Hike #992; Garfield to Waldwich

Hike #992; Garfield to Waldwick

12/3/16 Garfield to Waldwich with Jason W. Briggs, Kralc Leahcim (Lerch), Gregg Hudis, Jennifer Berndt, John M. Kosar, Eric Pace, Dan Lurie, Stephen Argentina, Terri Allen, Gail Ingham, Marion Barbato, Mary Anne E., and Sylvia ?.

This next hike would be a point to point between Garfield and Waldwick NJ. It would be a pretty special one, for me because it is a rare occasion where it never touched any other hike I had done, with the exception of the beginning. For Jason, he grew up in the area and knew it more intimately than any of us. For Dan, because he currently lives there.
Our meeting point was in Garfield at the Wal Mart. I had used this as the end point for a Passaic and Hackensack River hike, the first one Dan joined us for a few years earlier. I had fully intended to continue with the series from this point, but I never got back to it because I was so busy with the NJ Perimeter series, among other things.
This hike would finish at Waldwick where we could get a train back to Garfield, making it quite convenient. Jason had suggested the hike after telling me about another hike he’d done on the Saddle River Greenway. He mentioned dirt surfaced paths that traveled far enough that a full fifteen miles could e done. I started looking at it, and being unfamiliar with it slapped something together. I figured on the sections along Saddle River, Jason could show us the trails he knew of, and then we’d head west. From there, I planned to utilize an old trolley right of way that Dan had told me about a couple of years back.

Weird path near Garfield Wal Mart

Once everyone was together at the Wal Mart, we were ready to head out. We parked at just about the same spot I had parked for the previous hike I’d done to the spot. Jason told us that this Wal Mart used to be a store called a “Two Guys”, that the the parking area we were in and some distance further back used to be simply fields. He said the parking area used to be on the other side of the building, and what is now the back of the Wal Mart was the front of the Two guys.
We headed to the southwest side of the lot where it was a sort of retention berm or something. We could see the Saddle River below us, but there wasn’t really a good path. We had to walk along the Walmart parking lot, looking down for the nearest spot to head off of the lot. I noticed that there were a series of old angled galvanized railings like we see along highways, which might have been an earlier road along the side, but was blocked off.
We eventually got to where we could get off of the road and start walking along the river. There was a high wall along the left side of us, and it got kind of overgrown. At one point, we had a technical little spot where we had to hang onto trees and such as not to fall into the river. Eventually, we came out near the cemetery on the far side, but then came back up to the same parking lot at the easternmost side. This was fine by me because I’d forgotten my camera and had to run back.

Old cemetery

The first cemetery gave us no access at first. We eventually came to a gate where we could get in, but we still had to go out to Passaic Street to head east. I had planned to walk through cemeteries for a bit, along the edge of the river, but they proved not to be as accessible as I’d hoped.

St. Nicholas Cemetery

Soon, we were able to turn right into St. Nicholas Cemetery, with it’s big black gates at the entrance. We headed on into the place and then turned to the right to get closer to the Saddle River. There were some amazing giant Sycamore trees inside as we walked by.

Big Sycamore in St. Nicholas Cemetery

When we reached the Saddle River, we continued to the east. I had hoped to cross on a cemetery pedestrian bridge, but the other side was also a private cemetery. We continued walking to the east, and eventually came to the edge of Terrace Avenue. Unfortunately, there was no way out to the road. We had to head north and back onto Passaic in order to reach Terrace because the gates were too high to climb over, at least for such a large group (if it were just me and a couple of others in good enough shape, we’d have just scaled it quickly and continued on without a problem). We turned right on Terrace and followed it out across Saddle River. I noted some masonry ruins along the edge as we walked over it.
We turned left on Main Street on the other side and headed north. It wasn’t long before we passed a store where we could get stuff to drink, so we stopped in there.
While walking the road, Jason spotted a nice Porche that could be a twin to his. There was a bit of a concern that his wouldn’t be there when we got back to the lot at the end!
After moving on a bit further, we turned to the left from main street onto a parking area access road. We ended up along the Saddle River in the back, and then went in back of the Bank of America, climbed a short slope, and continued through parking areas out to Passaic Avenue again.
We crossed the road, then turned left to cross Saddle River on the bridge, then turned right onto a paved trail beside the river heading up stream. We continued to where it reached a foot bridge over the river to the area around the library. On the other side, we turned left on the paved trail to stay along the river until it took us to a running track, where we had to go right and out to the nearest parking area. We continued through the parking area out to and across Arnot Street, then continued in back of buildings. There was some sort of abandoned building behind the Shop Rite area, which we went behind via a footpath, but then just continued through the back of the lot.
We turned right to leave the lot when we couldn’t go ahead any further, and then turned to the left on Main Street for a bit more again.

Warchol Park

We soon turned left onto Borig Place to cross the Saddle River again. Once on the other side, the George Warchol Park was on the right side. There were paths here making a very short loop along the river and outside of the park. We walked them to an informal path into the woods along the river at the end. Eric didn’t want to do that, so he headed back out the road the far way. There was a direct opening from the path onto the next road, but he didn’t want to take that. Most of the group continued ahead with me, on informal pathway along the Saddle River. This next section involved having to hold onto a fence or scramble some rocks to get through.

Along Saddle River

The new girl, Sylvia, must have thought we were nuts. We talked briefly about how where she was from, no one can ever just walk through a cemetery the way we do. It’s not really treated like public open space. In this area, it’s not like it is where I live either. No one is really welcoming in these cemeteries.
Once around the fence, which goes by some sort of exclusive club property, we were back on streets heading parallel with the river. We continued on Vreeland Street to Outwater Lane. My plan from here was to turn left into the Riverside Cemetery, but it turned out that no one was allowed to walk through this one either. We all opted to cross back over the Saddle River on the road bridge, and then get to a left turn on Main Street again.

Under 80

We walked up the street for a little while longer. I had wanted to be on the greenway by this point, but as far as road walks go, I was not bored or really disappointed with this section either. I rather enjoyed all of it.
Main Street took us out beneath Interstate 80, where we crossed over Market Street on the other side. We had a good outlook of the Saddle River there, but no good means of following it yet. The Rochelle Avenue continued right along side it straight ahead, but we turned to the left, across Saddle River, and back under 80 again. I climbed around under the bridge for a bit, and on the other side we passed the main entrance to the cemetery I had wanted to go through. We turned right across a parking lot onto Saddle River Road heading north again, now parallel with 80, and then passed under 80 yet again.

Stephen under the bridge

Stephen and I climbed up under the concrete things of this bride section, then made our way down to follow the group under a portion of the bridge to the north.
As soon as we were out from under the underpass, we crossed over railroad tracks.
These were those of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, which connected Jersey City to East Stroudsburg PA in 1881. Much of that line is now Paulins Kill Valley Trail, and I had walked the entire thing as far east as Franklin Lakes, but stopped at that point. This particular spot was sixteen miles west of Jersey City as per the old concrete mile marker where we crossed over Railroad Ave.

NYSW mile marker

Dan pointed out that there is an old station, now in Rochelle Park, just off to the right, but I didn’t want to side track to get to it this time. I still do want to finish the NYS&W series. The remainder of it that I have to walk is semi urban most of the way, and there are close roads and parallel parks that will make it a worthwhile venture. Just not sure when I’ll get to posting that.
We started heading north on the Saddle River Pathway. There were paved trails on both sides of the river at this point, and we almost went across the bridge at Railroad Ave to follow the one on the other side, but that one was right next to a road the entire way, so we opted to follow the west side. It was undeveloped.

Saddle River Pathway

It was a very nice walk through this area. It was at first wooded, then went to where there were open grassy areas to the left. We could see the backs of houses and businesses along the way, but it was not a road. Dan mentioned here that there is a continuous six miles of uninterrupted bike path in the area with no road crossings, the only place you can find such a thing in Bergen County. It made me all the more amazed that I’d let this trail system slip by for as long as I did. We stopped for a break at the end of a field section, the Vander Sande Field, and let everyone catch up. I think there was a restroom or something there people were using. From that point, there is a foot bridge across the river.

Along Saddle River

Ahead, there is the Otto C. Pehle Lake Loop, a popular area in the Rochelle Park of the Saddle River County Park, but we would not go on this section. It was here that Jason showed us the first section of lesser used footpaths. We crossed the foot bridge, then headed north along the east side of Saddle River, beneath the Garden State Parkway. The footpath was not heavily used, and sort of petered out from time to time, but we always were able to get back onto it as we walked. The group ahead of me found a nice little camp site back in there, with a fire pit and a wheel barrow. This was really a pretty cool little section caked between Saddle River and Garden State Parkway.

Old stone silo

We walked along the parkway section for a while, and then came to a sort of corporate business park setting. There was mowed grass where our path emerged around it’s south side. We continued to walk along the edge of the grass, past one building, and then to another. It was here that we came across an old stone silo, covered in all sorts of weeds. I had no idea what this might have been until we made our way a bit further on.

Easton Tower

John had a look inside the silo thing, and it looked almost ornamental more than functional, but we could not tell. We headed for a faint path through some weeds, but still passable, and I spotted what appeared to be an old building site to the right. We then came up to Red Mill Road near it’s intersection with Paramus Road, and we could see the Easton Tower.

Historic image of Easton Tower

The Easton Tower was built in 1900 as a water supply mill for a popular landscape park along the Saddle River. It was built not only with the functional intention, but also to compliment the picturesque setting.

Easton Tower

The tower mill is named for Edward Easton, a notable technological figure for his patent on incising sound through engraving of wax cylinders. He went on to become founder and President of Columbia Phonograph Company, which was one of the three major recording companies in 1900.

Historic image of Easton Tower

The area the town is located in is today part of Paramus, but the specific place name is Arcola.
Originally, the site was named Zabriskie’s Mills, then in 1790 was changed to New Hamburgh. Zabriskie is an early Dutch named very much associated with the area (note the state historic site to the east, the Von Stueben House, is named such only because of it’s award to Von Steuben, but that it was originally Jan Zabriskie House).
The name “Paramus” comes from the Native American word Paremessing, or something at least similar which means a place with an abundance of wild Turkeys. Other sources say it means place of pleasant water.

1891 photo of dilapidated Red Mill

The old mill was painted bright red in 1816 when a wool carding business was established, and so the settlement took on the name “Red Mill”. Today the road is named Red Mill Road, and so the Easton Tower is sometimes erroneously called “Red Mill”.
The town name was changed to Arcola in 1870. I’m really not sure where the name came from, but assume it is named after a British or European town.

Easton Dam

The mill continued operation until the mid 1800s, but the area reportedly became a subject of concern with late night shenanigans, crazy noises coming from an old homestead house, and the mill was falling apart. It was demolished in 1894, and Edward Easton moved his residence to Arcola in 1898.

Easton Tower

Although I didn’t know all of the history at the time, I did know that the Easton Estate had existed there, because I had read it before the hike. It made more sense now that the small silo we had seen was probably part of Edward Easton’s landscape park.
Arcola was already a busy area, on the historic Albany Post Road, and it continued to grow after the turn of the century as the Arcola estate was used in many early silent films. The settlement also constructed an amusement park in 1926, on the Arcola property in 1926. Some sources claim it was the only amusement park ever built in Bergen County, but I’m not sure what they’re talking about because of Palisades Park.

Historic image of the amusement park

The Arcola Park burned down in 1929 and was never rebuilt. In 1931, the Rt 208 connection with Route 4 was built through the area, which bisected the Arcola estate and separated the tower. The Easton family had wanted to preserve the property, but it was segmented and sold in many cases to other developments.

Historic image of Arcola Park

The Arcola Country Club and the park along the Saddle River are really the only remaining undeveloped pieces of the former landscape estate park. It would be interesting to see if Arcola’s golf course has any remains of the former estate, but it’s probably unlikely we’d be able to get in and look around, and larndscape architects have a knack for wrecking previous things.

Saddle River pathway

The dam along the river that used to power the water wheel is now gone. I climbed into the wheel, which is restored and spins, but sees no water except for during times of flood.
We continued on the trail along the east side of the river, which took us under Rt 4. We then crossed over the river at the next foot bridge and continued on the west side of the river. I didn’t know it at the time, but there was a foot path on the other side that Jason wanted to show us. I don’t know where the access was, but it’s no big deal because we’ll certainly have to come back and do another hike or two in this area.
We continued for a good long stretch of relaxing path along the west side of the river, and discussed what to get for lunch. Lerch found a good looking Mexican restaurant called Jalepenos in Fair Lawn, so we planned to stop there.

Historic view of Naugle House

While walking, Dan said to me “Hey Mike, there’s this older than shit house you might be interested just off the path coming up, not sure if you want to make a side trip...”.
I was at the time unsure of the side trip, but I didn’t realize just how close it was.

Naugle House

It turned out that the historic Naugle House, constructed in the 1740s or 50s, was actually within sight of the trail we were on. I of course had to have a closer look at this building, which has been said to have hosted the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolution.
Fair Lawn had appropriated funds to preserve the historic sand stone structure, and further inspection showed that the rear of the building had been shorn up with large boards, as it was bowing out rather badly.
The house is reportedly in danger of demolition due to encroaching developments.

I don't always hike in Fair Lawn, but when I do it's in a suit and with Mexican food for lunch

We headed up to Century Road extension and turned ro the right when we got to Saddle River Road. This road led us several blocks to Jalepenos on the left side, at the intersection of Prospect Ave. We didn’t have to wait more than five minutes and they had seating for all 14 of us ready. It was funny that they had the “most interesting man in the world” photo hanging at the foot of the table.

At Jalepenos restaurant

The food was great. It was a perfect lunch spot. I had some delicious lunch combo that was only $9. I am pretty certain everyone was pretty happy with it.
I somehow ended up carrying Stephens leftovers in my bag as well as French bread from Gregg, which I guess wasn’t so bad since I got to have it later. We must have all been pretty stuffed because we ate TONS of chips before the main courses even came out.

Tributary to Saddle River

When we left, I was planning to go back the way we came and get on the trail, but Dan said we should be able to get in by way of a cul de sac nearby. We followed him down Naugle Drive, and he started climbing up the embankment to the Fair Lawn Recycling Center. I saw a good path to the let and hollered to him to come back, this was going more the way we wanted anyway.
We followed the path until it petered out and had a branch heading back to where the houses were. We had to make our way across a small tributary with a steep slope on either side, but other than that it was pretty easy to get back to the official trail system.

Dam on Saddle River

We followed the trail a short distance on the west side, and then came to a split in the Saddle River, where trails followed both sides, in an area known as Dunkerhook.
This area was historically known to be a settlement of freed black slaves in the 1800s.
Although the longer greenway continues to the north on the east fork, we went to the left to the Glen Rock section of the greenway.

Glenrock Duck Pond

The trail was wide and easy heading to Glenrock, which had a pleasant pond and a loop path around it. We continued on the south side of the pond, and Stephen ran off like an antelope to chose some Canada Geese.
We exited the park to the corner of Alan Avenue and Prospect Street, and turned right. It was only a matter of three blocks or so to reach the old North Jersey Rapid Transit Trolley Line.

Former trolley bed

Ever since Dan first told me about this, and proposed that we might use it as part of a hike from Goffle Brook in Paterson area north, and mentioned that it went almost to the NY line, it’s been in the back of my head. It seemed to make sense to revisit that plan for this hike.

North Jersey Rapid Transit

Users of the line simply called it “the trolley” or “The Suffern trolley”. The first section of the line was completed from East Paterson (Elmwood Park) to Ho-Ho-Kus in 1909 with stops in Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Ridgewood, and Ho-Ho-Kus. It was extended after land owner disputes to reach Waldwick, Allendale, Ramsey, and Mahwah, by 1911, and Suffern NY in 1912.
The trolley was heavily used by commuters and pleasure seekers alike. It was considered a good way to cool off in the Summer time, and even used as a nice date for couples. In the first two weeks of limited operation, over 25,000 people rode this trolley. It was unlike others, made for comfort at larger than avereage size and weight.

NJRT

PSE&G now owns the right of way. Service on th eline ended in 1928, and the power plants on the line were closed on New Years Eve of that year. Power was only put back on to slwoly remove tracks from Suffern down to Paterson.

The line had been extended over two miles further to downtown Paterson in 1926, but that did not help it to compete with the growing bus service.
While we walked, Dan had mentioned that it was apparently a horrible wreck that had ended the trolley service, but I found that this was only partially true.
In July of 1911, well before the abandonment, an accident took the lives of three people including the Superintendent, and sixteen others were injured. While this did not end the service to the line, nor did another fatality later that same month, it certainly was a blemish on what would otherwise have been a very prosperous line.

1911 trolley wreck

We followed the right of way very easily from this point north. It was wide, and did not follow the same level grade that a standard railroad would have, but there was still a good amount of fill to define exactly where the tracks once were.

Hohokus Brook bridge site

It wasn’t too long until we got to where the line used to cross the Hohokus Brook. The bridge abutments were still in place, but no bridge was there.
Fortunately, an access road led off to the left and out to Grove Street without a problem.
The name Hohokus is under dispute as to it’s origin. Many claim that it is a Native American word deriving from “Mah-Ho-Ho-Kus", or Mehokhokus, which means Red Cedar. Others claim that it derives from the same word as Chickahokie, an Algonquin tribe that lived in the area (a waterfall in Norvin Green is named as such). Others claim that it comes from the Dutch who settled the area, and the word Hoge Aukers meaning “High Oaks”. I would lean toward the latter because Eastern Red Cedars (juniperus virginiana) as I understand were introduced to the Americas by colonists in the 1600s.

Along Dunham Trail

Whatever the case, it was interesting to finally be walking along this brook that I’d often heard of but really had never explored.
At Grove Street, rather than turn right across Hohokus Brook again, we continued straight across on the lovely Dunham Trail, which follows the brook’s west side. I had expected this little greenway section to be a wide paved pathway like most everything else we find in the Bergen County area, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a delightful foot path along the natural course of the brook with many lovely little views.

Hohokus Brook on Dunham Trail

As we walked, the natural creek corridor was sectioned into a lovely stone sluice with a small dam. The trolley right of way was still very clear across, and seemed to have another access trail to it on the other side. I could see women walking their dogs on it.

Big Sycamore on Dunham Trail

There were lovely giant sycamore trees growing along the edge of the brook as we continued north to the end of the Dunham Trail on Spring Avenue.
Here, we turned right and re-crossed Hohokus Brook on the road bridge, and turned left to continue on the railroad bed and PSE&G clearing.
Just ahead, we reached one of the few remaining authentic trolley bridges left on the line, spanning the Hohokus Brook again. Dan had heard that this was the only remaining one on the line, but we ended up crossing another one later on, and I’ve read of potentially another also.

Trolley bridge over Hohokus Brook

We continued to the north on the rail bed, which soon crossed Ridgewood Ave. Jason was pointing things out like a school there, and we had paths crossing over. We ended up going over some sort of concrete hump on the right of way as we reached an area of ball fields.

Weird berm thing over the trolley bed

I figure the hump must have been some sort of later added flood protection berm from the Hohokus Brook which was just to the side of the right of way. After crossing, we remained along the edges of the fields to the north. The rigth of way goes into a parking lot at the northern end of the ball field park in Ridgewood, near the library. It was here that we crossed over yet another likely original trolley bridge spanning the Hohokus Brook. We then continued across Linwood Avenue through more parking areas heading almost due north. There were no signs to show where to go, so I had to continue watching my phone to see which way the trolley bed went.

Hohokus Brook trolley bridge in Ridgewood

We walked the entire extent of a large parking area north of Linwood Avenue in Ridgewood. This took us to Meadowbrook Ave, beyond which the right of way was clear and mowed, sort of taken over by back yards.

Trolley bed in Ridgewood

It was really crazy to me that this is not really a public trail at all, or it’s not developed as such. There’s really not even a single interpretive sign denoting what this was. But it’s there.
We just walked on through along the backs of people’s back yards, with lots of Sycamore or London Plain tree leaves scattered across the right of way. We noisily kick broomed the leaves from the trail as we walked on through behind countless homes to the north. We crossed Glen Avenue and briefly walked along a short stretch of Burnside Place, then continued on the rail bed to another former bridge site, this time over the Zabriskie Brook.

Zabriskie Brook trolley bridge site

The bridge at this point was missing, although historic articles say this one “still functions”, but there was a two plant walkway placed over a section so no jumping was necessary.
We soon crossed Franklin Turnpike, which reportedly still had rails in it, but I saw nothing.

Rails in the sidewalk at Franklin Ave

There was apparently a station at Franklin Ave, and had I been more astute, I would have seen the old rails both for the through route and the siding still embedded in the current sidewalk.

Trolley bed near Franklin Tpk

We continued north over Sherwood Road, followed by Warren Avenue. Eric, who was apprehensive about walking the right of way at all, now seemed to be the most interested in following it through. He sped to the front of the group and remained there all the way to Waldwick.

Ho-Ho-Kus bend in the trolley bed

After crossing Warren Avenue, the trolley right of way turned to the left toward Waldwick. Jason was pointing us to the left just before this crossing, to get to the station quicker because it didn’t seem like the trolley line would go that way. I didn’t think it would be that much further to take the trolley bed, but Jason said it was probably adding distance, but still nicer not to be walking the road.
We soon crossed Lakewood Avenue, soon followed by Elmwood Ave, and Jason commented that he had driven these roads countless times and never known this right of way was back there.

Likely former trolley station at Sheridan Ave

It was amazing enough for me to be seeing all of this fresh, with only the frame of reference I’d had from looking at maps and aerial images, but for Jason I’d imagine this must have been similar to how I felt exploring the old rail lines closer to my home, and seeing these places from a completely different angle. It’s quite an indescribable sensation seeing the woods and backs of houses parallel with roads you’ve known for most of your life. This in particular is a maze of roads, so it’s all the more interesting.
At Elmwood Ave, the bookkeepers house for the trolley reportedly still exists at #110, but I didn’t know what I was looking for.

Sheridan Ave station site

Between Lakewood and Elmwood was the only place I saw a single “no trespassing” sign on the entire route.
The next crossing after that was a former station stop, the Sheridan Avenue Station. This station still exists I have read, and is being maintained. The only thing I could guess is that the station is the brick structure beyond the crossing. The old trolley bed is a form concrete path between Sheridan and Hollywood Ave, and unless it was the house on the other side, the brick structure must have been the station. It is amazing to me that I can find no historic photos of the station.

The headquarters and power for the trolley line were reportedly in Ho-Ho-Kus as well, but they have long since been demolished, I think around 1940.
Similarly, the residence of Superintendent Jackson, originally built in 1830 reportedly still stands at the Sheridan Avenue site.

Up hill ascent on the trolley bed

We crossed over Hollywood Avenue and continued on the right of way, which began a relatively steep climb up hill toward Waldwick.
We crossed over Blauvelt Avenue, and the group got pretty segmented as we headed up hill. At the top, we came out behind some retail businesses and such, and stopped to regroup. From here, the right of way is not nearly as obvious, and I wanted to be sure to get everyone to the regular train station at about the same time.
Jason realized how close he was to home, and that he could probably save a lot of time by having his wife pick him up. He got a phone call while at the top of the hill, and then ran off to a parking lot saying something about following a GPS meant you wouldn’t find it, and that was the last we saw him!

Historic view of a trolley at Ho Ho Kus

Once everyone else was to the top of the hill, I recall we were able to go straight on the right of way, then had to turn right onto Walter Hammond Street to Prospect, where we turned left.

1911 trolley crash

Somewhere in this area the trolley line used to cross over the former Erie Railroad tracks, which is now the NJ Transit Port Jervis line.
We didn’t see anything of the former crossing when we arrived.
We did get to see a beautifully refurbished Erie Railroad station built in 1886, in the Queen Anne style. It was apparently opened as a museum only recently.
The station stop is now on the platforms with covers over them, and the station is museum only. To the left of the station is a handsome steel pedestrian overpass to get us across the tracks.

Waldwick Station

There was reportedly once a tunnel that carried pedestrians over the tracks at this point, but it was filled in during the late sixties or just before 1971 when the bridge was completed.
We crossed over and headed over to the station platform to get our tickets. Fortunately the machines were all working properly and quickly, but unfortunately the train was nearly an hour from arriving, so we would have to wait for a bit.
We headed over to the shelter area just beyond the ticket machines, and then Dan found out that the heated shelter building was not secured, so we could go in there.

Waldwick foot bridge

One train went by to the north, so I figured it would not be too long before one we could take.
It did not take an hour at all, and we were soon on a train heading to the south.

View from pedestrian overpass at Waldwick

Unfortunately, the conductor told us that the train we were aboard did not stop in Garfield, and that we would have to get off at I think it was Ridgewood. We complied, and some of the group was ready to mutiny and just get an Uber.

Photo by popular rail fan Frank Florianz, 1971

The next train actually did not take too long to arrive, and we were able to get on board and head back to Garfield with no problem.

Historic view of Waldwick Station, early 1960s.

Once we arrived at the Garfield Station, it was only a few blocks to the east to get back to the Wal Mart parking area where we started. It pained me a little bit to do that last up hill after sitting still on the train, but it was okay.

At the station

Some of the group was heading to a Johnny Cash tribute show, but I wasn’t feeling like I’d be able to get through the drive home if I relaxed for a moment more.
I noted a car in the lot that appeared to be Jason’s, but I wasn’t certain, so I texted him. Fortunately he was alright, and hadn’t gotten back to his car yet (later confirmation came that it had in fact NOT been stolen).
It was nice for me to have the hike on a Saturday because it allowed me not only the ability to have a recovery day, I was able to enjoy delicious leftover Stephen slop for breakfast.

Stephen slop

This was a very cool hike for me, being something so entirely different, and for others because it was a new take on something they had already known.
Because of this, I spent more than a half a day of enamored research, back and forth between my cabinets and history books as well as internet resources. There is an incredible amount of history on these areas we traversed beyond what I have shared here, and I encourage everyone with even the slightest curiosity to jump headlong into it. It can start with a simple google search and end with a greater respect for the places we see.
I look forward to re-visiting with Jason and seeing more of the paths he grew up walking, and maybe we’ll find new and interesting things once more (I neglected to mention earlier that Arcola along Saddle River was a Revolutionary War Militia training grounds!).
More good stuff to come...