Morris Plains Woman Hikes 22 Miles For Trail Conference

Mellonie Sanborn of Morris Plains put her feet to 22 miles of ground for the benefit of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference on July 20.

Sanborn, a self-described “mature woman,” works weekdays as an executive administrator with Black Rock investment company in Manhattan and enjoys hiking on weekends. She completed a 22-mile trail walk that started at the Darlington Schoolhouse trailhead in Mahwah, the site of the Trail Conference’s future headquarters, and ended at the Senator Frank R. Lautenberg Visitor Center at Sterling Forest State Park in New York.

Sanborn's goal is to draw attention to the Schoolhouse’s location as a trailhead that connects communities to an extensive trail network in two states.

“I asked Don Weise (Trail Conference Development Director and founder-leader of the Wild Wyanokie Wanderers and West Milford 13ers hiking groups) what I could do to support the Darlington Schoolhouse project,” she said. 

“I enjoy long-distance hikes, and this hike will link two beautiful facilities. It was an homage to both, as well as to the late Senator Lautenberg, who did so much to protect our environment.”

Sanborn has been hiking regularly since about 2001, and did her first long-distance hike in 2007—completing the 24-mile Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail at Harriman State Park in a day.

“I hiked with two fellows, and at the end of the day I was the one still standing,” she said.

Sanborn has completed the Catskill 3500 peaks, both summer and winter, and has bagged “most of the New Englands” peaks over 4000 feet.

“When I have a play day I like to make the most of it,” she said.

She keeps fit for the weekends with a daily walk of 5 hilly miles after work.

On July 20, Sanborn started at the Darlington Schoolhouse on Route 202 at 7:30 am. She was accompanied by two hikers who planned to go the full distance; others joined for shorter stints along the way.

She arrived at the Lautenberg Visitor Center at Sterling Forest about 10 hours later.