at the risk of being arrested. Besides, if I were arrested I'd have a great story if my girlfriend could bail me out in time to write it.

I continued walking and the fence ended. The trail turned and there were trees and more path. I kept walking. Another "No Trespassing: Violators Will Be Prosecuted" sign appeared on the side of the trail. But it never said anything like "beyond this point" or "turn around now." Where were we supposed to walk and where were we not supposed to trespass?

The path kept going. I swatted something off me that may or may not have been a tick. Another vague and threatening sign appeared. Every minute or so another sign popped up. It was clear I wasn't supposed to be trespassing but it wasn't clear exactly where I wasn't supposed to be trespassing.

I saw a treehouse to my left in someone's backyard. It made me think about how I always wanted a treehouse when I was a kid. I was looking at it when a kid popped out of the treehouse and ran away into his house. I yelled out after him, "Am I trespassing? I don't mean to be."

The kid was gone, probably off to trigger some silent alarm the houses along the trail have installed. That was kind of the weird part of the trail. It almost ran into people's backyards as houses lined the trail. There were a good amount of trees and space in between but you couldn't exactly sunbathe in the privacy of your backyard without being seen by nature seekers. 

I headed back in the opposite direction. In about 10 minutes I was back at the starting point. I kept going down the part of trail I hadn't been down. There were more backyards. I wondered some more if I was on the right trail or trespassing. Then, a man appeared. We had the following conversation:

Me: Is this the Henry Hudson Trail?

Him: Yes.

Me: Are there any ticks?

Him: I don't know.

He didn't seem talkative so I kept walking. It was minutes later that I would learn my biggest lesson of the day. I'd only been out on the trail for 20 minutes or so when I felt it. Not a tick. Not handcuffs on my wrists.

I had to use the restroom. The only problem was there wasn't one in sight. I rushed down the path and made a beeline to my car and rushed home to use the restroom and check for ticks, and also because heading home was the only way I'd know for certain I wasn't trespassing on the Henry Hudson Trail.