Hike #954; Chester and Black River

Hike #954; Chester and Black River

7/21/16 Chester and Black River with Joe Tag, Shane Blische, Jim "Uncle Soup" Campbell, Kralc Leahcim (Lerch), Jamie Lauren, Sandy Westermann, Erika Lorin Daniels, Jessica Anne, "Cupcake" {Chris Kroschinski}, Bill Stephens, Dan Asnis, Michele Valerio, Celeste, and Jillane Becker.

Our next hike would be a point to point, although originally devised as a loop, between Chester and the areas around the Black River. Some hikes end up being rather messy, and this was one of them, but it was also pretty cool.

Former Chester Branch of the CNJ

Things didn’t go right from the start, because for some reason the Meetup group put the wrong location to go to. Everyone ended up at the Krauszers in Washington instead of the Krauszers in Long Valley. I got everyone instead to go to the Chester Hill Mall, and knowing the area well enough, I was able to amend the hike so that it would work out similarly and hit some of the same power points.
It took a while for everyone to arrive, so we got a bit of a late start as well. Once everyone was there, we headed through the parking lot of the Chester Hill Mall, formerly the Central Railroad of NJ’s Chester Hill Branch.
We headed up the road, then crossed over where the same branch becomes part of Patriot’s Path going down hill. We followed that stretch to a left turn on the Black River Trail section, a lovely section.

Tunnel

The trail weaves around along the river, and I never get tired of it. Jamie was running late because of work or school or something, so we had her meet up with us at the Old Mill Inn. We had been waiting at the tunnel under Rt 24 near Cooper Grist Mill, but rather than wait any more we went into the inn for a beer. When Jamie arrived, we took off back to the Black River Trail.
We walked through the tunnel, past the Cooper Mill, then picked up the long forgotten right of way of the Hacklebarney Mine Railroad.
The railroad line is barely even acknowledge in any of Chester’s history, but it was an artery to the Central Railroad of NJ directly to the mines, which we’d soon come up on at our left.

At Milltown

The trail on the railroad goes along the edge of Kay’s Pond, which was part of the estate of Elizabeth D. Kay, one of the nation’s earliest horticulturists. Her home is now the Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Education Center, owned by Morris County Park Commission, and home to offices such as The Nature Conservancy (where the land steward at White Lake liked to hang out rather than show up on site). The mine area is all fenced in (although I’ve been in it in the past) and the trail goes around the outside. This was the end of the Hacklebarney Mine Railroad, but a narrow gauge line continued to the south, the Langdon Mine Railroad.

Historic view of Cooper Mill

Kay’s estate was aptly known as the Hidden River Farm, and it encompassed some of the old mine lands and the deepest, most secluded sections of the Black River.
The settlement of Hacklebarney is actually around the mine, not at the present day state park. The park just took that name because Hacklebarney was the nearest settlement.

Ruins

We followed the blue blazed main trail for a bit, turned along a side creek, then cut to the right on an old roadway which leads across the Black River. This is the easy route I never take when I’m in the area. There is an obscure green blazed trail that breaks off of the red blazed Conifer Pass Trail to the east, but we took the easy way at first this time.
Soon, we were climbing high above the Black River on the west side, and came to a set of steps that descend to the former pool house of Elizabeth Kay. We descended on the steps and were soon at the ruins. This is really one of the most amazing hidden spots in Morris County, and it only has remained good because of it’s seclusion.

Old steps

We stopped for a good long break at this point, and sat down on the dam. Extremely relaxing.
Cupcake and Jillane were planning to meet up with us, and I think Michele met at this same point having parked up at the mill area as well.
We didn’t hang out for all that long, just enough to enjoy it, and continued on up the hill a bit onto the Conifer Pass Trail heading south. The rapids and deep natural holes in the river remind me that I absolutely have to come back to this area again during the hot weather, but there wasn’t time this time.
While walking, Bill had his sandals break I believe, and fortunately someone else had some that would fit him.

Hidden River Farm Pool

We continued on along the trail and eventually came out to Pottersville Road where we turned to the right. Cupcake met us somewhere in this area, and we all walked the dirt road as I recall to reach the west side of Hacklebarney at the main entrance. I think he used the hunter lot.

Hidden River Farm pool

We turned left on State Park Road, and Jillane came up with her CRV. I had her park on a side road, a small development, but then Lerch, Erica, Jamie, Michele, and I forget who else wanted to do an early out, so before even getting to hike, they went to the diner.
The rest of us headed into the woods as it was getting dark on an informal trail that leads to the red Riverside Trail.
In order to put together the higher mileage I wanted to do, we ended up doing every trail. There was some car up in the lot above us, so we kept away and turned to the right on the red trail, up the steps, and then made a restroom stop for those who needed it.
From there, we continued on the informal open path parallel with the parking lot as I recall. This led us out to the spot where the Playground Trail connects with the newly dubbed Uplands Trail, pink blazed.
The Uplands Trail is a loop I put together to formalize some trails that had never been blazed. They were all stone chip surface trails that had been closed during Tropical Storm Sandy, but we never got to opening them back up until a year ago. We closed one section, but the best of it I opened up super wide first with Darryl at work, then Tom (who I’m trying to get to come on a hike but no luck so far).
The trail first follows the woods road which leads to the farm dump for all of the excess wood and such that we have in the park. I missed where the Upland Trail turns left, and we all walked right on to the dump area. We had to turn back and watch for the turn better.
We found it, descended for a bit, and it leads to a nice open area created by the storm. We then headed back up hill to the former overlook spot.
The overlook used to be an unobscured overlook into the valley to the east, but it’s since grown in completely with trees. Now it just serves as a nice little break spot, which is what we used it for. It has a good little bench on it.
From there, the trail terminates at the Playground Trail, which is green blazed. Since I was able to finally reblaze the trails in this park, it’s far easier to tell where you’re supposed to go, as well as where someone might be if they need help.
I got a call from one of our seasonal employees who was stuck with a broken ATV during the Summer, and she was trying to describe the directions to get there. It came out all wrong, and Pirate John and I couldn’t make sense of it. We drove around looking for her until she told me the marks on the trees had “Three orange marks and one red”. The only place in the park one could get with those particular marks would be the intersection of the Riverside Trail and the Wintershine Trail, and we were able to find her.

Swings

We stopped at the playground for a little bit, then made our way onto the yellow blazed Windy Ridge Trail on a steep hillside. We followed that back to the intersection of white blazed Main Trail and start of Riverside Trail at Rhinehardt Brook. We crossed the brook on a bridge and continued to the south side of the park.
The trail turns hard left from a former woods road, and then makes it’s way to the river. I went and took a dip at the first pool we got to because it was so hot, but surprisingly really no one else wanted to get in. We continued down stream from there, and passed the SCA project spot where the kids had built steps on a bad part of the trail.
We just continued up stream along the river to Restroom #3, a deplorable stone building built in the 1930s that is impossible to clean. Restrooms like these pit ones no longer work because patrons just throw garbage into them. If one were to look down the toilet, there is no liquid waste, just heaps of trash right up to the top. I really think these restrooms should be closed off and either turned into open air picnic shelters or turned into rentable cabins for the handicapped, since the trail to it was paved and could meet ADA accessible requirements.
Jillane met us at this point and we continued together to where the trail leaves the river and ascends toward the former entrance to the park, and back to the parking lot. We continued ahead here, onto a small island, across a log, and to the old Hacklebarney Pool.
When Adolph Borie donated the land for Hacklebarney, originally the entrance was off of Hacklebarney Road, but then he wanted the land back and offered to donate more land and pay for a proper entrance if he could take the original land back. The state agreed, but by that time, the CCC has already built a nice swimming pool into the river on the property, which remains there today, just at the border of state land.
We took a dip here and had another nice break. When everyone felt it was time to go, we headed back across the old dam, which is opened up in the middle, and reached the old Hemlock log across the Black River. From here, we walked to the new trail the Student Conservation Association had put in.
The project I gave them was to eliminate a badly washed out old trail that went from the Hunter’s Lot #1 to the river and make a safer switchback. They did an excellent job, and it’s very easy to follow now.
Also, I got permission from Russ Nee and Russ Felter of Morris County Park Commission to formally connect this trail to the Patriot’s Path system, making it the first time Hacklebarney State Park has ever been connected to the National Trail System, a big achievement. Unfortunately, I have not yet been given permission to blaze the trail so it remains hidden.
We went up the switchbacks and reached the parking lot where Cupcake’s car was, as well as Jillane’s.
I said goodbye to everyone, and then went back down the trail to find Jillane, who stayed at the pool for a little while longer. There is a giant tree that is covered in bear claw marks, so I was a bit nervous, but saw nothing (I saw a mother and two cubs near there at work recently).