Hike #240 10/1/6
On the old NYS&W Hanford Branch near Beaver Lake NJ
Hike 240; 10/1/6
My next hike was posted spur of the moment; I had planned to spend the day with Cathy to go to a museum in New York, but her mom, Bonnie, surprised us and said she was coming out to visit for Cathy's birthday, the day after this hike.
Along the NYS&W near Canistear Rd
Franklin Mineral Museum mine cars
At tailings pit, Franklin Mineral Museum
Franklin Mineral Museum tailings pit
Pond in Franklin
Pond in Franklin
Pond in Franklin
Former NYS&W Hanford Branch
Old NYS&W Hanford Branch trestle in Ogdensburg NJ
View from NYS&W Hanford Branch, Hamburg Mt. WMA
Along NYS&W Hanford Branch, Hamburg Mt. WMA
NYS&W Hanford Branch rail bed, Hamburg Mountain WMA
NYS&W Hanford Branch rail bed in Beaver Lake WMA
NYS&W Hanford Branch at Beaver Lake NJ
NYS&W Railroad, Beaver Lake NJ
NYS&W Railroad near Beaver Lake NJ
NYS&W Hanford Branch east of Beaver Lake
Swamp land near Beaver Lake NJ
NYS&W Railroad east of Beaver Lake
Along NYS&W tracks
Along NYS&W tracks
NYS&W tracks, Stockholm NJ
NYS&W tracks, Stockholm NJ
NYS&W Pequannock River bridge in Stockholm NJ
NYS&W tracks
My shoes got destroyed on this hike.
Along the NYS&W tracks near Canistear Road
My destroyed shoes along Canistear Road
Along the NYS&W tracks near Canistear Road
Our plans would of course fall through for the original plan, and I came up with the idea of visiting the Franklin Mineral Museum in the morning and hiking from there. I had hoped to do this hike eventually anyway, so this was an opportune moment. We left my car on the corner of NJ Rt 23 and Canistear Road, and we headed to Franklin. Other than Cathy and Bonnie, we were also joined by Brian Rapp, who had not been out with us since the previous Summer. We got to the Mineral Museum before it opened so we hunt out out front and checked out some historic ore cars from different eras. This area was once heavily mined, and is known as the Floursescent Mineral Capital of the world. Some rare minerals such as Franklinite had not been found anywhere else in the world (though recently trace amounts of it were supposedly found in Russia). When the museum opened, we went in and took the tour. There were all sorts of interesting minerals everywhere, and one room had black lights which showed how they all flouresced. There was also a replica of what the mines would have looked like inside. This would have been zinc mine reproduction, as Franklin, NJ was once the Zinc capitol of the world. After the tour, we were able to go to the tailings pit, and each person was allowed a certain amount of weight worth of minerals. There were little shacks with black lights inside for our use so we could see if we could find any of the rocks that flouresced. We picked up a lot and carried them up to check them out. When we'd all had enough we exited the museum. Cathy and Bonnie left while Brian and I walked down the road to a lake in Franklin, using a nice footbridge through a pretty area. We made our way to the right of way of the former New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railroad's Hanford Branch, which I had walked previously in February of 2004. We followed the roads at first parallel to the right of way, but eventually headed down to it and walked through some heavy weeds. We cracked open a couple beers to help us through it as well. Along the way, I got a call from Sue Bickford Martin who planned on joining us. She would join us in Ogdensburg when we arrived. Brian and I continued past the spur branch that used to go in to the Stirling Hill Mine, then down to the Wallkill River at the culvert underpass. We had to walk some roads in to the center of Ogdensburg because the railroad bed was pretty badly obliterated. While in town, we stopped in at the liquor store where I got us each one of the new alchaholic energy drinks to try. We met Sue not far beyond at the site of the crossing of the Hanford Branch over Rt 517 at the community park. The three of us continued on the right of way northeast past Ogden Way and into Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area. Along the right of way, we met a guy that worked for the NYS&W Railroad walking his Beagle, and chatted with him a bit. He knew Glenn Oleksak, maintainer of the Highlands Trail and we chatted for a while. We continued on to Beaver Lake junction, covering new ground for me. We then began walking the currently active NYS&W Railroad eastbound. It took us through some beautiful swamplands. The character of this stretch of active railroad was great. We crossed the Pequannock River a couple times, and passed through cuts and over fills. The scenery constantly changed which was awesome. By the time we reached Canistear Road, one of my shoes was almost destroyed. It was completely opened on one side and my foot would come right through the bottom. Also, I ripped my shorts in the crotch along the way somehow, but I don't remember how!
Along the NYS&W near Canistear Rd
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