| Hike #16 Crestmoore-Washington This time on the crestmoore hike I was joined by Tea Biscuit, Ron, and Conrad. At Crestmoore crossing the former treefarm was now reduced to a field of mud, which I led them across. Aside from slight precipitation the entire stretch from the Morris County border in to High Bridge was very smooth. We stopped at Rambo's country store in Califon for refreshments. Ken Lockwood gorge and the areas east of there were particularly pretty due to the fog hanging over the hillsides. We made a stop at a High Bridge Pizza parlor for lunch, and by the time we left it had begun to rain. We were informed that if it rained that we were to call Port Colden to have Tea Biscuit picked up right away. We got away from the town of High Bridge as soon as possible so we would have the excuse of no phones with which we could call. The rain stopped soon anyway. Switching from the abandoned High Bridge Branch Railroad in High Bridge, we followed the Central RR of NJ toward Glen Gardner and Hapmpton. Along the way we attempted to retrieve old glass insulators from atop old poles along the tracks (which still exist through this section). We managed to get one down, but unfortunitelsy Ron was unable to catch it very well, and it slipped from his hands to the bottom of the ledge where it shattered. In Hampton we switched onto the abandoned D,L,&W railbed and stopped for refreshments. This time, the railbed was the most over grown with weeds we have seen yet. Nevertheless, we managed to follow it as far as New Hampton before retreating to Musconetcong river road. We were able to rejoin the railbed just past New Hampton where there were no houses. This was the first time I had walked this section since I was about 5. We were forced to walk the roads from the site of the changewater trestle to near railroad avenue. On the way, Tea Biscuit found a free bicycle along the road, which he made use of all the way home. Most of the old right of way is far too overgrown to walk on the section from Changewater to Washington, except for the section just before the site of the Washington station. Hike #17 Tranquility-Washington Yet another submission for a new Helbing Hike, started in Tranquility, Sussex Co. near the Allamuchy-Green firestation. We were to walk the abandoned Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad between here and Pequest where we would follow for a short distance the Pequest Furnace railroad to the D,L,&W main line to follow the normal route back to Washington. There was an abundance of weeds at the beginning as well as a couple places with some water, but it went rather well. Through the northern part of Warren County we were sorrounded by fields, occasionally crossing a road. Ron and I spent some time trying to retrieve insulators from atop old poles for a while. There was one section where we were forced to walk through high weeds and some woods to get past the private property of a sewage treatment plant. There was a long clearing where we ran. In the town of Great Meadows, we stopped at a gas station with a soda machine for drinks. The track between there and Townsbury was particularly weedy, even where the rails still exist at Great Meadowns station. Near the Pequest Fish Hatchery the walking became tougher due to the rocks on the railbed. There we found what appeared to be an injured crow. We brought it with |
| us as far as the border to Oxford Township where we left it in a box to retrieve later. In Oxford we stopped at Rita's for refreshments, which has become somewhat of a tradition now. By this time my feet were scarred above the heels due to undersized shoes. Hike #18 6/29/2k Ramseyburg-Washington Upon returning form a trip to California, I felt it necessary to begin with another Helbing Hike. I brought only Tea Biscuit with me for this second time on the hike. We proceeded much the way Ron and I had previously as far as the roads around the old Hercules powder factory. We decided to attempt to turn right at the fences rather than go left as we had before. This proved to be a mistake as we found ourselves creeping through briars around old rusted tanks with walkways around them and pipes protruding from all directions. The large white tanks read "Flammable" and were covered in vines. There was a small creek we decided to cross as to avoid more weeds which we crossed my monkey-barring our way across using the pipes. Once on the other side, we somehow must have made our way into part of the old plant and paint factory, for there was an abandoned building with what appeared to be old offices and the trailer to a big rig truck. We managed to find a break in the fence back out toward the river, which we followed closely until the Belvidere free bridge was visible. Tea Biscuit and I took a dip in the Pequest River to cool off under the railroad bridge. As always, we stopped in Skoogies Deli for refreshments. At this point I was fond of the Snapple Elements Rain flavor. Tea Biscuit had a pecuiar looking slice if beef jerky. He had'nt been comfortable due to the large amoung of Stinging Nettle (also known as "Cow Itch") he'd come into contact with on our trek. By this time they had already come very far in constructing houses on the railbed of the L&HR rr. for what I was told would be a retirement community. In Bridgeville, Tea Biscuit went for his usual dip in the Pequest River near the long stone bridge. At the Oxford Tunnel we spent a good deal of time trying to knock down the tall weeds. We started this hike at 9:15 am and finished at around 6:30. Hike 19 7/10/2K Portland to Washington This was the first hike for newcomer, Brian McKenna, otherwise known as "Moo Moo". Tea Biscuit again joined us for this hike. Moo Moo did very well, and was an interesting companion because of his outlandish behavior (coming from me, that's meaningful) and lack of social skills. For the first half of the hike pretty much everything went relatively normally. Tea Biscuit threw himself into every bit of water he saw. THe difference came when we |
| got to Oxford Township. The old yellow house that stood near the border was demolished. It appeared to have been a fire; possibly it was destroyed by the Township itself. Hike #20 7/21/2k Sarepta to Washington In preparation of bringing a larger crew on the former Ramseyburg hike, we decided to try to walk the DL&W railbed from Sarepta north to the Bel Del juction so we could incorperate the Manunka Chunk Tunnel. This was if any hikers were on Parole they could enjoy the best of the Portland hike and still not leave NJ. Only Tea Biscuit joined me for this hike. Things went smoothly until passing Hoffman LaRoche. We were following the fence along the railbed as usual when we heard employees talking on the hill above us. We attempted to stay quiet, however the dead leaves on our path gave us away. All of a sudden the men became quiet and one of them must have looked over the edge. Then we heard someone yell "HEY". I could not make out what else was said. Tea Biscuit and I ran a short distance along the fence before deciding to chance sliding down the embankment to the river. We then ran along the river's edge until the Roche fence turned away from us. We were so shook up that upon returning to the railroad, we turned in the wrong direction. Tea Biscuit took another dip in the Pequest in Belvidere where he found a pair of sunglasses. The only notable differences along the hike this time was that the corn we had to walk through was now well over our heads and the abundance of berries along the was, of which we ate our fill. Hike #21 7/28/2k Portland to Washington This was the first hike for my good friend, Alan Eisberg. A fun and lighthearted hike that only the goofy chemistry of Al and Mike can procuce. Goofy moments included climbing around on trains and a bulldozer, Al making a big deal over getting french toast at Smiddy's, and posing for ridicules pictures. One of the noteble things was the almost complete destruction of the railbed in White Township at the sandpit. Because the hike was on a weekday, there were people working in the sandpit. In order to avoid getting in trouble, as we did back on hike #4, we run through the sandpit while workers are there. This time, however, the sandpit was more dug up and therefore tougher to move through. I ended up falling and skinning my knee up attempting to run through one such rough area. My feet were also bleeding at the end of this hike because I wore shoes that were a size too small for me. Oh well, they were only $9.99 so I could'nt turn it down. |