Hike #864; Bay Point to Fairton

Hike #864; Bay Point to Fairton

7/12/15 Bay Point to Fairton with Ric Giantisco, Lyz Hagenbuch, Serious Sean Dougherty, James Russel, Michelle Flackalacka, Mike Heaney, Wilma Vargas, Dan Asnis, Jason Itell, and Megan Reid.

The group at Bay Point

Our next hike would take us through more of the hidden southwestern NJ areas once again, this time between Bay Point and Fairton. The Jersey Perimeter series had been gaining momentum over the past few months, and although this part of the state still fails to bring in the large groups like others, the promotion I'd been getting was notable.

I had just been on Fox's Chasing News, a program filmed with a GoPro, and a team of reporters in a discussion type of venue with ad lib type of banter about the subjects. Reporter Diana Blass showed up and I took her through Manunka Chunk Tunnel, told her the history of the hikes and showed her how that section of Warren Railroad fit in with the perimeter series. The insights on the Metrotrails page climbed to over 18,000 seen.

Jersey Perimeter so far

At this point, there were only a few pieces of the perimeter left. Only one more full hike on the Delaware Bay remains, one more full hike on the east side near Forked River, and one more full hike from Roebling to Trenton. The rest are just segments, for which I would plan hikes around. The two other sections missing for Delaware Bay were Moore's Beach to the south, and this section, Bay Point. I originally planned to meet in Fairton and shuttle cars to Bay Point, then walk back, but when we did the previous section, which included visiting Money Island Marina, I had an idea: I spoke with Tony Novak and his co worker Bruce about doing a boat ride from Money Island Marina, and having us dropped off at Bay Point to hike inland. It would take more time, but would be far more interesting.

Mr. Novak put me in touch with Captain Bruce Smith, who kept a boat nearby. We wanted to get a better tour than just getting dropped off, and so we planned to have roughly an hour boat ride and tour, then get back to Bay Point. Capt. Bruce knows the area well and could show us around. The plans all came together, and I met the group as planned in Fairton, from which point we moved cars to the abandoned Cohansey Country Club, which was included in a previous Jersey Perimeter hike. It was so cool I decided it'd be worth visiting again.

The group at Money Island Marina with Tony Novak

We shuttled to the Money Island Marina and met with Bruce (not Captain Bruce) who manages the place, and  hung out waiting for Tony Novak to arrive. When he got there, he gave us a very interesting talk about the plight of the Delaware Bay.

The Delaware Bay was long called "Jersey's Other Shore", but it was something totally different in character to the other barrier island beaches on the east side. Swimming is not as easy, there were once some resorts, but they were never what the other side was. The big deal on the western shore was the fishing. Mr. Novak went over the history, and told us of how different species were once plentiful there, but not so much any more. He spoke of how the internet had changed the face of fishing and whether a day would be good to go out or not. We chatted about the power plants and how the intakes could be better managed to save more fish. We talked about tourism to the area, and how difficult it is to run such a business in an area with little to no economy and even less visitation. He built up the Money Island Marina to be the nice place it is more as a work of passion than a lucrative business venture. He's become one of the passionate people who keep the Delaware Bay region alive despite hard times.

I hope through this NJ Perimeter series to showcase some of these great little spots along the way, but even my hikes, despite all of the good press, are not as popular down in that region. I was hoping the planned boat trip would attract more people than it did, but we still  had enough to fill two boats, and to have a third trip run for two that showed up only to do the boat tour. The Millers were newcomers who showed up just to do the boat trip.

After our talk on the Delaware Bay, we headed a short distance away to Captain Bruce and his boat.

Boarding the boats at Money Island

We split the group in two and piled onto the boats to head out. Captain Bruce welcomed us and told us he wanted to start us a bit up the Nantuxent Creek because we could then see the other docks and such, and get a better respect for what was there. It was indeed a nice view.

Captain Bruce took us out the Nantuxent Creek, past the Money Island Marina (supposedly Money Island is named because there was treasure buried there, but no one has ever found it nor has there been evidence that it existed). We then headed out onto the bay. There were buoys out there to help show the boats where to go onto the bay. As we moved on, the state of Delaware across from us became more and more clear.

Boating with Captain Bruce!

Captain Bruce pointed out the ghost town of Sea Breeze on the way out. We had already hiked that on a previous Jersey Perimeter hike too, and had some guy taking pictures of us when we were checking out the old houses. Pretty soon those houses would be gone too. Most of it is being purchased by DEP Blue Acres funding because it's so prone to storm damage.

BOAT!

As we headed further out onto the water, the silhouette of a building out on the water started to appear. This was the Ship John Shoal Lighthouse, one of the lighthouses that are out in the middle of the Delaware River. Captain Bruce agreed to take us for the tour around the amazing old light house if the water was cooperating, and if it wasn't, an alternative tour closer to the shore to see nesting birds and such.

Bruce told us the history of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse takes it's name from a shipwreck that occurred in 1797, where a ship known as the "John" ran aground on a shoal, a bar made of sand and/or pebbles, on it's way from Hamburg, Germany. The passengers were saved and taken to nearby Greenwich, but the ship was lost, and so the shoal was named after it.  About 1850, the Brandywine Shoal lighthouse went into service further to the south, and more lights on the bay were planned for navigation. Failures in earlier designs held up construction of the Ship John Shoal Light until 1874 when water tight supports known as caissons became available. A temporary structure was placed on the site for a time until a permanent structure fabricated of cast iron could be placed when weather improved.

Ship John Shoal Lighthouse

One light intended for the location was instead used in Connecticut, and when another was made, it was instead placed in Philadelphia for a time so it could be on display at the the Centennial Exhibition in 1876 for the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This event was the very first "World's Fair". The light was set there, and even manned, for the duration of the fair, during which time temporary structure graced Ship John Shoal.

Following the World's Fair in 1877, the structure was moved to it's intended location, and 2000 tons of rip rap were placed around the shoal to ward off ice damage.

Ship John Shoal light on display at Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia

Around 1916, the rip rap and shoal were extended to include the concrete platform on the north side. The light remained active until 2011, and it and others are now made available to non profit organizations interesting and preserving and maintaining them, as they are no longer so needed for navigation as they once were.

Captain Bruce took us around the lighthouse to the left so we could get a good look at it. I found it absolutely amazing that such a structure has survived on a rip rap lined shoal since 1877. We slowed down as to see the structure better, and let the others catch up from behind us.

Ship John Shoal Lighthouse, 1916

We passed around, and when the others started heading around it, we began our trip back toward Bay Point to be let off.

We could see the buildings as we got closer, but it was not what I was expecting. It didn't look at all as abandoned as I was told it was. I was made to believe Bay  Point was a total ghost town, and that it was all ready to be torn down. As it turns out, more than half of it will be torn down it seems, but a few people will remain.

Captain Bruce brought us to a dock that used to be the Bay Point Marina. The buildings are all totally gone and all that is left is this beat up old dock. Captain Bruce got us up as close as we could, and we then had to climb up the dock to get on top. I assured him we could all handle it, we are hikers of course.

Docking at Bay Point

The second boat pulled up to  unload it's occupants as well, and we said our goodbyes to Captain Bruce and his fellow boatman (unfortunately I can't remember the second pilot's name). We made our way from the edge of the dock out toward the main road, and were soon met by a guy on an ATV. It turned out to be the owner of the Bay Point Marina that had been closed and removed. He was just checking on what was going on, and was already told by Mr. Novak that we'd be coming in. He was concerned for liability because the property had not yet been sold to the state. He showed us where his home used to be, which was washed away during Sandy.

Jason and Megan joined us at this point. The guy who lived there let them park nearby. They had missed the boat ride earlier, but were fortunately able to catch us at Bay Point. Jason spent some time "draining the wetlands", by removing a bit of block he'd found that was withholding water for no apparent reason.

There was a "no trespassing" sign on the road further down from there, and we were just going to turn back instead of walking the bit of the shore left there, but he told us we could go ahead and walk down, he didn't mind. We thanked him and moved on along the road.

Old house site, Bay Point

We walked all the way to the end, then onto the stony and sandy land a little from the last house site. Several houses were already gone, claimed by the storm. The pilings were all that remained of where they stood. Other houses were badly damaged, and some were alright looking but boarded up. No one lived down on this side, and we found out that the only homes that would remain lived in would be a couple of them along the Cedar Creek, on the roadway in. The rest would be demolished. They would also retain one house on pilings, a small one, we were told.

Abandoned at Bay Point

We walked around the last house site, where there were frisbees and old pots and pans and such. We didn't bother to try to go into anything. They already have enough problems down there with people stealing copper pipes and such. The guy there told us that the idiots come in and take stuff, and try to go right back out, because they have to go back the way they came. So they all get caught.

Once we reached the end, we headed back the same road and on our way back out. The road took us out across the estuaries, then out through farm fields heading east. Serious Sean and I sang some songs on this stretch, as he carried his acoustic guitar with a bungee as a strap around it. We went through a good list of songs as I recall, but the only ones I can remember really well were "American Band" and "Locomotion" by Grand Funk Railroad, "Alright Now" by Free, and "Rock and Roll Fantasy" by Bad Company. It was such a fun time walking and singing there that it went by very quickly for me.

I had intended for us to walk into Nantuxent Wildlife Management Area ahead at the end of the road, but there were no trespassing signs all over, and it's just farm fields. I didn't see a good way in as we walked to the north on Jones Island Road either. The road to the south just goes onto private land as well.

Air field

We passed an air field on the right, which was really interesting because there was a long line of Black Eyed Susans (flowers) planted to sort of delineate the runway. Ric ran over pretending to be a landing craft on it.

Dan was falling a bit behind, so we waited for him when we got to the corner of New Road. Sean had created this Metallica type riff on the previous trips, especially the Ramapo one, going "Dudududhduh-dududududuh- DAN ASNIS", which was hilarious. I think most of us that heard it had it stuck in our head for the entire week. I certainly did, and found myself doing it at work even. Fortunately, Dan gets a kick out of it too!

Once Dan caught up, we went right on New Road. We had already walked this as part of a Jersey Perimeter hike before, but ti was a short and pleasant back road worth re-doing to make another connection. In retrospect, I should have brought everyone north a bit for food in Cedarville, but this cut a good corner.

Abandoned house

Along New Road, we passed an abandoned house on the right. I didn't recall it being in nearly as bad shape, or being opened up the last time we walked through. Of course, we had to check it out. What's left of it will not be standing much longer for sure. We continued on New Road out to Rt 553, and turned right. This was the end of the hike being a part of the Jersey Perimeter, save for the very end. The rest of it was other stuff that I figured would be interesting enough to connect to. There's a good feeling that comes along with finishing a section of perimeter earlier on, a feeling of success where the rest is just like icing on the cake. We followed the road to the right, and when we came to the intersection of Shaws Mill Road, stopped at a yard sale to see if there was anything we couldn't live without.

We didn't get anything, and so we crossed the intersection, and then saw a path going into the woods. I could see this would take us toward the railroad. The line was the former Central Railroad of NJ line that we had been on a part of, that terminated at Bivalve. It's still active to serve sand quarries to the south of this spot. We would follow the paths past some abandoned sand quarry ponds to reach the tracks.

Ruins

Once on the tracks, there was some sort of abandoned industrial building frame across the way. We went over to have a look, and I saw what may have been another spur to serve the area quarries. There must certainly have been spurs through the area. After checking this out, we got on the tracks and began heading north. It didn't take long before getting to a pond on the right side of the tracks. This is one of the Cedarville Ponds, but not part of the Wildlife Management Area of the same name. It looked deep enough, so we decided to stop to take a swim.

It turned out to be a great spot. There was a little spoo on the edges, but we could push off to where the water was well over our heads. We had a really nice time swimming and cooling off. Some of the group didn't want to come in, and some hesitated a bit before finally giving in to what must obviously have looked very refreshing.

Cedarvale area pond

We got out and continued walking the tracks to the north. The Cedarville Pond in the state Wildlife Management Area were much prettier even, and probably would have been good for swimming, but we'd just gotten out, so we continued north. Soon we crossed Sawmill Road and passed an industrial place with a siding, then crossed Maple Ave and the Cedar Creek on a bridge. This was the same creek that flowed into the bay at Bay Point.

The bridge

We continued north and crossed East Ave, then Schaffer Ave, then North Ave. There was a roadway to the right, going into another sand quarry, so we walked along that and then came back to the tracks. At this point, there was a guy who apparently saw us and came out hollering. I was already ahead and didn't see him, so we just kept on going. We didn't have any problems after that.

We passed through woods, then paralleled fields and such. Part of the land was supposedly that of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Indians, a sect that seeks official designation as a tribe but haven't gotten it yet. We crossed Wescott Station Road and continued.

There were no signs of any old stations along the route, though we know they must have been there at one time.

The walk along the tracks in many cases tires me out, and I can get sick of it, but this to me was all very relaxing and went by pretty fast. The line bent to the west, then north to cross Lummons Mill Road, then Ramah Road in Fairton.

After crossing Fairton-Millville Road, the tracks went high over Clark's Pond Wildlife Management Area and the large wetlands associated with it for a nice view. We then reached Fairton Gouldtown Road where we went left.  Directly off the tracks and across the street was the grassy lands of the Fairton Township property. We went around their fields, and off to the north side, skirting the edge of woods. There were beaten down paths that were easy to walk crossing the property. As we neared private homes getting closer to Bridgeton-Fairton Road, we cut into the woods on a path to the right. This led us out to the road through woods, where we could cross directly to the abandoned former Cohansey Country Club, where we'd walked on a previous Jersey Perimeter hike.

Cohansey Country Club

We walked onto the paved paths of the former club, used at one time by golf carts. The paths don't connect, as they are broken  up by sections of green where the holes were. It's neat to see how different invasive species come in at different points. There was some Poison Sumac around, but also more Staghorn Sumac and Ailanthus trees, as well as other annoying weeds. It was harder to see where the pathways were this time, because when we were at this point before it was much colder out and stuff hadn't grown yet.

My plan was to follow these paths to a good spot along the Cohansey River for possible swimming.

Cohansey River

We descended to the river side at the point I had remembered from the previous hike. There were a lot of wetland weeds along the shore, and I thought it might be a gross spot and not good for swimming. I went first, to see how bad the spoo was (spoo was a name we gave to estuary muck on a previous Jersey Perimeter hike). To my great surprise, there was almost no mucky bottom at all. It was solid and it dropped off fast to a great depth.

Many of the others joined me for an outstanding swim in the Cohansey River here. We were very close to the cars at this point, and so we could take our time and really enjoy this amazing spot. It really was the perfect close to a hike in this region.

Cohansey Country Club abandoned sign

We made our way out of the water and back up to the pathways, which rather easily led us back to the club house. We walked up and around it, peering into the windows to see what was still there. It was in pretty good shape. I was surprised that it wasn't broken into, being as close as it is to Bridgeton, with the highest crime rate in NJ.

We walked around and to the parking lot to conclude the hike, with the old Cohansey Country Club sign looming over the lot, covered in vines and weeds.

We headed back to the north, stopped and got pizza and visited Carol and Rob Creamer on the way back. We were starving from the trip, and there were no food stops. I could barely stay awake.

On the ride back, James completely passed out for most the way.

I had a great feeling that we accomplished a very very good trip here. There was just so much to it, from the boat ride and the history, seeing a town that soon will be no more, views of estuaries and farms, to sand quarries and woods. It kept changing, but was relaxing to walk. The hike never felt rushed, and I never felt bored. If only I could express the wonderful feeling these trips leave me with when I'm interviewed for the media, to help these areas get the attention they need so badly and deserve so much. Still, they get caught up in the mix of everything, because what I am doing is so large scale. I feel a resurgence is going to happen in the area, and it will take more than hosting a hike to make it happen, but it can happen. Mike Heaney had already said that he was coming back again.  A positive experience can go a long way, and we always take a long way.