Hike #906; Spruce Run Recreation Area and High Bridge Area
Spruce Run beach
Our next hike would be the first of the new year, one of the First Day Hikes hosted also through my job at NJ DEP.
It’s not often I get paid to lead a hike, but on New Years Day every year I have been able to do so. This year would be some of a repeat of the past years but also some new stuff, as the Highlands Trail had been officially rerouted at Spruce Run Recreation Area, as well as Voorhees State Park, and we had opened the new Vista Trail built in part by Student Conservation Association. I would then take everyone to the Taylor Steelworkers Historic Greenway in High Bridge after a section of the former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ.
I met everyone at Union Forge Park in High Bridge, then we shuttled with as few cars as possible to just past Spruce Run, at a Clinton Wildlife Management Area lot, sort of as a warm up to get going on the hike.
In the past, they had given me a fifteen passenger mini bus for this hike, but this time I got only a mini van. It still worked out alright, and we headed to the start point.
We started by tracing the trail route across the fields of Clinton Wildlife Management Area through fields, then across to Spruce Run, sort of as a warm up. I stopped everyone by the office to use the restrooms. I was feeling pretty sick.
Since the previous Sunday, I’ve felt more sick than almost ever. Maybe just in a different way. Headache, sore muscles, sore throat, coughing, fever, everything was going wrong . Still, I muscled through and we continued from the office to the tower area built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The tower is now a restroom, though it was formerly used by Fox Hunt judges. The Club House next to it is abandoned and a mess.
The Highlands Trail heads out now on a paved path that goes through the beach complex. It’s a great route now, because it’s the only place the HT goes through anywhere like it, and so it passes by the concession stand as well.
We followed the route on the access path up and across the main road, then into the Lower #4 Picnic Area where I led everyone down to the water. Here, we could see some of the normally submerged Union Road, which used to connect Clinton with Van Syckles Road.
Old Union Road out of the water
I pointed out an old foundation of a house along the old road, where we could see a date that read “1938”. The chimney stack was laying next to the base, where the date could be read on the concrete.
We walked the road for a little bit, then headed back up to the shore and onto the trail route, on the access road. We kept then to the grassy section parallel. The official trail goes along a paved road past the Group Picnic Area, which is awful since it can instead follow the waterfront out to the back of Area 2 and eliminate a ton of road walk.
New Highlands Trail
Lerch caught up with us jogging from back at the park office before we reached the next woods trail section.
We cut through the back of Area 2 and to Boat Launch Road, which actually follows some of the original route of Van Syckles Road, then cut into the woods on the newly opened section of Highlands Trail. The old section is still there, and I really hope it can be brought back to make for a loop in the park, though no one really wants to let me do it. The trail leads to the observation blind over the reservoir. The section was difficult to maintain, and the Scout Troop that was supposed to be taking care of it wasn’t showing up often to do so any more.
The new route turns off of the Boat Launch Road and follows just inside a plantation of Eastern White Pines back farther from the shore line. This section doesn’t get undergrowth, and therefore is easier to maintain. It stays in this section until it joins the older HT route near a small meadow clearing.
One other rerouted section takes it into the woods farther from the normal waterfront to avoid more brush and such. We followed this on through, and came out to the parking area where former Van Syckles Corner Road used to continue, now usually under the waters of the reservoir.
Earlier in the week, the reservoir was at 43% capacity or less. We had done the night hike around, and it was quite a bit lower.
I was able to gauge the depth by looking at the former Union Furnace.
Historic Union Furnace
The former iron furnace is almost always under the water, and when we did the night hike, it was not only out of the water, all of the land around it was exposed. This time, the furnace was sorrounded by water and the only way to reach it was on the pile of rubble that used to be one of the walls of the building attached to it.
We headed down from the Highlands Trail and over to the exposed remains of the furnace. I decided we would change the route of the hike away from the Highlands Trail for a bit, opportunistically focusing on some of the stuff that is usually under the waters of Spruce Run rather than the regular trail itself.
Historic Union Furnace now
I had been studying an historic photo of the remains of the Union Furnace from the 1930s, and something didn’t seem quite right with how it was lined up. I decided on this trip I would look at it more closely, because I had an idea of how exactly the old photo was taken, at which angle, and I wanted to reproduce it more accurately.
Historic Union Furnace in the 1930s.
I think I pulled it off rather well. The furnace was shown on the edge of a hillside, the the former masonry wall that is now just a pile of stone coming away from the furnace stack in the photo would have been the section with the semi arched doorway in the historic photo. If I could see remnants of the rear wall parallel with the reservoir’s edge, it would further prove this theory.
Barely recognizable base to an old wall of Union Furnace
When I looked, sure enough I found remnants of the base of the wall I thought should be there. The keen eye will note in the photo that the blocks are lined up almost perfectly.
Under the reservoir, cement structures will last, but the old horse hair mortar and masonry does not hold together at all, so all we see today is the rubble of the building walls, no longer adhered together.
I would guess that the doorway in the historic photo would be about where the masonry rubble touches the sand on the recent photo.
The Union Furnace was constructed by 1742 by William Allen and Joseph Turner. The unlikely pairing of a politician and a boat captain is theorized to be because they were also bootleggers of sorts.
The site was chosen for Union Furnace because there was good quality sand, which was necessary in the process of making Pig Iron. We went to the former furnace kiln, and I showed the group a mix of slag and glassy material with remaining iron ore weight I found.
Remains of Union Furnace
Union Furnace was abandoned when most of the operations moved to nearby High Bridge.
The Union Ironworks properties encompassed over 11,000 acres of land. This was necessary because trees of the area were essential to the charcoal making process.
We left the furnace site, and I had another look knowing that if the water were to rise much more, the furnace will be back under water, not to be seen again for who knows how long.
We continued from here to the old Van Syckles Corner Road route. This looks particularly interesting, the way it weaves around in a corner, on the reservoir bed. The area around it, probably due to springs, seems to always remain wet with water dispersing from the grassy shore line across the road all the time. This time, the regular edge of the reservoir touched the edge of the road, so this too might go under water again very soon.
Much of the asphalt is broken up, making it tough on the feet to walk, but still very interesting.
Old Van Syckles Corner Road.
The road used to continue east to cross over the Spruce Run itself before 1963, when the reservoir was developed. It had a bridge there, and then connected with the predecessor to Rt 31 at what was a four way intersection.
Old Van Syckles Corner Road
Rt 31 was previously known as Rt 69 and before that Rt 30, and even earlier it was the route of the Spruce Run Turnpike, the main stage road that connected Clinton and Oxford NJ (I would suspect that Union Road was the main road through from “William Trent’s Town to The Union”, Trenton to present day Union Township built on the old Native American trail).
Cregar Road out of High Bridge once continued from it’s present intersection with Rt 31 into the reservoir to reach the four way intersection with the highway and Van Syckles Corner Road. We walked the abandoned road route to the site of the former bridge over the Spruce Run. The bridge the Spruce Run Turnpike used to cross nearby Willoughby Brook still stands, though it is usually under water.
Former Van Syckles Road bridge site over Spruce Run
We headed inland to the large parking area off present day Van Syckles Road. Bill Honachefsky was heading to meet up with us at the Union Furnace, but had just missed us. He went by us in his truck, and planned to meet up with us again later on.
Trough thing
Back on the Highlands Trail route, we followed it on the road out to Rt 31, crossed and passed the new Toyota Dealership building that had just been completed, then turned right on Buffalo Hollow Road. It was nice to see the old wooden trough that carries water out of a small pond was now carrying water again. This little bit adds a lot to the ambiance of the long road walk. We continued from here up hill on the road, and crossed a stone arch culvert. I told everyone how Hunterdon County, home to over two hundred of these structures, has more of them than anywhere else in North America.
View of Spruce Run Reservoir
We headed up hill and crossed the former Central Railroad of NJ built about 1853 on the road bridge, from which we got a nice view of Spruce Run Reservoir over the solar farm that had been constructed in recent years. We then crested the hill (and some of the group posed ridiculously with a Nativity setting) before descending into Buffalo Hollow.
The trail from there turns right along the Willoughby Brook heading down stream, then turns left into Voorhees State Park.
Having been sick, the up hill was really killer on me. We followed the Highlands Trail to the intersection with the Vista Trail, which is a long ascent. I had just blazed the entire trail pink in the past year, much to the delight of some of the girls in the group.
Vista Trail at Voorhees
The Vista Trail climbs through to a woods of young birches, then ascends more steeply on a section of improved switchbacks done by Student Conservation Association. The trail has a pretty good seasonal view of Spruce Run Reservoir near the high point of this section.
I regrouped everyone at King George’s Thrones. These were built by the late Maintenance Supervisor at Voorhees State Park, George Krapf, who I had the pleasure of working with at Spruce Run when I first started there. He was a really funny guy who always had some absurd joke or comment about just about anything.
George K; photo by Bruce Hockenbury
He had built these stone chairs at the overlook on the Vista Trail many many years ago, before I had ever worked there.
My buddy Bruce Hockenbury and I have discussed making the thrones a true memorial to George at some point. Hopefully we’ll get around to that one of these days.
After our break, we headed down hill along the Vista Trail to cross Observatory Road. It jogs right then left off the road on the other side near the Maintenance Shop entrance, then continues to ascend for a bit more. It emerges across same road from the Observatory itself, where we regrouped once again.
At the road, Serious Sean brought out his signature loaf of bread he hikes with, but then realized that one of the ingredients was Ethylene Glycol.
Serious Sean and his Antifreeze Bread
He then started calling it his “Antifreeze Bread” and walked around offering a piece to everyone, naming it as such. I had a couple of pieces and thought it was quite fine.
We headed from here onto the Solar System Trail, which goes from the observatory down hill past several waymarking signs with information on each planet and other stuff. The trail ends at the overlook of Round Valley Reservoir, which is much grown in at this point. We had a little break here.
View of Round Valley
Both Round Valley Reservoir and Spruce Run Reservoir were created as a result of the Water Bond Act of 1958, which seemed to be passed under a sort of scare that followed the disastrous flood of 1955.
Spruce Run became a functioning reservoir in 1963, with the park opening in 1972, and Round Valley was developed in 1968, with the park being dedicated in 1977. I pointed out to everyone the igneous intrusive formation that is Cushetunk Mountain surrounding the reservoir, and noted that it was the deepest lake in the state of New Jersey.
It was getting colder all the time, so we couldn’t stop for very long or it’d be unbearable. It even flurried three times during the course of the hike.
Parcourse Trail
Next, we crossed the road once more to continue onto Hill Acres Trail.
This trail takes it’s name from the name of the former estate of past New Jersey Governor Foster M. Voorhees who donated much of the land necessary to develop the state park (In fact, Observatory Road used to be called Hill Acres Road).
We continued on the trail which goes from being a foot path to being a woods road after the connection paths to the camp grounds. We continued across most of the park on this trail, then turned right on the Parcourse Trail, an exercise station path. We took the south part of it that parallels Rt 513.
Doug swinging
When we reached the park entrance, we headed over to the office, now Park Police building, and headed to use the restroom. I knew this would be a long wait because there was such a big group and only one toilet inside. I opened up the boiler room to get more toilet paper out (and enjoy the heat), and ended up having to try to fix a leak in a valve to the right. Fortunately, I had help there to hold a glove and duct tape over the leak while I tried to figure out how to isolate that section. I ended up shutting down the water heater first, then finally found the bypass, which was probably just a mixing valve. We hung out here until everyone was ready, then moved on down the Loop Road toward the Highlands Trail again.
A few left the group at this point, and Carla joined up with us late.
We picked up the Highlands Trail again at the pavilion at Hoppock Grove.
The pavilion was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, who had a camp at Voorhees in the 1930s. The Highlands Trail had recently been rerouted at this point to follow the Tanglewood Trail, so we turned right on that. I remembered camping off of that route somewhere years back, before the group camping was moved to the other side of the park. I had also forgotten that the Tanglewood Trail goes within sight of the office, which was laughable because it seemed like an out of the way walk to get over to that point.
Tanglewood Trail section of Highlands Trail
The trail descended on some steps to emerge again on the Loop Road, then turned right along it.
We turned left when we reached the entrance to the Group Picnic Area, then right off of the road along the grassy edge of those fields. This was also a new section of the Highlands Trail to eliminate otherwise long road walking section along Rt 513.
The trail went along the tree line at the top of the field as well as a closed restroom, then passed the scenic little pond. I recall this section was at one time completely overgrown before being re cleared years ago.
The sun came out for just a little bit while we were walking through this pretty spot. Otherwise, it remained cloudy for most of the day.
Pond at Voorhees
We followed the trail route past the old barn at the southeast corner of the state park, then exited onto Rt 513 to head further to the east. We continued down to pass the former Bunnvale School and the church, and stopped at the Sunoco Station for snacks and drinks.
Old barn along Highlands Trail in Voorhees
When we went inside, I was happy to see old Mike, the guy who used to work at the Sunoco in Washington, who used to make the great breakfast sandwiches for $2.99. I used to stop in there every morning and get a breakfast sandwich from him when I started working at Spruce Run. Then, the station changed hands, became a Mobile, and the store a Seven Eleven. I didn’t see Mike again until this moment. We chatted a bit, and he said he was making his sandwiches again, now at a station out in Peapack, but they’re $3.99 now, still a good deal for high quality. So...if you happen to be in Peapack in the morning, stop and see Mike and get a breakfast sandwich!
Highlands Trail in Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA
No one wanted to leave the store because it was so warm inside.
It took a while for people to get what they wanted, and the tight little store was crammed full of people. Of course everyone had to use the restroom again too.
This place sold hot dogs as well, so a few were indulging on that. I wasn’t really hungry yet, still feeling rather sick, but even I had to indulge when I saw that they sold Harrisburg Farms brand chocolate milk, one of my all time favorite brands which I never see in this part of New Jersey any more.
Bill and Monica wanted to cut out early, and I had told them to follow the Highlands Trail to the railroad bed, because they were going to walk Rt 513 all the way. That’d have been awful for them. They later e mailed me thanking me for the suggestion.
Highlands Trail in Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA
When we got started again, we followed Rt 513 east just a short distance to a right turn into Ken Lockwood Gorge Wildlife Management Area, where it follows an old woods road/driveway.
Descending to the High Bridge Branch, Doug and Sean below
The trail turned left away from the road, then descended as a foot path via nice switch backs all the way down to the Columbia Trail, which is the former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. I hate the name “Columbia Trail” for this trail for several reasons.
For one, it teaches us nothing of history. Twenty years prior, Hunterdon County Parks Department recommended that name for the trail during a meeting with Columbia gas. I have the minutes of that meeting. It then reads “Naturally, Columbia Gas is excited about this”. There was no stipulation that the trail be named after the gas line.
It should in my opinion be illegal for a private gas company to get free advertisement from a government entity as well. Some say that we should be thankful that the gas company donated surface rights to the county, but in all honesty they are the ones benefiting from this. If it weren’t for the trail, the gas company would be responsible to keep the right of way clear of roots and vegetation. They now have their right of way maintained on the tax payer’s dollar.
Furthermore, nearby Paulins Kill Valley Trail, NJ’s longest rail trail, begins in Columbia NJ. The two somehow get confused and I have met some on the Paulins Kill Valley Trail looking for Ken Lockwood Gorge, and I’ve met others while working on Columbia Trail (when I worked for Hunterdon County Parks) asking where Paulins Kill Viaduct is (a highlight of that trail). The trail should have been named the High Bridge Branch Trail to begin with.
If you believe in the cause as I do, you can sign my petition at Change.org:
https://www.change.org/p/hunterdon-county-nj-change-columbia-trail-to-high-bridge-branch-trail-support-history-not-gas-companies
When we were all on the rail bed, we turned left for a brief time to visit the Gorge Trestle.
Gorge Trestle
The bridge was the site of an accident in 1885, when an engine crashed from it down to the South Branch of the Raritan. Hunterdon County literature will say that the engine was “ironically named Columbia”, however the book I have a copy of, written long before the trail was created, states that it was not a named locomotive, but rather Locomotive #112. It’s possible the county fabricated the story to justify the trail’s name, but I can’t be sure.
We didn’t hang out here long before moving on along the trail back toward High Bridge.
On the former High Bridge Branch nearing High Bridge
Just before reaching Readingsburg overpass, Bill Honachefsky joined up with us for the remainder of the hike.
Because the night before was New Years Eve, he was working and couldn’t make it out in the morning.
It’s still better for some, because so many can’t get up at all for the entire day.
I was still feeling pretty sick. On the way home from the previous week’s hike, I started feeling sick, and it got worse during the course of the week. For New Years, we went to my friend DJ Raymond Cordts’s house, and didn’t drink a drop of liquor, not even champagne because I felt so awful. Waking up in the morning for the hike was also very tough for me.
Taylor Steelworkers Historic Greenway start
We continued together to the trailhead for the Taylor Steelworkers Historic Greenway, the trail system we helped the Union Forge Heritage Association mark and develop. I marked the route with Bill, and six volunteers including Mike Gronsky, UFHA President, Matt Davis, Shelly Janes, her daughter Dana, and then boyfriend Zack, and my late best buddy Kyle Zalinsky helped to re-deck the bridge over the South Branch below in 2009. We got the group back together and told everyone the reasons for the trail, some of the area history, and then our stories about the trail. I told everyone about when I was building the sign, after the holes were drilled I was on my own, so I called Bill up to come and help me finish installing it.
View of Lake Solitude Dam
We headed down the trail from here, and turned left on the red blazed side trail that leads to the overlook of the dam at Lake Solitude, the only remaining buttressed I-beam dam remaining in the state of New Jersey.
It was disappointing to see that someone had come by and painted out most of the blazes on the spur trail to the overlook. Only the ones at the start and the end of the spur trail were still in place. Bill said he’d come back out and fix it.
We made our way back to the main trail route, yellow blazed, and followed it down hill toward the Taylor Iron and Steel Company building. We weaved around the giant fallen trees that came down in Sandy, then arrived behind the TISCO building. Some of the group cut out early around here. It was getting colder, and some were on a recent hike Bill had left, so already got the tour.
TISCO building
We stopped at the TISCO building and Bill and I went over some of the history. There are still railroad rails coming to the front of the building, seen in the nearby pavement. This was the original High Bridge Railroad, which predated the High Bridge Branch further above.
The building reads 1742, and it’s believe to have been built that year or some time shortly after. It had several additions, but retains the character of the original building with it’s full facade.
Bill told us about Allen and Turner starting Union Ironworks, and how it moved on to Taylor, about the selling of munitions to both American and British interests, and then how Taylor declared himself a Patriot. The TISCO building is in rough shape, but thanks to Union Forge Heritage Association grants, the roof is now stable and further protects the building.
Kyle's memorial
We moved on along the trail from here, across the 1890 Carnegie Truss bridge over the South Branch of the Raritan we had re-decked.
People were walking by a lot on the trail. It’s always great to see so much use on something that we were responsible for developing. Looking up stream, the former High Bridge Railroad bridge over the South Branch was tilting toward the up stream section pretty badly, and the pier in the middle was completely undermine on the far side, with it’s top dangling over the missing section. That bridge might not withstand another flood, and when it goes, there will be big problems.
On the other side, we visited my buddy Kyle’s memorial, on the right side of the trail. It had a wreath on it left by a passing loved one. It’s still sad to think of how much fun Kyle was, and how he left us far too soon.
We continued past here, and then reached the ruins of the Bloomery Forge, build about 1760. It was here that the pig iron was shaped into the various munitions of other items needed. We went over some more history.
No much remains of the old building save for the rear wall and parts of sides coming forward. We continued from this point, and saw the originaly hydroelectric power house from Lake Solitude on the left as we made our way up hill toward the Solitude House, formerly the museum for Union Forge Heritage Association.
It was sad seeing the place; the first thing we came upon was the stone retaining walls along the access road collapsing in three different places. UFHA managed a fine museum that was well loved and visited for ten years, but had to give it up. The town of High Bridge offered UFHA only a five year lease with the caveat that it could be terminated at any time.
In order to be eligible for federal and state funds, a long term lease is necessary.
Solitude House
The government defines a long term lease as at least fifteen years, and without this, UFHA basically had their hands tied. Without grant money, they were no longer able to perform the great functions they once had, and so the only option was to reject the lease and find a different headquarters.
Former slave's quarters behind Solitude House
Since that time, UFHA has set up their new museum with a good lease at the historic Joseph Turner House, built about 1760, on Van Syckles Road near Spruce Run Recreation Area.
The town wanted to turn the Solitude House into a Bed and Breakfast, but that would never work. First, because there are too many regulations associated with Green Acres, which funded it, and second, because no for profit business entity wants to sink money into something they don’t own outright. So, the building has sat vacant and deteriorating for four years. UFHA has made the offer to come back, if the town would deed the house to their organization, with the stipulation that it only be used for historical purposes, but the town would not agree to it.
UFHA continues to operate successful events and a lovely museum, and their removal from High Bridge is the town’s loss, as they brought over $150,000 in grants to the town, without cost to tax payers.
Former Company Store at Solitude House
We headed around the back of the house after Bill showed us the sundial, and told us about John Penn, who was detained there during the American Revolution. We then checked out the former slave’s quarters, and Bill told us one of the slaves there was named “Mingo”. We continued down and saw the former Company Store building before turning back the way we came.
If there had been more time, we’d have headed over to the dam, but the temperature was dropping very fast and we were all cold. More of the group was turning back to walk to the cars because of it, so we cut it a bit short of that.
We followed the trail back across the bridge, then past the TISCO building and other industrial sites to the Huskies field. We were parked directly across the street from there at the Union Forge Park. From here, we could see the high fill that was formerly the site of the High Bridge for which the town takes it’s name.
Everyone was pretty hungry, and much of the group that stayed agreed to go to Riley and Jake’s for dinner, a bar and restaurant along Rt 31. Several of us went and had a good meal, treated by Annika.
I was feeling a bit better from partway through the hike, and so I actually ate a real meal for the first time in a few days.
Unfortunately, I felt sick again the next day, but it would improve somewhat soon. Either way, it was a great way to start off the new year, as always. It’s again looking like this is going to be an extremely eventful and happy year.
Thanks everyone for coming
Carrot
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