Hike #862; Ringwood Loop

Hike #862; Ringwood Loop

7/5/15 Ringwood Area Loop with Jillane Becker, Justin Gurbisz, Lerch (Michael Clark), James Quinn, Jim "Uncle Soup" Campbell, Jen Berndt, Erika Daniels, Ed DiSalvo, Brad Anesi, Julia Vogalsang, Ric Giantisco, Lyz Hagenbuch, Dan Asnis, Terry Allen, Ken Lidman, Phyllis Palmeri Sacchi, Aylin Hope, David Li, Meredith ?, John Huber, Ted Wright, Angela Wright, Marina Font, Serious Sean Dougherty, ?.

The group at Shepherd Lake

Our next hike would be a large loop in Ringwood area, this time covering a while lot of trails I'd been wanting to cover for quite some time, but in an interesting route on and off official trail and with the point being to cover a little bit of the Jersey Perimeter that I'd been missing. We had planned on doing it last year, but missed it because we went too long and had to turn back.

Perimeter done so far

The entire Ringwood area can be pretty confusing. Even looking at a trail map, they just go everywhere, and if not paying attention it is very easy to miss a turn or to go the wrong way. It was hard to keep on track of everyone and keep the group all together.

We met in the morning at the Stop and Shop in Ringwood, Erskine Lakes area. My old friend Lerch put up a Facebook status on something about swallowing pride. I had been expecting him to show up for a while. He had mentioned something about a night hike he would have done that I remembered, and then after that we had another that I thought might have interested him. This time I had more of a clue he might just come. I mentioned it to Jillane, who knew he was coming, but didn't let on that she knew, and she asked what made me think that. Jen then said via text that he "might" come but also would give no confirmation. Even more than that, one of the greatest hikes we had the previous Summer was up there, and I figured it would be a good one he'd come back out with me for.

When we arrived, part of me figured he wasn't going to be there. I had trouble with contact lenses and ended up only wearing one for the entire hike. When I first saw him in a Metrotrails tee shirt I didn't think it was him.

There was a huge group in the lot when we arrived. Brad and Julia planned to meet us along the way. There were bits of public property I wanted to explore in the area that fit in with my loop plans. We headed through the parking area to the north to the corner and looked for the easiest access to the woods. It turned out to be easier than anticipated. There was a beaten path up to rocky outcrops nearby.

View near Erskine Lakes

We had a bit of a view from the Stop N Shop, then cut into the woods on an informal but clear enough trail. We sort of went off trail, but there was no undergrowth, and made our way to the height of the land, to an unnamed overlook to the south of the mountains to the south, like the lower Ramapos and maybe the Wyanokies. The area was obviously visited by locals rather often. We followed an informal trail down hill to the north from here, which led to a closed bit of road connectiong Northgate Park with Short Place. When we got to Short, we turned right to Lakeview Ave. I initially went left, but immediately realized that was wrong and we turned right to the south side of Lake Erskine. This road turned north and paralleled the east side of the lake. People in the neighborhoods greeted us as we went by commenting on it being a good day for a walk.

Mirror shot

We went by a spillway to the dam, checked out the view of Upper Erskine Lake, then continued on the same road to the north, to the intersection of Lakeview Ave and Upper Lakeview Ave. We turned right here and headed slightly up hill to the north of Upper Erskine Lake. This would lead us soon to state park property bordering the north side of the road. Some of the group was already getting really far behind. When Jillane had caught up I thought she was the last one. She said she thought maybe there were others, but everyone was moving around and it was hard to get an accurate head count. We headed into the woods on a foot path near a bend in the road. This led very soon to a woods road on which we turned right. It looked somewhat used and accessible by vehicle. We continued past what appeared to be an abandoned restroom building, then the route became a washed out old woods road continuing north.

We soon reached the red blazed Ringwood-Ramapo Trail. We turned right on this, planning to head to the next blue trail. Somewhere in here we realized that two newcomers were already missing. I was able to get in touch with them via cell phone and they figured out how to meet us further up in Ringwood. The rest of us soon made a left onto an unblazed old woods road heading to the east a bit, then headed down hill into one of the valley areas at a fork. The woods road we figured would lead us toward Crossover Trail. The problem is none of this woods roads are well represented on state or trail conference maps, so I had to follow my GPS as best I could to be sure it was the right way. When it turned out we were not quite to Crossover Trail yet, we had to bushwhack to the north to get to it. It wasn't too far, nor was it too abrasive. Along that route, we found old kids toys, three wheeler things that we stopped to try to ride down some hills.

Goofing off in the Ramapos

Eventually we reached the white blazed Crossover Trail. It had been rehabilitated as a mountain biking path, and so it was quite circuitous. We followed it west, up hill, and reached Ringwood Ramapo Trail again. It was just south of this point there was a good overlook, so we took a trip to that point for a break.

The view was to the south and southwest, not too bad even for Summer.

View on Ringwood Ramapo Trail

From here, we continued on Ringwood-Ramapo Trail heading south. We crossed a woods road and climbed along a rocky area, then went up and down over some interesting terrain. Pierson Ridge Trail broke off to the right at one point, and a lot of the group went ahead of us and followed it instead. Lerch, Jillane, Lyz, Ric, and I ended up on the Ringwood Ramapo Trail on a different level heading north. We crossed Halifax Trail, then continued over the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Here, we could see the rest of the group, who were on the other trail, below us to the right. We opted to follow the gas line to connect with them, and found a turtle along the way. The line was a bit muddy from being dug all up in the last couple years, but there was some sort of planting going on that was to help control the mud and erosion.

Jillane went ahead on the same trail, while the rest of us waited behind for Dan Asnis, who had fallen back behind. I told him about where we were going, and he was heading toward us. Lyz and Ric went back a bit to see if they could find him. Eventually, once we had him in the right place, we opted to move on. I realized where we were, and determined it would be smarter to go down the gas line to the old woods road below. We could take the woods road to the Mountain Bike Trail, then reach Potake Lake. I tried to let Jillane know how to get to us, and I was able to get a hold of Dan. The two of them ended up meeting up and got to the lake alright.

We all made our way to the west shore of the lake, and had a great swim right about at the state line. Lerch went first; a powerful swimmer, there was no way I could catch him swimming across. I did get across the lake second out of everyone though. We hung out on the other side, those of us who went in, and then swam back. Lerch still had his stamina from going across, but I just had to relax going back over.

At Potake Lake

We hung out on the rocks for a bit. Brad and Julia were already there when we arrive, and Julia was swimming around treading water already. At this point we were ready to head out. Lerch climbed a tall tree before leaving. Jillane opted to stay at the lake to relax for a while, and I got her car keys so that I could come and pick her up a bit later.

The couple who lost us earlier on rejoined us here, but they could not keep up here either, so the went a different way and told someone else in the group they were doing so.

We continued on the woods road, now at Brad's suggestion, to the north, from which point we could go south on the old Sterlington Road, and reach the north side of Shepherd Pond. On the last Jersey Perimeter hike, we had bushwhacked over on the state line, but we missed the north side of the lake, which is actually right along the border. This time we followed the informal trail along the shore.

There were some masonry ruins along the shore, certainly old park facilities because they didn't look like they had historic mortar. We managed to follow this shore past the chain link fence, then headed on over to the access road reaching the north side. There was a seemingly impenetrable fence and weeds on the other side, but Lerch managed to get on through. The rest of us headed up the access road, then turned left onto the old Shepherd Lake Road, which is mostly abandoned now. Brad knew the area well. We got just over the NY line, and headed back south to the state line marker, in a utility pole.

State Line and Brad!

We continued down the road from here, then reached Shepherd Lake and the Ringwood State Park beach complex. We went inside to the concession stand for a much needed break. It was pretty hot and some of the group went back in the water again, the rest of us relaxed indoors. Lerch had somehow made his way through the weeds and ended up in the park's camp grounds. He then walked to the beach complex and was relaxing when we arrived.

After our break, it was decided we would split the group up. As usual with some of the stuff we explore, there is too much unexpected to be sure of how long we'll be out, and it'd be way far over the planned mileage if everyone did the full circuit with me. Serious Sean offered to take the group back to the cars more directly while I led the crazies on to the last bit of Jersey Perimeter I needed, then head south. They left us there, and then the group somehow got split up and some of them were kind of lost. Ed was able to save some of the people in the back of the group while the others made their way out ahead. I don't think either group went back the most direct way, but they all made it.

Someone ended up quitting the group over it, unfortunately, and I'm not sure who by just looking at it, but I suppose it's not for everyone. Our hikes are more unpredictable than most, and they are certainly not for the faint of heart.

We continued on along the Cupsaw Brook Trail to the east, to Sloatsburg Road. We had covered a section of the border along here in the past, but this time we had to continue a short distance to the west on the boundary. There is a power line clearing I planned to walk along the border for a short bit. It quite literally IS the state line here. We got on the power line and began to follow it down hill, then crossed the Ringwood Creek.

Power line view

I just had to take a dip in the creek. It felt so good. I think only Julia and I submerged ourselves in it. We continued on the other side, through some rough weeds at first, but then we picked up a very good and clear path. It led steeply, sometimes very steeply, up hill zig zagging on the power line. The state line skirts the northern edge of the clearing. When we got to the top of the hill, there was a really nice view into the valley where the Ringwood Creek cuts through. My plan had been to remain on the power line to a woods road that goes down to the trails around Ringwood Manor, because from there I'd already traced the state line west toward Long Pond Ironworks, but we somehow missed it. We instead continued to Peter's Mine Road and turned left on that, we could take Hasenclever Iron Trail back to Ringwood Manor.

Power line on the state line

We followed the power line to the historic old road, and turned left heading south. While walking south, we chatted about the mines in the area.

At an old mine

We started talking about how the famous Peters Mine apparently has an accessible adit in it, that leads far back. It lies on private land and really no one knows where it is. We wanted to find it. While walking, then to the left we spotted a mine hole. We figured that would be just too weird if this was it. Of course it wasn't, and I think it was called the Hope Mine. It was a pit filled with water, totally inaccessible now. Still interesting.

We continued on down toward Peters Mine, and then turned left onto Hasenclever Iron Trail. We followed that to the east toward Ringwood Manor.

When we reached the grounds, we opted to take a side trip to the cemetery, where we visited the graves of Robert Erskine, who was appointed by George Washington as Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army. Starting in 1771, Erskine was manager of the iron works at Ringwood, which under his command created the great chain that spanned the Hudson River to bar British nagigation. We also saw the grave of John Hewitt, who emigrated to the US in 1790 to work on the first steam engine in the country, for the Philadelphia water works. He was father of famous iron entrepreneur Abram S. Hewitt.

We walked back to the north, to the Ringwood Manor house and the giant chain that some believe is the one that was erected over the Hudson, or at least a piece of it. Others believe this was just an anchor chain. It was apparently found in a boat yard in NYC, and claims were made that it was part of the chain. It is likely to have been forged at Ringwood, but there is no proof that it is part of the famous chain as I understand. I asked famous historian Kevin Wright once myself, and he didn't believe it was part of it.

Ringwood Manor

We went around the back of the manor and managed to find a hose to fill up our water bottles again. I was really thirsty and I'm sure everyone else was too. We'd now have enough to get us to the end. After the break, we continued on past the parking lot and to the closed foot bridge leading back out to Sloatsburg Road. The planks were loose on the decking, which is probably why it's closed. We crossed anyway, and then crossed the highway to continue on trails to the south. We followed white blazed Crossover Trail to the south first, then turned right on yellow blazed Cooper Union Trail.

Cooper Union Trail

The trail was nice, and narrower than some of the others, but still not grown in. I was actually surprised that the ones that were most grown in were the ones closest to the beach. One would think they'd be used the most, but it wasn't the case. The trail took us south across Morris Road, and then further south through woods to Carltondale Road. There was another side trail from another access point there, which explains why it gets more use.

I had thought this trail would be rather boring. It is a lollipop loop, it just goes to Governor Mountain, then loops back on itself. I just assumed since I had never heard much about it or the view on it that it wouldn't be anything too special. As the trail continued, we passed some nice glacial erratics. There was a bit of a view through the trees to the right, but nothing too spectacular. I just wanted to get off the trails before dark.

The others were by now trying to call me, but my limited cell service made it hard for me to direct anyone. We continued south on the trail and soon reached the edge of Governor Mountain.

View from Cooper Union Trail on Governor Mountain

I found the view to be quite spectacular. It was far better than anything I'd imagined it would be. It must be even better in the winter when the view is wider, but still this was great. We had a rather un-obscured view of Wanaque Reservoir, and the mountains in the Wyanokies I had come to know like Board Mountain, Bear Mountain Horse Pond Mountain, Harrison Mountain and Windbeam Mountain. They were all there, and I'd see the view of this peak from the tops of each of those. This was a special little moment for me, having the perspective from not just the other side, but from so many places.

We didn't really have the time to sit around and enjoy this though. We had to get back to the cars before dark, and to do that we had our last bushwhack section. My plan was to head down hill off of Governor Mountain directly to Greenwood Lake Turnpike. We turned left on the trail, then immediately off of it and down hill. Lerch took the lead and I for the most part followed where he was going, save for some of the more ridicules sections of weeds and loose rocks. Everyone did pretty well staying close enough on the way down, and when we got to Greenwood Lake Turnpike, we turned left when we could tell where everyone was.

We hurried on along the road to the south, and almost went the wrong way to the left, on Skylands Road, when we wanted Skyline Drive. I fortunately caught this quickly before Lerch and I went too far. It also gave everyone a chance to catch up a bit more.

It didn't take long before we made it to Skyline Drive, and we powered on up the hill, past a couple of businesses, and reached the Stop and Shop. We waited for everyone to get back there, then Lerch and I took off looking for Jillane. It only took a few minutes to get to Margaret King Ave off of Sloatsburg Road where Jillane had walked to.

From here, the three of us took a short trip to Long Pond Ironworks and took a dip in the creek, then went to the old manager's house building that is badly deteriorating. Jillane was there with me on her first hike with me.

Despite complications and such, I had a really great time on this hike. It was satisfying for me in so many ways; for the physical workout of it, for the connections not only physically but visually with other places I know and love, and for the closure of another missing piece of the NJ Perimeter.

We had order and chaos and the discovery of more order through chaos. There is in retrospect a progression and improvement that would continue over the coming weeks in my life. The next three hikes to follow this one would also have similarly short segments of the Jersey Perimeter series, and the positive interactions to result from it would prove to be the culmination of all that's happened.