Hike #981; Long Valley to Waterloo

Hike 3981: 10/30/16 Long Valley to Waterloo with Tom Edmunds, Sue Bennett, Justin Gurbisz, Tom Vorrius, Kenneth Lidman, Jenny Sunshine, Terry Allen, Edward DiSalvo, Gail Ingham, Kellie Kegan, Robin Deitz, James De Lotto, Brian Coen, Jason W. Briggs, Russell Lord Byron Rapp, and Ken Zarouni

Our next hike would be the eight in the series to hike the entire 911memorialtrail, this time in the final Morris County section, and the first in Warren and Sussex Counties between Waterloo and Long Valley.

Gillette Trail in Long Valley

We met in the morning at Waterloo Village, at the side of the village. There was a wedding event going on, but we were able to use the parking anyway. We shuttled from there to Long Valley, at Krauszers, to start off on the Gillette Trail section almost across the street.
Leaving the lot, we left without Ken! We started driving, and someone had left their pack in the lot! We thought one of the first cars that left had had someone that missed it, but Ken was in the restroom. Fortunately, he called me up from his cell phone and we came back to get him! We then made jokes about putting a bell on him or getting him “chipped”.
The entire car ride was full of nerd humor from blood cell and macrophage to whatever psychological term. I can’t even remember it all, but something Dr. Jen said about the Macrophage just wants a hug.

Former High Bridge Branch

We got some snacks and such and put everyone in a circle to go over what we were doing with the route. We then headed barely up Rt 513 to reach the Gillette Trail, a branch of Patriot’s Path originally conceived as the main route (the blue blazes continue up the road, then down to Ort Farm and out to Coleman Road on the old CNJ Chester Branch right of way).
After passing through fields, I pointed out where the trail crossed the old Chester Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ. It used to cross over the South Branch of the Raritan nearby. Only the abutments and pier to the bridge still exist today.

Historic view of the CNJ bridge over the South Branch of the Raritan in Long Valley.

We continued to where a house used to be, just after crossing the South Branch of the Raritan on an old farm bridge. We then reached the right of way of the former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ. We turned right to follow it, also the route of the Highlands Trail, to the right to where the Patriot’s Path comes in. We turned left to begin our ascent of Schooleys Mountain at this point.
The High Bridge Branch is today known as the Columbia Trail, which I absolutely hate. It’s named after the Columbia gas line rather than it’s historic railroad name, which is confusing and inappropriate. First of all, government agencies should not give such a name because it’s free advertisement to an outside business.

Highlands Trail/Patriot's Path on Schooleys Mountain

Also, the trail is confusing because the state’s longest rail trail, Paulins Kill Valley Trail, begins in Columbia NJ and is often confused with this one. Furthermore, the gas line would be required to keep the right of way clear so that root systems did not undermine the buried utility. Basically, the cost of maintenance goes to tax payers instead of the gas company. This is well worth it honestly, because it’s a great trail route, but at the very least the name should not be that of a gas company when the historic name of the railroad would serve both to educate as well as to limit confusion. I started a petition a while back regarding this, 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 crossed Fairview Ave and started climbing by way of the co-aligned Patriot’s Path, Highlands Trail, Liberty-Water Gap Trail, and now 911 Trail. It was a nice but sometimes steep footpath heading to the northwest through Schooleys Mountain park.

View on Schooleys Mountain

We continued to the overlook at what was once a quarry wall in the Boulder Gorge below. We stopped for a break there. I was wearing my suit and tie, but it was far warmer than we’d anticipated it would be. Justin wore one as well, and I gave the beige one I wore on the last Morris Canal hike to Tom, who wore it all day. It was a struggle for us to keep those things on!

Patriot's Path at Flocktown Kossman School

After the nice view, we continued on the trail ahead. On the previous hike, we descended to teh Boulder Gorge, but this time we remained on the Patriot’s Path heading to the north. We met with Tom Edmunds when we got to the parking area at the top.
From there, we skirted through the park’s fields to the left, past a pond, then out to Springtown Road. Tom paused us there to let us know about some of the great volunteer work that had been going on along the trail. Brian has been very active in that, and newcomer Ken had also been doing work (he’s also President at the Brittany Hills homeowners association through which the Patriot’s Path passes).
We continued through the woods across the Electric Brook for the second time (we crossed the first time on Springtown Road). The trail then skirts the edge of the stream as it disperses into countless little springs going off everywhere. The trail crosses a puncheon before coming out to Rock Road across from the access to Harrington Field.
We headed up the access lane, and then the trail cuts from the fields to the right, to Patridge Lane. It used to go between that and Falcon Court, another development road, through a wide easement. Sadly, adjacent land owners had thrown their lawn trimmings and such back there to block off the trail, and it’s too impossible to keep caught up with it. So, during the past couple of months the trail was moved out to the nearby road.
Delotto met us with us on the road, having run a bit late because he picked up a new door or window or something on the top of his car. Together, we headed across Flocktown Road and cut through the school yard. The trail follows the left side, then cuts through a swath of woods between more homes until it reaches a power line to the north. I love this section because it’s just so odd.
The trail turned left, then made it’s way literally through people’s back yards on the power line heading to the north. It follows a couple of blocks of back streets and cuts back into the woods on a cul de sac to head to the east.

Power line view

I had been following this section for many years. It used to just go off into the woods from the intersection and just dead end randomly in the woods. I found my way through along a berm of some sort of retention pond at the time, which later became the trail. For years, the trail went down hill to the old route of Mission Road, but it had recently been rerouted yet again to remain on the hillside. This route offered us another new overlook from the power line toward Hackettstown. The only somewhat sad part about it for me was that the route down below led to an awesome old lime kiln. The section from the lime kiln up to the intersection with Mission, Reservoir, and Spring Roads was built by Jillane with her girl scout troop.

Patriot's Path

The approach to the lime kiln from near the power line was reblazed to blue, so it was still possible to visit it, but it no longer goes through. It was always a tough section, out behind people’s houses, which got badly overgrown with briars and such.
The new route took us through some nice woods, and then cut somewhat down hill to come out to the corner of Mission Road, Reservoir Road, and Spring Road, at the same place that the old trail used to come out.
We re-grouped there, and checked out the old gate across the street off of Mission.

The old gate

Mission Road was the road that used to continue straight through toward Hackettstown, to Schooleys Mountain Road area. Today, the section between the power line and this intersection is not even recognizable as ever having been a road. There is an abandoned swimming pool back on the property along the trail, and we joked a little bit about who’s responsibility that was now that the county no longer had the Patriot’s Path routed in between there. It’s really just a pond now, and there are so many briars back there it’s pretty much impossible to even get to any more.

Historic view of the pool at Camp St. Joseph's Villa

The Camp St. Joseph’s Villa (1919-1963) was founded by Monsignor Congedo, a former New York City Parish minister who ran the Christian boys and girls camp every July and August.

Bad ass

The Xaverian Brothers managed the camp starting in 1942. The camp had a main house, a dining hall, several sleeping cabins, facilities for baseball, basketball, and rollerskating, the swimming pool, a large chapel, and a stone grotto in the woods with a statue of the Virgin Mary.
As per aerial images, as well as word of mouth, nothing at all remains of the former camp today. It remains private land, and it’s honestly rather strange that I’d never bothered to go in and explore. It would be amazing if the stone grotto with the Virgin Mary were still back in there somewhere, but I kind of doubt it.

Some stone thing in the woods

The trail turned left down Reservoir Road along the new developments, then cut into the woods to the left a bit after the last house. It was a pretty nice section heading down hill to connect with the Brittany Hills development.
We passed some weird looking concrete things, which looked like an old fountain, while up there. I wondered if maybe it was an old fountain from town or something that got dumped off that some time before the development went in.
We could only follow the route along the first paved path to the roads, even though there would be a better way to walk, but some of the home owners do not want the trail to go through, and it’s necessary to play nice as not to cause a problem. We continued from this point down hill on the road, and then out toward the traffic light at Target.

Pizza lunch!

At last minute, we decided to cut off to the right to where the A&P used to be. There was a Frank’s Pizza or something in there, which had closed, but then reopened under a different name. I figured it would be better for us to stop by a pizza place rather than just get some crummy grocery type of lunch at Target, and it was only a couple hundred feet further to walk.
We went over and had a really tasty lunch. I think I had Chicken Quesadilla slices, which were really tasty (as well as really filling). We mostly all sat outside because there were so many of us. The proprietors of the establishment were friendly and gracious of our patronage.

Tom found the only shade!

We moved on from here back out to the traffic light at the Target. We went from there over to the Target really quick to fill up water bottles. The official Patriot’s Path is not marked through this particular area, but I had suggested that the trail head into the Target lot, then turn to the left along the abandoned roadway route that goes to the west, out to East Avenue.
We headed to the left from there out along the old roadway, which is well lined with some very nice shady trees. It crosses over a little brook about mid way through, which was an excellent place for me to get my group photo.

Abandoned road

At the end of the abandoned road, we went right on East Avenue which became Drakestown Road or something I think it is, then continued to the east as it became Mine Road.
I noticed a road called Kemple Lane on the left, which I’d hiked along before, and sent it to my friend from work, Jason Kemple. It turns out that he’s descended from owners of the property, or family still owns the property or something.
Mine Road took us on to where it becomes abandoned. It heads up toward Stephens Park Road on Mt. Olive, but is now the route of Patriot’s Path. The first time I hiked this route in 2001 or maybe earlier, the road looked to be recently paved, but was closed to traffic. We climbed up hill on this until we got to where the Patriot’s Path rejoined the Highlands Trail and turned left.

My awesome new pin!

We climbed up rather steeply over the breast of a hill, along the berm of a former basement or iron mine prospect, then down hill on the other side. We soon picked up an old woods road, which the trail followed gradually down hill into Stephens State Park.
It was getting really dark as we walked. Rain looked imminent. We stopped at the restrooms in the main parking lot, and I sang in it a bit.
When we got out, Tom presented me with a very nice pin as well as a Morris County “Enjoy the Experience” hat. The pin fit perfectly on my lapel. I kept the hat on for a bit, because I knew it would help with the coming storm.
Tom also had a tee shirt for me, but he held onto it since it was going to get pretty wet soon.
Tom chose the spot because it was basically the end of Morris County, even though we had a little but more to go before reaching where we actually crossed, but it would likely be raining by the time we got to that point. We walked along the trail along the Musconetcong River, and the wind blew all crazy. Lots of people were there, and they were all heading back to the parking area. I heckled them to come back and join us as we walked.
The leaves were blowing around like crazy, which looked really cool. Before we even reached Waterloo Valley Road, the rain was coming down pretty strong. The official end of the Patriot’s Path is at this point. We turned to the left over the Musconetcong, then to the righ ton Waterloo Road across the railroad tracks, on the Highlands Trail route.
The Highlands trail goes out past an old house, then turns left to climb to the Morris Canal towpath, but this time I brought everyone up to the towpath early on the section that was recently cleared by Jacob Franke and his volunteer crew.
I’ve probably covered this section of the canal this particular year more than I ever have in my life, but it is a good section worth doing. Besides, it was starting to pour heavily and we could have a good break under the awning of the abandoned house up there.
After our break, we continued on the towpath to the east out to Saxton Falls.

Morris Canal historic view used as a swimming pool after it's abandonment

I was able to get some good “then and now” shots of the canal at Saxton Falls using historic photos. I made sure to take extra ones just so that they’d line up pretty well.

Morris Canal Lock 5 at Saxton Falls

Saxton Falls was a guard lock, Lock 5 west. Here, the Morris Canal entered the slack water fo Saxton Lake. The Musconetcong River was canalized with the towpath beside it beyond.

Lock #5 West historic view

Because it was raining so heavily, Lord Byron cut out early somewhere around this point. He had brought his expensive camera equipment to work on a documentary film he’d been making with the hikers, and didn’t want to get it all damaged.
The rest of us continued on from the old lock along the Musconetcong River on the towpath.
The section was in really good shape. Clearly Jacob Franke or maybe some of the Highlands Trail crew had been out there clearing off more of it. We were able to follow it along the lake, onto part of a causeway, and then to the left to where the Ditmar House used to stand. This was a house we always used to go in before it was torn down. There were past hikes where it was pouring, and we sought shelter in the building. It might have been nice to have at this point, because the rain continued on and off.

Present view of Lock 5W

I gave an abbreviated little history talk here about the canal and then more recent history.
The Morris Canal was completed in the 1830s, then refurbished several times, with the last time being 1842. It was the greatest climber of the world’s canals, because in addition to using traditional lift locks to overcome elevation, it employed twenty three inclined planes driven at first by overshot water wheels, but after 1842 by Scotch Turbines. The canal remained in operation until 1924 when it was abandoned. At that time, the last engineer employed was a guy named Vermuele, who put in drainage structures along the way. I pointed some out as we went by.

Lock 5W

This dismantling of the canal occured in 1927, after which different sections were repurposed into things such as swimming pools, high ways, light rail lines, and more.
The section we were walking out to Waterloo Village is of particular interest because it has remained rather undeveloped for so long, but it’s also quite controversial.
After the Flood of ‘55, the Water Bond Act of 1958 was passed. There were a lot of plans for reservoirs, some of which happened, such as Spruce Run, Round Valley, Merrill Creek, and Upper and Lower Yards Creek. Others were authorized but never built.

Morris Canal towpath

The most famous of the defunct dam and reservoir projects was Tocks Island above the Delaware Water Gap. It would have made a sixty or so mile long lake on the Delaware River and inundated one of it’s most beautiful and historic valleys. It was defunct in 1979 by Jimmy Carter, and officially deauthorized in 1992 or 3.
Although that dam was de-authorized, there are several more that still remain on the books and could potentially happen. One of them is a proposal that would flood the entire Waterloo Valley from Stephens State Park all the way through to the famous Waterloo Village and maybe beyond.

Saxton Lake along Morris Canal towpath

If the dam on the Musconetcong were ever built, it would be an absolute tragedy for the historic area. The longest intact piece of the Morris Canal greenway would be lost, and the most complete canal era town would go with it.

Morris Canal towpath at Saxton Lake

We continued from the towpath up hill to Colony Road. This was a little development of homes above Saxton Lake, most of which are now abandoned. I believe two or three are still occupied today, and many have been torn down. The Highlands Trail and Morris Canal Greenway have to follow the road because the causeway used by the canal was severed in the lake.

Morris Canal Greenway at Saxton Lake

We came out to Waterloo Road, and got back to along the canal at the former site of Lock #4 West. The lock tender’s house still stands abandoned here, and is one of very few still standing. For many years it was used as Elsie’s Restaurant. The restaurant side had recently been demolished, with only the lock house section remaining. The lock is still in the area, now buried. This is the planned terminus of the Warren Highlands Trail, where it will hit the main Highlands Trail.

Historic view of Morris Canal at Saxton Lake

We continued on the greenway to the east, which eventually went left to follow the original route of Waterloo Road, where the present road, moved in the 1930s, overtakes the former canal. The trail takes the road to where they come back together, at a site where there was once an ore dock on the canal. There is an old iron mine site up the hill on Allamuchy Mountain, and the material could be brought to canal boats from there.
The canal trail turned to the right from there, away from Waterloo Road. It’s a beautiful section, with only a couple of brief interruptions. We had to come back out to Waterloo Road to get past one house that had been built over the route. We then went back out to the canal and took it past the fields where concerts take place at Waterloo. We then crossed Kinney Road, after which there was a nice weir site on the canal.

Morris Canal at Starport

Soon, we came out to Waterloo Road one last time where the road had overtaken it. We then turned to the right on a section that is usually full of water, but was pretty dry this time. I figure it’s because of the drought. Ahead was the former site of Starport, a small port area that had a bridge over the canal and a few buildings prior to reaching Waterloo Village. I believe the road once crossed the Musconetcong beyond as well, but most remnants of that crossing a probably long gone due to Tilcon quarrying in the area.
We made our way to where Interstate 80 was built over the canal, and the trail goes to the right to pass under the bridge over the Musconetcong. There, while others went ahead, I stripped down to my boxers and went for a cold but refreshing swim. It had started to rain quite a bit harder, but it was nice to feel less sweaty.
We then walked onward to the left, and soon came out in the field adjacent to Waterloo Village. No one wanted to wander through there even though it was their trick or treat night. I saw Jim from Kittatinny Valley State Park, and Andrea Proctor who also works there for interpretation. I chatted with her briefly about doing a group thing for our next hike there, so hopefully we can pull something together.
I waited around to make sure that everyone had a ride out. I wasn’t sure who went ahead, if they’d missed a ride, or if they’d continued ahead on the canal by accident. When I was sure everyone was good, I headed out.
I stopped at Taco Bell on the way home, and by chance met up with Delotto there. We sat together and laughed about all of the silliness, and just recalling the day and our good fortune to be alive and enjoying such fun times.
Certainly, most would question our sanity or reason for hiking in the rain, or the heat, or the cold, trying to apply their own justification not to go out on us. We have something special that can only be understood through the sharing of the experience.