Hike #294 7/17/7
Ken Lockwood Gorge
7/17/7
This next hike was an unplanned impromptu hike where Cathy and I decided to take a walk in the vicinity of High Bridge. It was a Tuesday, and I'd just gotten off work at Taylor Rental a bit early, having quickly set up a 30x50 foot tent for Transistor Devices in Hackettstown.
Toy train put in a geocache along Columbia Trail, Ken Lockwood Gorge
John Palmer's driveway almost cleaned
Columbia Trail, Califon
South Branch
Rite Aid, Califon
Old dam on the South Branch, Califon
Old dam on the South Branch, Califon
Along the South Branch
John Palmer's diriveway
Cathy asked me if I'd go for a walk with her, and though tired I was of course up for it. We headed to High Bridge and parked in the municipal lot to begin walking for former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ, now Colombia Trail northeast. We walked continueously through Readingsburg into Ken Lockwood Gorge, and Cathy walked ahead of me as I stopped to eat many of the ripe berries along the way. There were new historical signs placed along the route which were a nice touch, and I stopped to read the one at the Gorge Trestle that told of how an engine known as the Colombia went off the trestle crashing into the gorge in the 1880s. The name of the trail comes from the gas line; the name of the engine was coincidence. We continued from the gorge to Hoffman's Crossing and continued on from here. We passed John Palmer's house, the old black man who had lived there his entire life (now in his 90s) and a lot of his junk in the old junk yard appeared to have been removed. His driveway was getting overgrown as no one had been driving in there. Continueing on, we headed into Califon, passing the old railroad station, then stopped at Rambo's general store for some drinks before continueing on. We decided to walk toward the A&P, and turned back when we reached the new Eckerd drug store (though the sign said "Rite Aid Coming Soon"!). We headed back across the South Branch of the Raritan in town and turned right along River Road. I walked off the road a couple times, and checked out an old dam downstream from town that appeared almost ready to break. We continued on downstream along the river, past Hoffman's Crossing and into Ken Lockwood Gorge on River Road. The road was closed just the previous year because it had been washed out in a flood, and the state decided to abandon it. We walked through and checked out the washouts. We talked to a fisherman who pointed out some fish to us along the way. We continued under the gorge trestle to beyond where the road was paved and then turned around to walk back through the gorge again because Cathy loved the scenery so much. I walked across the river on a log and back. When we got back to Hoffman's Crossing, we headed back up to the railroad bed and followed it back to High Bridge. I ate a lot of berries along the way and Cathy got pretty far ahead of me. By the time we reached High Bridge, we had walked 18.2 miles!
1.) A little set up in a rock overhang near the west side of the Ken Lockwood Gorge Trestle2.) John Palmer's driveway near Califon3.) Cathy on Colombia Trail in Califon4.) The South Branch of the Raritan in Califon looking upstream from the bridge5.) The new Eckerd...soon to be Rite Aid...Califon Lower Valley6.) The deteriorating dam below Califon7.) Another shot of the deteriorating dam8.) Cathy at a friendly sign along the South Branch just downstream from Califon9.) John Palmer's driveway from River Road10.) Me walking across a log in the gorge
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