Hike #1337; Hackettstown to Califon
7/3-7/4/20 Hackettstown to Califon with Matthew Davis, Ken Zaruni, Kirk Rohn, Professor John DiFiore, Joe Tag, Stephen JK, Janice ?, and Celeste Fondaco Martin
This next hike was another point to point, this time between Hackettstown area and Califon NJ. I had planned the route because of a couple of great swim spots, as well as a new trail that had been constructed by our buddy Kenny Z.
A yummy brew I tried
We had discussed it a while back that the blue trail that ascends Cataract Park on Schooleys Mountain is just far too steep, ridiculously so even, so he wanted to get something done there that would lead to the top and to the Cataract Falls without such a crazy climb.
He began developing the new red trail, which takes a gentler climb, using some new property that Washington Township in Morris County had recently acquired. I told him we would have to do a hike that features some of his new trail work.
Ken used a woods road on this new trail section
My plan was to see this, as well as visit the two waterfalls in Schooleys Mountain Park for a dip, and then a favorite swim spot in Long Valley. Depending on time and mood of the group, other swim spots would be available in the South Branch of the Raritan.
We met at 4 PM at the Aqui Market in Califon, which until a couple of years ago was the A&P. We parked at the tree line in back of the store closer to Frank’s Pizza, and then all piled into my van to shuttle to the start, which would be Weis Market in Mansfield.
Ken's new Cataract Trail
I had figured this would be a good meeting point for Justin, since he lives in the apartments behind there, but it turned out he was away on some big trip at the time, so he ended up missing this one.
We walked from the parking lot at Weis out across Rt 57, and then stopped by the Bottle King.
I wanted to see if there was any particularly weird kind of beer there that I had to try and I ended up finding this odd one that had peanut butter notes to it. I wasn’t too crazy about it at first, but I rather liked it after a few sips.
Along Ken's new trail
We headed from here along Rt 57 west, and then cut down a line of trees next to the bank, then weaved through to the bank parking lot and turned left on Newburg Road.
The settlement of Newburg only ever consisted of a few homes, and the last one was torn down several years ago when they built the Wallgreens that stands there now. My friend Moo Moo (Brian McKenna) used to live there and we’d pick him up for hikes.
There also used to be a mill on the Musconetcong River, and when we were crossing on the bridge, we could see the remnant of the dam upstream a bit. We also found some ruins along the river just before reaching Newburgh Road that I don’t know what it was.
Ken's new Cataract Trail
We headed up along the left side, and it was brutally hot. We switched to the right as soon as we could see a spot with some shade, and then shifted to the left again when it had more shade. We then turned right on Schooleys Mountain Road and started going gradually uphill.
We weaved around the corner, and soon the parking area was on the left side. The trail enters the woods and immediately goes over a wooden footbridge that’s been there forever. For years, there was a collapsed wooden one here.
Young's Mine
I used to jog through this park on my lunch breaks at work when I did the rounds of working all of the retail establishments around Mansfield. There was only ever the blue trail to the top, and the short orange spur trail that led to Young’s Mine.
Ken's new Cataract Trail
Ken had used the trail across the bridge, but then took on a different route than the blue trail had taken, straight into woods, and then up a more gradual slope. It then re-joined the blue route at a little shelf on a slope where there has been a picnic bench for years.
A little ways further, the blue trail went off to the left and made a super steep climb uphill, but Ken used a route that was apparently a new piece of property to the south, and an old logging or mine road that went straight ahead for a bit.
Patriot's Path on Schooleys Mountain
The trail took us out toward the property line, and then abruptly switched back to the left on a very good side hill route that Ken had built. He said that he originally went too far on the road, and continued out beyond the property line, then had to abandon that route which lost a weekend’s worth of work.
The route he did finally use was just great though. It was more gradual, took us to the left, then to the right, and up to a large rock outcropping. We then pushed a little further uphill and Ken showed us where a house used to stand, which apparently became a party spot and had to be torn down.
Patriot's Path on Schooleys Mountain
Pretty soon, we came to a new orange blazed connection to the Mine Trail. Originally, the orange blazes ended at Young’s Mine, an old iron mine in the side of the hill I’d often visit over the years, but Ken extended that trail to meet up with his now trail and afford a bit of a loop opportunity.
We walked downhill on his new trail extension, and soon reached the old iron mine. There were some flat areas and tailings piles in this area as well. When we got to the mine, I went all the way back in, and a few of the others followed.
Patriot's Path above Flocktown
We made our way back out of the mine, and then headed back uphill again to Ken’s new trail. It was pleasant on the hillside, and then started heading back down again where we got to some very serious rock work he had done. It looked great. He pointed out where he would like to continue the trail ahead to another cul de sac access, but he hasn’t gotten to it yet.
We turned left where the trail turned, and it led us to the top of the Cataract Falls, where I used to bring groups through from the trail system at Heath Village.
Patriot's Path near Falcon Court with a bike jump
We took a nice little break here at the top, and admired the smaller falls that is just above this point, then started moving along the trail system a bit further.
This trail system was laid out by my old friend Bob Moss’s father when he lived in the Heath Village retirement community. Bob had helped his dad build it, and the trail on that side to the Cataracts was done in the same teal paint Bob used on the Highlands Trail, for which he served as Supervisor for many years before Glenn Oleksak took over for him.
Patriot's Path at Harrington Field
The trail was partly rehabbed as part of this new trail system, and we followed it along the gorge heading back to the north briefly, and then made a right turn when the slopes started to level out to follow a trail that was marked with tin can lids. There was a trail in here that was built by Teun Ott and others a while back, which Teun led us on, but this was not the same way. His trail was a bit further up the slope and rolled quite a bit more. I’m not sure what became of that one, but I only ever hiked it once. This one was a little easier.
Patriot's Path in Schooleys Mountain Park
We followed the lids out to a power line clearing where we turned steeply uphill to the right. This took us out to a road known as Quail Run. Here, the Patriot’s Path joins in from the left after a bit of a road walk. Ahead, the Patriot’s Path and the Highlands Trail together follow the power line clearing on across Schooley’s Mountain. We continued ahead, and the trail took us out across a couple of back yards, then across Hunter Drive. At about that point, we reached what I believe is the highest point on Schooleys Mountain on the trail.
Patriot's Path crossing Electric Brook
The trail soon turned hard to the right from the power line and through a swath of woods surrounded by developments. Ken said that he had complained to the new Morris County parks director about the trail to this point not being mowed, and she had it taken care of quite quickly. Ken went back out and did some clearing for this hike himself in anticipation of this hike, which was much appreciated.
The trail was fine walking through, and then went through a large stone row which Ken said they need to make wider before anyone will ever take a mower through it. Just beyond, the trail came out to the yards of the Flocktown-Kossman School and continued south.
Lake George bridge at Schooleys Mountain Park
We continued walking across Flocktown Road, and then into woods on the other side between more development.
This area had been horrible to take care of for years because it got so badly overgrown and adjacent land owners had been dumping garbage and lawn trimmings on it to try to block it. That is not only not a problem any more, kids from the area are using it regularly and put up some bike jumps and such in the path.
Lake George at Schooleys Mountain Park
It was a nice easy walk more so than it probably ever had been through here, and we soon came out in the open in Harrington Field, where the trail follows an easy stretch of paved path to the left. Ken said he had convinced them to make a mowed trail all the way around Harrington Field so that a loop would be possible, so we’ll have to do that again in the future.
Schooleys Mountain Park Lake George
I suggested that it was a bit more natural and maybe would be a good route for the official main Patriot’s Path, but Ken said he was hushed about that because when they got the driveway to Harrington Field paved, they got more money and had it done wider specifically because it would double as part of the trail.
We continued out of the field area and along that entrance road, out to Rock Road. From there, the trail crossed and entered Schooleys Mountain County Park through some very nice woods.
The group at Lake George
The section is really nice with a lot of wooden puncheons along the way. It passes through an area of lots of springs, the headwaters of the Electric Brook, which grows slowly as the trail follows along it through this rather level wooded swath.
Upper Electric Brook falls
We continued along, and eventually came to the wooden foot bridge that takes the trail over the brook. We came out to Springtown Road, crossed the road bridge over the stream again, then followed the edge of mowed areas out into the main part of Schooleys Mountain Park.
Hawt.
From here, we left the Patriot’s Path and Highlands Trail and headed down to Lake George. This was part of Camp Washington back in the 1930s, which doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure remaining.
There is a terrific floating bridge across the lake that I always like to use if we have the time, so we crossed on that. We then went along the mowed paths to the south along another trail to the main lake dam. We crossed again, then turned right down the trail into the Boulder Gorge. I think it’s called Falling Water Trail, blue blazed. We took this down to the upper falls.
Lower Electric Brook fals
We took a nice break here, and took a dip at the base of the falls. I got a hilarious sexy dude photo of Matt, Kirk, Ken, and John all in there.
We continued from here down slope to the lower falls, which aren’t as wide as the upper ones, but still quite nice. We then continued to where the trail went back uphill. It took us rather steeply up to the Patriot’s Path and Highlands Trail, and joined just before the overlook into Long Valley, just with enough daylight remaining to look down into the town with the church steeple in view.
We took one more break there, and then continued downhill gradually on the Patriot’s Path. This eventually took us out to Fairview Avenue after a bit of a jaunt in the dark.
View on Schooleys Mountain
From there, the Gillette Trail, from the parking lot, led to the Columbia trail (the name I hate), the former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. We turned right on that for a little bit of time, then went for a side trip where the Gillette Trail turns to the left. This took us in a short distance to the deep hole in the South Branch of the Raritan River. We stopped to take a dip here, one of my favorite little swimming spots of the Summer.
Celeste had met up with us at the base of the mountain to walk with us for a little while.
This was a particularly special spot because the lightning bugs were just going crazy. They were all up into the tops of the trees, higher maybe than I’d ever seen them before. It lit up the entire area like an electric show, and we just layed in the water and enjoyed it.
Moon over Long Valley
When we eventually got out, we walked back up to the railroad bed, past the steel manufacturing place, Frazier Industrial, and then crossed the Electric Brook on a former rail bridge. The trail is weird beyond there, because it turns left to follow the former Central Railroad’s Chester Branch briefly. It turns to the right before reaching the spot where it crossed the South Branch of the Raritan River.
The trail skirts the new development that used to be where Welch Farms plant was, and then weaves back to rejoin the railroad bed at the end of that area. Celeste parked somewhere in that area, and she cut back out to head home at this point.
The rest of us continued on the rail bed across Fairview Ave, and then out across Schooleys Mountain Road. A long stretch of woods was ahead from here.
The section always usually seems to go really slow for me, but this time actually seemed kind of fast. We went across a driveway, and then across Middle Valley Road which was another station stop (so was Long Valley).
We then crossed the South Branch of the Raritan on a deck girder bridge, and continued out across another driveway where there is a missing bridge.
A little ways further, and we crossed at another former station site, Crestmoore, at Rt 513. We continued across Jenkinson’s Tree Nurseries, and then crossed into Hunterdon County at West Valley Brook Road. We headed on through Vernoy next.
I seem to recall chatting with some people as we walked through Vernoy that seemed to think it was cool that we were walking.
The group at Lake George
We crossed Vernoy Road twice through the center of the little hamlet, and then soon paralleled the road again on our way in to Califon. When we hit the main street, we turned to the right. It was only a little ways up across the bridge and then uphill to Rt 513 and the parking lot to finish the hike.
It finished a little later than I was planning on because we took some time on the uphill sections, but it was all worth it with good company and good times.
It sucks having to be to work early after such things, but I manage it well enough. Now more than ever, I need a good degree of positivity in my life, and good intelligent conversations with people of all different opinions, who all have a great respect for one another.
HAM
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