Hike #184
Fred in some concrete thing in Netcong
8/9/5
Lower Sussex County Railroads with Fred Hafale
Here's a link to all of the pictures from this hike:
http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/sneezehorse/hike184%208-9-5/
It's another one I no longer have the journal for...
Spur abandonment in Netcong
Abandoned spur in Netcong
Weird bike on Love Lane, Stanhope
Old lock tender's house on the Morris Canal, Stanhope
Lock tender's house ruins, Stanhope
History sign
Old Morris Canal in Stanhope area
Sussex Railroad bridge over 80
Sussex RR bridge over 80
Cranberry Lake
Cranberry Lake
Sussex Branch at Cranberry Lake
Cranberry Lake
Helping advertise in Whitehall NJ
Whitehall NJ
Pink house in Andover
Former LHR rail bed in Andover
LHR rail bed south of Andover
Old LHR rail bed approacing the Lackawanna Cutoff underpass near Brighton
Approaching LHR underpass at the Lackawanna Cutoff
LHR culvert beneath Lackawanna Cutoff
Ascending to the Lackawanna Cutoff
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Roseville Tunnel
Lackawanna Cutoff near Roseville
Pond view from Lackawanna Cutoff
Lake Lackawanna from the Cutoff
Lake Lackawanna from the Cutoff
Lake Lackawanna from the Cutoff
Lackawanna Cutoff
Lackawanna Cutoff in Byram
Lackawanna Cutoff near it's end, where it had recently been cleared.
Near Musconetcong River culvert on Lackawanna Cutoff
Me climbing up the Lackawanna Cutoff fill from the Musconetcong River
Netcong NJ
Lake Musconetcong
Lake Musconetcong
Lake Musconetcong
Lake Musconetcong
Lake Musconetcong
Former Morris Canal, Stanhope
Old house in Stanhope
I was surprised no one else showed up for this hike because it was a weekday and I made it totally accessable via public transportation. Fred and I waited for the train but no one showed up. Maybe the 22.5 miles scared them off.
We did this hike as I'd done it before only changing the starting place from Andover to Netcong. Fred and I tried to find the beginning of the Sussex Branch's 1901 Stanhope cutoff, which started at the Netcong Station, but we accidently followed an industrial siding thinking it was it (the original journal probably would say that it was, but now I know otherwise).
We ended up getting a bit lost and had to make our way out to the road heading north into International Trade Center.
We knew where we were going shortly and headed up through the trade center. We followed Continental Lane, most of which was built on the rail bed, out to the official beginning of the Sussex Branch Trail, then headed north past Lake Jefferson, then up to Cranberry Lake and through Whitehall to Andover. I climbed onto a billboard in Whitehall by the "Hole in the Wall" along the way.
Once in Andover, we turned left on the former Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad which was often badly overgrown. We headed into adjacent fields to the right of while to avoid the weeds. Across from Brighton Road it got a little better. We continued to the Lackawanna Cutoff and climbed to the top, then headed east.
We followed the cutoff through the Roseville Tunnel, then past Lake Lackawanna toward Landing. I took a dip in the Musconetcong along the way when we got to where we crossed it.
We continued south, and instead of trying to walk the active tracks from the rail yard into Netcong like I did the previous time (that had been a weekend, this was a weekday and the rails were very active) we opted to walk through the neighborhoods back to Netcong. It was brutally hot and humid, and we wanted to get some more to drink, but it seemed like every damn place we found along the road was a hair salon. I finally found a liquor store that sold some non alchaholic stuff and got myself an overpriced drink.
We continued to Netcong Station, and Fred and I, who both walk very fast, were not content to be done yet, so we continued on to explore a bit more. We walked to the former Morris Canal and backtracked along it for a ways. It was nice coming from Lake Musconetcong for a bit, and there was a nice side canal that led to a turning lagoon, all still filled with water. I think we'd thought this was the main canal which sort of stopped at the lagoon and so we bushwhacked into an industrial area and walked the road back. There was also a mill ruin near this canal section. This would be the last time I'd see that canal section full of water. It was drained on all following trips to the area.
We walked back the way we came to finish what was probably about 25 miles!
Along the Morris Canal in Stanhope
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