Hike #296 7/29/7
7/29/7 Milford/Montegue/Dingman's Ferry with Skyler Jermyn, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Fred Hafale, DJ Ray Cordts, John Spiridon, Skyler Jermyn, Jay and Sangita Shah, Russ Moyer, Christine "Tall One" Roach, Cindy Roach and Don DeVane
Beginning, Milford PA
Milford PA
Milford PA
Milford PA
Milford PA
Milford PA
Milford PA
Milford-Montegue Bridge
View from Milford-Montegue Bridge
View from Milford-Montegue Bridge
Milford-Montegue Bridge
Milford-Montegue Bridge
View from Milford Montegue Bridge
Milford Montegue Bridge
On the bridge coming into Montegue NJ
Montegue NJ
Milford-Montegue Bridge
Below the toll bridge, Montegue NJ
Montegue NJ
DJ Ray's phone after being destroyed by Amish Paul
Old bridge on an abandoned road in Montegue
Abandoned old bridge in Montegue NJ
Abandoned house on Old Mine Road
Abandoned hosue
Abandoned hosue
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Historic marker along Old Mine Road near Montegue NJ
Another historic marker on Old Mine Road
The oldest house in Sussex County near Montegue
Old cemetery off Old Mine Road
Old tomb stone
View of the Pocono Rim from fields in NJ
Old tomb stone
Fields south of Montegue
Fields south of Montegue
Fields south of Montegue
Hanging out along the Delaware River in Sussex County
Thi sis called the "No Dessert Hold"
Fields south of Montegue
John loves corn
Old road along the Delaware
Mettler Road near Dingman's Ferry
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Old road near Dingman's Ferry
Dingman's Ferry Bridge
Historic Dingman's Ferry Bridge
Delaware at Dingman's Ferry
At Dingman's Ferry
After hike bar be cue
After hike bar be cue at Kittatinny Lake
Barbecue at the Tall Mom's
Barbecue at the Tall Mom's
Barbecue at Mrs. Roach's house
Barbecue at Mrs. Roach's house
Barbecue at Mrs. Roach's house
At Mrs. Roach's house
Barbecue at Mrs. Roach's house
Barbecue at Mrs. Roach's house
Barbecue at Mrs. Roach's
Old cemetery off Old Mine Road
My next hike would take us back to the northern part of Sussex County in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, mostly parallel with the Delaware River. We met in the morning at Walpack Center and shuttled cars north to the town of Milford PA. Joining me this time were "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Skyler Jermyn, Fred Hafale, Russ Moyer, David Noble, Christine "The Tall One" Roach, Ray Cordts, John Spiridon, Jay and Sangita Shah, and newcomers, the Tall One's mom and her mom Cindy Roach and her boyfriend Don DeVane. We began walking from a supermarket in Milford just off Rt 206. We followed the road down toward the river, and made a turn onto a road leading to Milford Beach, but it was a fee area so we opted not to walk in, but to use the road. It was only a dollar to get in, but for the cost none of us were into it. Amish Paul and Ray decided to cut into the woods where the rest of us walked back out to 206 to the Milford-Montegue Bridge. We waited for a while, but could wait no longer so we all crossed. There was a terrific view north, upstream along the Delaware with a steep rock edge sliding off into the river. After a bit of waiting on the NJ side, I walked down and under the bridge to the other side when Ray and Amish paul came into view. I had talked to Ray on his cell phone earlier, so I knew they were on their way, but unfortunitely Ray's cell phone was destroyed when Amish Paul accidently dropped it into Rt 206 on the bridge! I'd never seen a cell phone so mangled! Cindy and Don decided to turn back at this point, which was part of their plan anyway. We began walking from here parallel with 206 south before cutting into the woods off trail. Ray decided he wanted to turn back to catch up with Cindy and Don to get a ride back to his car, and hopefully get a new phone, but it was'nt possibly till Monday, so he'd spend a lot of time trying to catch up with us again. The rest of us made our way through the woods, and we eventually came to one of the old woods roads I had wanted to use. We followed it out to the bluffs above the Delaware, and the roads soon petered out. We found ourselves bushwacking through Rhododendrons for quite a while. We somehow ended up walking out to the Old Mine Road (first commercial road in the United States by most accounts, built in late 1600s by Hollanders). We turned right and continued along. While walking the road, we came across a nice abandoned house. It sat along the roadside, and was opened up so we decided to waltz on in. It was surprisingly not vandalized, I would assume due to it's secluded location, though it was along a public road. We checked out the two main floors and the basement, and it all seemed safe and stable. We continued on along Old Mine Road, and turned down a lane leading to the oldest house in Sussex County. It was now a residence, so we opted not to go too close. We also could'nt find a way to walk along the river from here, so we returned to the Old Mine Road. We continued on along the road until we came to an old woods road heading off toward the river. Fred and John had continued ahead, and John had his car parked there so they'd be fine, so we headed on up the woods road. After not too long, we came to an old cemetary, slightly overgrown, dating back to the early 1700s! Many of the graves were from the 1800s, but some dated back to the 1740s, and may have gone back even earlier, but we did'nt inspect to see if there were more. We eventually cut off to the left from the woods road heading out to a cultivated corn field with an open area between two sections. We walked the open spot (by open, it was not totally open, but somewhat overgrown with high weeds, just no corn) to the other side, and soon reached a more open and obviously used farm road. We turned right heading toward the river. When we reached the river, there was a nice open area leading down to the water. We decided it was a great time to go for a swim, so we took an extended cool-off break. After a good swim we opted to follow the farm road to it's end, at the Old Mine Road. Wyatt was getting on Skyler's nerves, and they frequently began wrestling each other, and Skyler demonstrated what he referred to as the "No Dessert Hold", one of many moves he used to detain unruly juveniles at work (at the juvenile detention center in Easton PA). The two of them also kept on racing each other, and Wyatt would cheat holding Skyler's backpack. We continued to the Old Mine Road, and continued south. Amish Paul decided to cut through the woods rather than head to the road, and he appeared in a field further down the road after a bit. We made a right turn toward the river again when we neared the Youth Hostel area, then began following the trail blazed with can lids I had last followed years before in July 2003. We followed the trail out to the dirt roads where there were a few occupied houses, and followed the roads out to the two abandoned buildings we visited in 2003. We went into one of the houses to have a look around, then continued heading back out toward Old Mine Road. As we walked, Captain Soup pulled up in his car, and a few of the group jumped in with him while I continued on with a few others. Ray had caught back up with Captain Soup as well, and we all made our way to the Dingman's Ferry Bridge and took a swim in the Delaware beneath. After a good swim, we all went to The Tall One's mom, Cindy's house where she and Don gave us burgers and hot dogs, and we hung out for a while.
1.) Ready to hike from a grocery store in Milford PA1a-1b.) Hanging at the grociery store waiting to walk (FH)2.) Walking down Rt 209 in Milford PA3.) Heading down the road toward Milford Beach in Del Water Gap NRA3a.) The group approaching the Milford-Montegue Bridge (FH)4.) Fred and Russ on the Milford-Montegue Bridge5.) View of the Delaware from the bridge upstream5a.) View of the river from the bridge (FH)5b.) The group crossing the bridge (FH)5c.) The group and I on the bridge (FH)6.) View upstream on the Delaware7.) Crossing the bridge8.) The Tall One and her mom and Don on the bridge8a.) On the Montegue side of the bridge (FH)8b.) The underside of the Milford-Montegue Bridge (FH)8c.) The group ascending after passing under the bridge (FH)9.) More of the group climbing up from beneath the bridge10.) DJ Ray with his demolished cell phone, after Amish Paul dropped it on the bridge11.) Wyatt on an old bridge near the Delaware south of Montegue12.) An abandoned house along the Old Mine Road south of Montegue13.) In the abandoned house14.) David in the house approaching the second floor15.) Wyatt on the second floor16.) Skyler and Wyatt with the fireplace17.) The Tall One in the lower floor of the house18.) The old house from the other side, looking more from the south19.) An historic marker along Old Mine Road20.) Plaque along the Old Mine Road21.) Russ with supposedly the oldest house in Sussex County22.) Wyatt in an old cemetary we found23.) A gravestone from 1756!24.) Another tomb stone from 1748!25.) View of the rocks beyond a field, on the PA side of the Delaware26.) Sort of cleared area in the corn fields where we crossed27.) Russ and the rest of the group crossing the fields28.) Still crossing the fields29.) That would be me at a little spot along the Delaware30.) Skyler putting Wyatt in the "No Dessert Hold"31.) Amish Paul making his way across a field where he took a shortcut31a.) John "The Scavenger" Spiridon and his signiture corn picking! (FH)32.) Walking along a dirt road near the youth hostel along the Delaware33.) Wyatt and Skyler on one of the dirt roads north of Dingman's Ferry34.) Abandoned building near Dingman's Ferry on the NJ side35.) The bathroom in the abandoned house!36.) Me in the abandoned house near Dingman's Ferry37.) Inside the house38.) Abandoned house from the outside39.) The abandoned houses along the road40.) The Dingman's Ferry Bridge on the NJ side41.) The Dingman's Ferry Bridge, again on NJ side42.) View downstream along the Delaware from Dingman's Ferry, NJ side43.) The group descending to the river near the bridge44.) After the hike at the Roach House along Kittatinny Lake!45.) Having supper at the Roach House!46.) Don making food!47.) Me!!!
Din Din at the Tall Mom's
No comments:
Post a Comment