Hike #971; 911 Trail Part 8, Ironia to Schooleys Mountain
9/25/16 Ironia to Schooleys Mountain with Lyz Hagenbuch, Ric Giantisco, Tom Edmunds, Russell J. Nee, Sue Bennett, Brian Coan, Stephen Argentina, Eric Pace, Dave ?, Kenneth Lidman, Terry Allen, Serious Sean Dougherty, Gail Ingham, Edward DiSalvo, Jim “Uncle Soup” Campbell, Cupcake (Chris Kroschinski), Darlene Perez, Ariel, Jack Lowry, Sarah Jones, Al MacLennan, Kathryn Cataldo,
Our next hike would be the next point to point trip, the ninth in the 911memorialtrail series.
The series has been going exceptionally well, and bringing out good numbers of people. Additionally, we’ve been adding little extras on that add to the quality of the trip such as historic interpretation locally and events.
The group on Seward's Hill
As in the others in the series across Morris County, we were very fortunate to have Russell J. Nee of the Morris County Parks Commission out with the “slack wagon”, Morris Co’s 15 passenger van, not only to shuttle most of the group to the start, but to provide a safety net for those who have reservations about their ability to do the high mileage we do.
Ironia Station historic image
It was good to see old friends like Pershouse and Eric out, whom I hadn’t seen in some time.
After meeting in Schooleys Mountain Park, we shuttled with as few vehicles as we could to Ironia, near where there was once a railroad station, on the West Morris Greenway.
The greenway follows the historic route of the former Chester Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, constructed in 1869.
On the last hike, we finished in Succassunna, to promote some of the connectivity between the Patriot’s Path and this newer trail system. This time, we’d follow the greenway back to pick up the Patriot’s Path where we left off.
Ironia Station historic image
The Chester Branch broke away from the Lackawanna main at Lake Junction to the northeast to serve the growing iron industry of the Chester area. Starting in 1873 and for about ten years after, the Chester Furnace saw great success in smelting iron ore from nearby mines in Chester and Hacklebarney.
The Chester Branch was intended by Al Kent to be the main route of the Patriot’s Path at one time, but there is no good crossing of Rt 206, so the better and safer route through Chester was devised. We would return to the Chester Branch of the Lackawanna later in the day, but for the start of the hike, we’d pass the site of Ironia Station and make our way to where the path heads up hill to Black River Recreation Area.
Patriot's Path in Black River WMA
Russ obtained permission for us to leave vehicles at the water authority property which owns part of the railroad bed, which allowed for us to hike from this location.
We followed the rail bed to the west through Black River Wildlife Management Area, and Tom met us with us on the turns above in Black River Recreation Area. We regrouped everyone there where there were restrooms to use. Eric was thoroughly entertained by the fact that they actually had an authentic telephone booth.
Kat and Kevin joined us at this point. I had to sit down against the building while there.
The night before I started having some problems. I’d had a slight fever, and was feeling dizzy. I’d been majorly stressed out from work issues, and figured it was just wearing me down.
Eric and the phone!
I kept feeling worse, though. I got a headache and was just feeling sore everywhere. My stomach started to hurt pretty badly. Then, in the middle of the night I woke up to horrible pain in my legs. From just below my knees down, my legs felt like they were swollen and ready to explode. It was a horrible feeling, and I was convinced right away it was Lyme again.
When I woke up in the morning, just walking down the stairs was horrible. My legs were sore like I had walked thirty miles the day before, when really I’d hardly walked any mileage at all. My headache persisted, and wasn’t really getting any better. I was starting to think I might not make it to the end of the hike.
My legs got less sore the more I used them, and we moved on from here across Rt 513 to the mowed trails on the other side. Russ was good enough to stand as a crossing guard to help us across and keep the group all together. This section is not yet marked with Patriot’s Path blazes, so Tom Edumunds took the lead of the group as we walked through the lovely field sections.
Russ on Seward's Hill!
We made our way south and then east through the former Lucent property toward Seward’s Hill. We could see Russ from afar on the top of the hill looking down on us as we approached.
We all regrouped again when we got to the top of Seward’s Hill. It was a good thing Russ was up there, because he pointed out some things that I never knew: you can actually see the Freedom Tower from the top of Seward’s Hill, making this the westernmost point on the trail where the NYC skyline is visible. I had never noticed it before because on previous trips it was hazy.
View of NYC skyline and Freedom Tower on Seward's Hill
It was interesting also that Ariel pointed out the fact that she would be the first graduation class of kids that were not yet alive during 9-11. That kind of hit home for me, because it really doesn’t seem like it could have been that long ago. I was living with a girlfriend in Phillipsburg at the time, and watched the live newscasts as it was going on. Maybe it doesn’t seem like yesterday, but it doesn’t seem like it could be that long. Cupcake, Darlene, and Ariel met up with us at Seward’s Hill. From there we all headed down to the main street through Chester, the route of the Patriot’s Path. When we got to the middle of town, I told everyone to take a lunch break and meet back at Rite Aid in a half hour or so.
Chester Street Fair
The street fair was going on, and I recalled the last time we did a hike through Chester that the same was happening. That time, I found the tent for Brook Hollow Winery, and got some delicious stuff. Once again, I found the same tent, did the tasting, and picked out a bottle. Jack and Sarah joined us here, and Jack treated me to a bottle! ♥
We headed over to the Rite Aid, where we all loitered under the awning for a while. Some in the group were taking a lot longer, some had been waiting there for a long while. I wanted to get everyone together to do a head count, but some ended up going ahead anyway.
Chester NJ
I wanted to get back into the historic interpretation aspect of it as well. The Chester Hill Mall, where the Rite Aid sits today, was part of the Chester Hill Branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, constructed in 1873.
The Chester Branch of the CNJ terminated at the Chester Furnace, and was competition for the Lackawanna line to the same location. Originally, the Chester Branch was part of the High Bridge Branch, but acquisition of another line extended the High Bridge Branch to the northeast and I understand the the segment to Chester was redubbed the Chester Branch.
After 1873, the line was extended through town and out to other mines on the east side, and some of the right of way can be seen along the north side of the road, as well as out beyond where it crossed Rt 206.
Once we had the group together, we headed across 513 and down the former Chester Hill Branch right of way. I pointed out the old mine pits along the way in the back of Chubb Park. It was tempting to extend the trip and go to Chubb Park because there was a fair going on, but we were meeting a Washington Twp guy named Bruce Clark who would give us more great historic interpretation at the furnace.
Bruce Clark gives us some history
We followed the Chester Hill Branch down hill to where the main Patriot’s Path turns off to the right. We followed it across a little brook, then out to Furnace Road where we met Bruce Clark.
I know the history of the area pretty well, but Mr. Clark knows a whole lot more detail than I do, right down to what exactly each one of the foundations were along the route of the trail. That was really cool for me, because I’ve walked by them so many times and never had a clue as to how the Chester Furnace area was laid out. We all followed him into the woods on the trail, and Russ joined us for this leg of the hike as well.
Listening to Bruce Clark's history
We crossed the grade of the old Lackawanna Railroad line that we’d been following at the very start of the hike. Here, it’s barely recognizable as a former railroad, just a berm that we walk across. Mr. Clark indicated that he would like to clear out more of the right of way to offer better interpretation of the site ahead. He explained that there were homes in the area for workers that have long since vanished, another fact I knew nothing of. We continued on, and another very interesting thing was the existence of refuse piles from the furnace in long lines. Apparently they just dumped the stuff off in a line heading away from the site, and so these piles can be seen looking like other narrow gauge rail grades through the area.
The area now has lots of great interpretive signs to help tell the story of Chester Furnace, something that had never been there before. It’s great to have information on it out there. Actually, my article in Skylands Magazine was one of the only places with any easily accessible information on it for a very long time, and now detailed information was available on site. This is fantastic for those who want to know more!
Chester Furnace remnant
We continued on through the site, as the trail weaved back and forth, and we soon climbed up to the Chester Branch of the CNJ once more. Here, we turned right for a bit, then crossed the Black River on the stone culvert below.
There is a concrete dam, all open, in the river to the north of the trail. I had always assumed this old dam was something to do with the furnace works, but Bruce gave us the explanation, and it was a more interesting story than I could have ever imagined it would be!
Apparently, a lake community was planned in the area, and lakefront lots were sold cheap years ago for when it was done. However, when the dam was closed and the started to come up, it backed up over the roads to the east!
The old dam
The dam had to be opened up and the development never happened. This was some amazing history, and I was surprised that I’d never ready anything about it in all of my studies on the area! Lyz went down to check it out, much to the dismay of many, and we were all bewildered at the existence of what appeared to be a rope swing below. The only thing we could think was that the water must be pretty deep behind the dam where it spills over. It otherwise doesn’t even look deep at all.
We moved on along the trail, and I pointed out the former junction with the Hacklebarney Mine Railroad, which had an east and westbound connection. Much of the blue blazed route of the Patriot’s Path follows this historic right of way through Black River Park. The line was developed in the 1870s, and even extended a short distance further with a narrow gauge line called the Langdon Mine Railroad, which was only used for three or four years.
From this area, Bruce and Russ headed back, and the rest of us continued on to where the Patriot’s Path left the railroad bed to the right, crossed a meadow, and then passed through a plantation of evergreens from the 1930s or something. The trail then came out on Tanners Brook Road and turned right to cross the brook on the road bridge.
Happy days!!!
As we walked up the road, there were some cars taking off, and some guy was driving one by asking what we were up to. He asked if this was some sort of group, and I of course gave him the sales pitch as usual. He said that it looked fun, so I said “Well...pull on over and join us!”
“I can’t, man I’m on my way to a concert at (I forget where)” he said.
Just then, both Jack and Sean walked by, both playing their guitars and harmonizing, and so I replied “Well we have live music right here!!!”
“Whoaa! Let me pull over right now!” he said enthusiastically. He then said that he couldn’t this time but was seriously interested in joining us. You never know when you meet someone who might become a good friend down the road.
The trail cut into the woods to the left, then climbed through Tanners Brook Preserve for a while. It crested a hill on mostly wide trails, then descended via a footpath to reach a fiber optic line or something. The trail turned left on the line, followed it for a bit, then turned right onto a path that led to the corner of a golf course. We cut through and soon were in the back of Palmer Park where Russ was waiting for us.
We took a break here while others who were behind could catch up. Some of the group was getting pretty tired and opted to take the early out at this point. The rest of us continued on to the exit of Palmer Park, turned left on Bartley Road, and Russ halted traffic for us once again to the other side where a short footpath took us to the former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ.
Historic image of Long Valley (German Valley) Station
This was a major railroad, originally started because of the Taylor-Wharton Plant in High Bridge. The route was devised to get to the iron rich Highlands of Morris County, and acquired another line to put it through toward Dover. By the 1870s it was the main artery through which the Central Railroad of NJ was shipping the sought after iron ore.
By the 1880s, 90 cars of ore were carried over the line per day. Not only was this the main artery coming out of the Chester area mines, it received ore from Mt. Hope Mineral Railroad, Morris Co. Railroad (Wharton and Northern), Ogden Mine Railroad, Hibernia Mine Railroad, and more.
When the iron industry came and went, the railroad was again revitalized in the 1890s, which saw sixty thousand passengers riding this line every Summer to reach tourist destinations on or near Lake Hopatcong. The High Bridge Branch was indeed an important line.
Today, the right of way is known as “Columbia Trail”. It was dubbed this by Hunterdon County Parks Department, with the minutes of the meeting reading “Hunterdon County suggested the name ‘Columbia Trail’....naturally, Columbia Gas is excited about this...”.
There was never a mention of this being a condition of making it a trail.
Honestly, it’s a horrible name for the trail for several reasons:
1.) Paulins Kill Valley Trail, the longest rail trail in NJ, begins in Columbia NJ. Having worked as an employee on both, I have met folks on Columbia Trail looking for Paulins Kill Viaduct, and folks on PKV Trail looking for Ken Lockwood Gorge. It’s a confusing thing.
2.) The name has nothing to do with any history of the area. Since naming it, more recent documentation states that a train that crashed off of the Ken Lockwood Gorge bridge in 1888 was called “Columbia”, when truthfully it was a numbered, unnamed engine in all documentation. The first place to ever make mention of this name was a Hunterdon County brochure.
3.) Gas, and other buried utility rights of way are required to keep surface areas clear to keep root systems from undermining their utility. Some argue that Columbia deserves the name for “allowing” the trail to pass through, when the truth is they have handed over the maintenance burden for the property to tax payers. Certainly, the recreational value of the trail is well worth it, but at the very least give the trail back the meaningful historic name.
I started a petition on changing the trail’s name to it’s historic name on change.org a couple years back, which can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/hunterdon-county-nj-change-columbia-trail-to-high-bridge-branch-trail-support-history-not-gas-companies
We followed the trail to the west until we came to the intersection with the Gillette Trail, part of the blue blazed branch of the Patriot’s Path. Here, we turned and joined with the Highlands Trail, the 170 mile trail which follows the spine of the Highlands geological province between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers.
View of Long Valley from Schooleys Mountain
We crossed Fairview Ave and started making our way up the mountain, left at the first fork and then rather steeply switching between foot path and old logging or charcoal roads.
Stephen and corn
We had some delicious corn on the cob Stephen bought at the street market along the way. It was really some of the juiciest sweet corn I’ve ever had.
Before I forget, it is worth mentioning that the wine from the street fair was the first alcoholic beverage I have ever seen Stephen actually ingest.
We had a nice break at the overlook when we got there, and I was starting to feel a bit better despite all of my stress. We moved on along the path a short distance, and then announced where we could split the group for different sections.
I had planned ahead of time that we would cut away from Patriot’s Path, and do a sort of overlapping route with this and the next hike in the series.
The falls
This time, those who wanted the shorter way out could continue on the Patriot’s Path and Highlands Trail, and those who wanted to see the waterfalls of the Electric Brook, in Boulder Gorge, would follow me down the Falling Waters Trail.
Some of the group opted for the shorter route, but a good amount of them followed me down to the lovely waterfall. On the next hike, we would start off on Gillette Trail in Long Valley, and then retrace just a few steps to the overlook, then cover the section that the others used as a short cut.
We headed steeply down to the creek side, then followed it up stream a little bit to the falls, which were flowing rather nicely despite drought conditions.
Schooleys Mountain Park
The trail above there can be a bit more difficult. Just above the lower falls, it’s a slightly unclear section because it’s necessary to look down for hand holds, and one might not see the blazes ahead. A couple went the wrong way further up, and soon saw me go the correct way. We made our way through the gorge, then up to the lake and dam.
Once at the lake, I think a few continued to the right side, but most of us crossed the foot bridge over the dam and headed along the east side to get to the floating bridge. It’s a pretty nice area; it was all once part of Camp Washington before it was a county park.
Floating bridge
We crossed the floating bridge, which brought back some memories of my first times coming to this park when I was small. My grandfather’s Barbershop Chorus, the Hunterdon Harmonizers used to have their annual picnics at this park, just above at the pavilion next to where we were parked.
We crossed the floating bridge and then started making our way back up to the parking area, where Russ was waiting with the van going. Stephen I think was the last one that had to get back to his car at the starting point.
With all of us in the parking area, we checked out Uncle Soup’s hot car. Usually, he drives his wife’s red Mustang, and said he only brings his own car when he knows it will be a safe location.
Uncle Soup's mean ride
It was quite an awesome car! Everyone congregated around it to admire it, and we discussed what to do for food. Since it was so close by, and I was starting to feel better, I decided to go out and eat as well. Dave suggested the Long Valley brew pub or something I think it was.
Checking out Uncle Soup's wheels
The place was just down the road, and they set us at tables that had one group between both. We all agreed that this was probably a poor choice for the folks directly between us, but oh well.
I had only a nacho order as an appetizer, but even that was too big. My appetite was pretty much gone, but I managed to put it all away.
My socks...dang
I do not know if I got Giardia from having untreated water while backpacking, if it’s because I ate a sandwich that had been sitting in my car all day, or if it was just the overwhelming amount of stress I was feeling, but whatever the case, I would feel feverish every time I’d eat even the smallest amount of food, and then continue to have digestive problems for hours after.
It was overall another great day with a good mix of silliness, history, music, friends, and fun.
The 911 Memorial Trail series in particular has been great for promoting the mix of history and ecology I love to showcase so much. Organizing these hikes is often times the only thing that gets me through life feeling (somewhat) sane, and despite the push to put an end to this being a weekly tradition, I try to focus on the positive congregation of the moment with faith that somehow, if it’s worth it, it will work out.
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