Did an overnight trip in April, camping at what the state considers a wilderness site on the tea-colored Batsto River.

The New Jersey Pine Barrens is the largest wilderness on the East Coast between Boston and D.C. It's a unique environment, with a lot of cool ecosystems. No virgin forest here, as industry had its way with the land and resources for centuries.

This trip was something like 20 miles through Atlantic white cedar swamps and pitch pine forests.

It might not dazzle like the west at first glance, but it's a place I love more than most.