Albert D. Horner’s love for the region runs deep, captured in photographs that follow the seasons in his book, “Pinelands: New Jersey’s Suburban Wilderness,” (Schiffer Publishing, 144 pp., 2015). Often, he’ll leave his Medford Lakes home before dawn to shoot as the sun cracks the horizon. He’s the kind of guy who has relationships not just with the forest, but with specific trees. When it comes to the Pines’ most infamous inhabitant, we tend to trade in campfire tales. There’s […]

Categories: travel • Tags: pinelands

Paul Evans Pedersen, Jr. is a natural storyteller. Though he was born outside of the Pines, he’s been in love with the area since he was 6, when his father enrolled him in the YMCA “Indian Guides” program. The 62-year-old Malaga resident has now spent much of his life here, and even contributed his own spin on the Jersey Devil origin story in his book “The Legendary Pine Barrens.” Read more… Published in the Oct. / Nov. 2017 issue  

Categories: travel • Tags: pinelands

Mike McCormick, of Barrington, didn’t set out to create the definitive South Jersey hiking guide. It’s just that it didn’t exist. Now, his website, launched in March 2013, covers more than 120 trails, nearly 50 of which are in the Pines. An avid backpacker and history teacher, McCormick, 35, finds ample inspiration to satisfy both interests here. Asked what he brings for a trek, he quips: “My children.” He isn’t joking. The older of McCormick’s three sons was clocking 4.5 miles […]

Categories: travel • Tags: pinelands