Hike #274; Wharton-Dover-Hibernia

 Hike #274 3/18/7

This was one of those hikes that, looking back on it, was one of the few times I'd take the less crazy of two options. It is more importantly our first time meeting our buddy MATT DAVIS!!!

Wharton-Dover-Hibernia with "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Shelly Janes, and Matt Davis

Hiking along a defunct developement in search for the long lost Morris County Connector Railroad

Meeting for a hike in Hibernia

Hibernia NJ

The old Mt. Hope Mineral Railroad right of way in Wharton

Old CNJ railroad bed in Wharton

 This next hike would take my group and I once again to the Dover vicinity, which we'd been covering a lot lately. Originally I planned on hiking the Four Birds Trail between Hibernia and Newfoundland, but I amended the trip to start in Dover covering some abandoned railroads and then heading up to Hibernia, ending at the same point, but the entire rest of the hike would be different. Joining me this time were "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Shelly Janes, and newcomer Matthew Davis from my hometown of Washington.

Happy faces!

Former Mt. Hope Mineral Railroad, Wharton

Former CNJ line, Wharton

Former CNJ line, Wharton

Along former CNJ line, Wharton

Old lock tender's house ruins in Hugh Force Park

Former Morris Canal, near Wharton

Creek underpass

View of Rockaway River

Along the old CNJ rail bed

Along the CNJ rail bed

Former CNJ line near Wharton

Mothball rail yard

Mothball rail yard

On an old rail car

Mothball rail yard

Mothball rail yard

Mothball rail yard

Mothball rail yard

Mothball rail yard

Mothball rail yard

Former Wharton and Northern railroad underpass beneath the Lackawanna line

Bridge over Rockaway River

Bridge over Rockaway River, Wharton and Northern

Making a happy face

Former W&N line near Rt 15

Hola

rest stop along Rt 15

Rest stop along Rt 15

Rest stop along Rt 15

Dead development

Dead development

Good rest spot

So silly

Air out those feet

Winter vista

Looking for old rail lines in new develoments

Lake in Wharton

View in Wharton

In Wharton

Former Hibernia Mine Railroad, Rockaway

Bridge in Rockaway

Along former Hibernia Mine RR in Rockaway

Old trestle over Rockaway River on W&N Railroad bed

Old W&N trestle

On old W&N trestle

On the old Wharton and Northern Rockaway River bridge

Look! Matt's on TV!

On the tracks

In Wharton

In Wharton. Wyatt's an atheist fyi.

In Rockaway NJ

Rockaway NJ

Dam in Rockaway

Bridge in Rockaway

Goofing off at Rt 80 underpass

Old Hibernia Mine Railroad

Along former Hibernia Mine RR

On a rail car near Rockaway

Former Hibernia Mine RR

Rail car near Rockaway

Rail car near Rockaway

View from former Hibernia Mine RR

Wetlands next to the rail bed

Former Hibernia Mine RR

Graffiti Cliffs from Hibernia Mine Railroad, Farney Highlands

 

Originally, the plan was to hike the Four Birds Trail, a 20 mile trail between Hibernia and Newfoundland, but the snow was far too deep and hiking such a distance in these conditions could be not only dangerous but very uncomfortable. I opted to instead do something closer to Dover, ending at the same point in Hibernia. We left my car at the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area parking lot in Hibernia and shuttled Matt, Shelly, and Paul's vehicles to the Dover Shop Rite. We began by walking into the Shop Rite for junk food. I got some chocolate milk, which was actually pretty bad (I've never liked Shop Rite chocolate milk), then we waited for the Shop Rite liquors section to open up so I could get some wine. I ducked under the gates in front at first, but some one told me to get out because they were'nt open yet. It was'nt long and I was able to get a good bottle of wine for $4.99. Next, we walked north from the Shop Rite to the former Mt Hope Mineral Railroad where we'd hiked recently, only this time following it south to Wharton. This part of it was developed as a rail trail already. I beleive it was paved, but the snow would not reveal the surface to us. We soon crossed over the Rockaway River on a decked railroad bridge, then walked along the main drag on the right of way of the Central Railroad of NJ's High Bridge Branch. We went through town and turned right toward the municipal building parallel to the right of way. The house that was being built over the right of way on my previous visit with Peeps was still unoccupied so we made our way up to the rail bed behind it. It was terribly difficult to walk; the snow had a hard layer of ice on the outside from the meltoff and refreezing the night before, but now it was getting a bit warmer and the outer layer was not strong enough for us to walk across the top, so we were breaking through. Walking was terribly difficult along this stretch. We were able to see the Morris Canal below us to the right, and considered descending to it. We continued on the rail bed out to Lake Junction. For a bit, there were ATV tracks that crushed down the snow and made it easy to walk, but it did'nt last long enough. When we reached Lake Junction, we continued on the former Wharton and Northern line to the yard of derelect rail cars, which we of course climbed around on. From here, we continued under the former Morris and Essex/DL&W line, then under Rt 80. We parlelled the tracks on Berkshire Valley Road at first, then made the first right which led us back to the railroad bed. We continued along the tracks northbound across another road, then out across the Rockaway River on the burned bridge. We sipped my cheap wine as we walked along, soon reaching the incomplete developement area. When we were out in the open, we were able to walk on top of the ice, as the exposure must have made it freeze quickly or something. We continued on out to Rt 15 where we stopped at the little mini mart for a break. I took goofy pictures in the restroom mirror and Shelly shared M&Ms and a platter of cheese she bought at Shop Rite. We turned back on the developement roads which looked like they may have had some work done since my last visit, and where the rail bed continued into the woods, we decided to go straight. I beleive part of what was formerly the Morris County Connector Railroad must have turned off in this area, but I'm not sure. We followed the roads close to Rt 80 and wandered around a bit, but found no railroad remnants. I thought I'd seen the right of way from Rt 80 at one time, but could not find it now. We continued on, making our way up a hill into an apartment area where we could walk the streets back down to Wharton area. Once in the town, we made our way to the former Central Railroad of NJ's High Bridge Branch again near the junction with the Mt Hope Mineral Railroad, where we'd been earlier, and continued east on the CNJ line. We soon entered the industrial park Peeps and I had gotten lost near earlier, only this time I knew where to go. We ignored the signs saying not to trespass in the area, and continued down to the tracks, continueing east toward Dover. We crossed the Rockaway River again on another bridge, and soon entered Dover area. We found a bunch of bagged popcorn under a bridge entering town which we shoved into my bag as well. Here, Shelly, Matt, and Amish Paul were all too tired from the trudging through snow and ice to continued. Wyatt and I continued on while the others headed back to Shop Rite. We continued through the middle of town, and I finished my bottle of wine. We wrote a message with a friends name and number on it and left it in front of a lodge as a joke and moved on.There was another trail I had not known about on our right along the Rockaway River, but we did'nt follow it. We continued on the tracks which became the former Hibernia Mine Railroad turning north. We were soon in an industrial area with large buildings all around us. The time went by quick as we talked about comic books most of the way. We crossed the Rockaway River once, then passed under Rt 46 and entered the actual town of Rockaway, crossing the river one more time. There were a couple other kids walking on the tracks but that was it. There was also a nice view from the bridge. We soon passed under Rt 80, and we climbed around under the bridge a bit. Wyatt slid down from the east side. Next, we entered another industrial area near Middletown. There were a few rail cars parked out here, so we climbed on them a bit before moving on. Soon, we reached the end of the tracks. The rest of the Hibernia Mine Railroad was abandoned. We had to walk around the fences of the industrial areas in order to get to the other side. We crossed a parking lot and then followed a path which appeared to take the rail bed route.The rest of the trip was either on or closely parallel with Rt 513. The right of way was easy to follow at some points alongside 513/Green Pond Road, It went further away from the road at one point, but soon came back. At some places I think the road obliterated the rail bed. We soon reached Beach Glen, where Lyonsville Road broke off to the right. I was'nt sure which way the tracks went from here, but I soon found that they went straight as remnants were visible just ahead. We walked along Rt 513 for the rest of the trip, with a nice view of the Graffiti Cliffs to the right, which had an American flag painted on them. It was'nt long before we reached Hibernia and my car. Amish Paul was there waiting for us as well. We had planned on trying to visit the view from the Graffiti Cliffs, but we were too tired. Amish Paul had tried to make his way up the trail for a bit, but he said it was very tough too. We ended the trip here and stopped for dinner at a little diner on Rt 513 near Rt 80 on ramp.

Photos by Mike Helbing and Shelly Janes (SJ) Here's a link to pictures from this hike...

1.) View along the right of way of the Mt. Hope Mineral Railroad2.) The former Mt Hope Mineral Railroad entering Wharton at the Rockaway River bridge (SJ)3.) Making our way along the former CNJ line with difficulty heading west from Wharton (SJ)4.) Matt, Shelly, and Paul on the CNJ line west of Wharton5.) The CNJ got easier to walk when we got to the ATV tracks east of Wharton (SJ)6.) What was probably a locktender's house on the Morris Canal, which passed behind it (SJ)7.) A pond, formerly part of the Morris Canal west of Wharton8.) A river underpass near Lake Junction on the CNJ right of way (SJ)9.) I think this is the Rockaway River below the CNJ right of way...(SJ)10.) On the former CNJ right of way near Lake Junction (SJ)11.) Former Chester Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad looking south from Lake Junction (SJ)12.) View in the back of an old rail car at the derelect rail car yard, Lake Junction (SJ)13.) Matt on one of the rail cars at Lake Junction (SJ)14.) View between the rail cars (SJ)15.) That's me climbing between two rail cars at Lake Junction (SJ)16.) Climbing on the old engines17.) One of the old engines at Lake Junction (SJ)18.) Wharton and Northern RR underpass of the former Morris and Essex/DL&W line (SJ)19.) Burned up W & N bridge over the Rockaway River looking south20.) Crossing the messy bridge over the Rockaway River (SJ)21.) Me drawing pictures in the ice (SJ)22.) I made a snow happy face! (SJ)23.) In the unfinished developement area, tracks to the right (SJ)24.) A plant! (SJ)25-27.) Wyatt and I taking pictures into the mirror at a gas station on Rt 15.28-29.) More scenes inside the unfinished development30.) Matt and Wyatt in the unfinished developement area looking for rail remnants31.) Amish Paul laying on the sidewalk in an apartment area (SJ)32.) I don't know what I'm doing there...(SJ)33.) Wyatt taking a break (SJ)34.) View of Rt 80 eastbound from the apartment developement35.) Amish Paul and Shelly in the apartment developement37.) View of a nice little lake in Wharton (SJ)38.) Nice lake and dam in Wharton39.) Trees! (SJ)40.) On the former CNJ tracks heading east toward Dover (SJ)41.) Crossing the Rockaway River...again! This time on the CNJ line42.) Me on the trestle (SJ)43.) Matt's on TV! In Dover!44.) On the CNJ tracks heading west from Dover45-46.) Wyatt under the Rt 46 bridge in Dover...with a sign he liked47.) Industry along former Hibernia Mine Railroad, Rockaway area48.) Old rail cars on the Hibernia Mine Railroad in Rockaway49.) A dam as seen from a trestle over the Rockaway River, Rockaway NJ50.) Wyatt on the trestle in Rockaway51.) Wyatt sliding under I believe the Rt 80 underpass52.) Hibernia Mine Railroad heading north from Rockaway53.) Wyatt from the top of a train can on Hibernia Mine Railroad near the industrial places54.) View south along the Hibernia Mine Railroad from on top of a rail car55.) Wyatt on the rail car, Hibernia Mine RR at industrial area just off Rt 51356.) Wyatt on the rail car.57.) Nice swamp land view from the rail bed58.) Another good swamp view59.) Hibernia Mine Railroad just south of Beach Glen60.) View of the Graffiti Cliffs near Hibernia