Hike #303 8/26/7
Along Columbia Trail near Califon
This was the first hike four out latest core group guy Aaron "Naaron" Young!
8/26/7 North Hunterdon Parks; Califon-Point Mountain-Mt Top Road with "DJ Ray" Cordts, Russ Moyer Aaron "Naaron" Young, David Noble, Scott "Tea Biscuit" Helbing, Eldon Allen, and Adam "Death" Coughlan
Falls at Point Mountain
Big rock on Point Mountain
Columbia Trail near Califon
Abandoned building along Columbia Trail in Vernoy
Old house along Trimmer Road
Along Trimmer Road
Along Trimmer Road
Back road walking Lebanon Twp.
Hollow Brook Road bridge in Teetertown Ravine
Teetertown Ravine
Teetertown Ravine
Sign in Teetertown Ravine
Teetertown Ravine
Teetertown Nature Preserve
Mountain Farm
Mountain Farm
Mountain Farm
Mountain Farm
Mountain Farm
Crystal Springs Trail
Old building site at Crystal Springs
Machinery at Crystal Springs
Crystal Springs
Old house, now gone, at Crystal Springs
Old Crystal Springs house
Crystal Springs house
Crystal Springs house
Crystal Springs building along the pond
Lebanon Twp back roads
Playing "Monkey In The Middle" I fell and cut my hand up pretty bad. Still have a scar!
At Penwell
Penwell
Rosan Fields at Point Mountain
Rosan Fields at Point Mountain
Rosan Fields at Point Mountain
Rosan Fields at Point Mountain
Rosan Fields at Point Mountain
Log, Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Falls at Point Mountain
Big rock on Point Mountain
Point Mountain
Point Mountain
View from Point Mountain
View from Point Mountain
Point Mountain. I used this picture for a thing I wrote for Outdoors Magazine.
Point Mountain
Point Mountain North
Trail in Point Mountain North
Jay Garish's Farm
Mountain Top Road
Mountain Top Road at my grandfather's house
Dinner at my grandfather's house
Dinner at my grandfathers'
My grandfather's office
After hike at my grandfather's place
My hand healing
I had originally not planned on doing a hike this Sunday, post quickly posted one close to my home town to make it easy, and I wanted to have a Summer hike that would take us by my favorite rope swing place, Penwell, anyway. We met in the morning at Port Colden Mall and shuttled our cars to the end point of the hike, my grandfather, Eldon Allen's house on Mountaintop Road, Lebanon Twp. (He was at church, and had forgotten I was doing a hike to there, and was worried when he saw all the cars in the driveway!). We then shuttled my car down to Califon A&P where we started our hike. Joining me here were David Noble, DJ Ray Cordts, Russ Moyer, and newcomer Aaron Young (who we would later nickname "Naaron"). We began walking down from the A&P, after a few went inside for food and such, down the main drag into Califon. Along the street, we found some parts of nude photos of some girl, and put three together to make an almost full photo. Apparently someone had ripped them up and thrown them out the car window. We continued along, turning right on the main street to see the Califon Train Station. I gave everyone a bit of a history lecture, then we followed the former CNJ High Bridge Branch, now Colombia Trail northeast through Califon, passing the lumber company to Vernoy. DJ Ray shared some beers he brought with us, one of which was a NJ brewed "Blonde" beer, that tasted good, but was annoyingly fizzy, as it would fizz over every time you took a sip. We continued on from Vernoy to cross the Morris County line and soon reached the Robert Jenkinson nurseries tree farm where we turned left out to Rt 513. We turned left, then right on Trimmer Road along farm lands. There were some Emus in a field, and people yelled at us not to go near them because they could jump the fence. We continued on up to Teetertown where we looked at Merve Griffin's old house, then made our way up Hollow Brook Road into Teetertown Ravine. I jumped into the water below the little stone bridge, then we headed to the Geology Trail, following it up to the main trail area. A kid riding his bike up there told us there may be trees down on the trails ahead, but there were not. We made our way up to the old Orchard Trail, along the bottom of that and out along the unmarked path following the perimeter of the Mountain Farm area near a residence, then up to the main Mountain Farm area. We took a break at the little visitor's center, and there was no sign of John Trontis, though we waited for a while. After a bit we continued on along to Pond Trail, then I showed everyone the nice handicapped campsite made by Mr Trontis's son. We continued around passing the group campsites, then out to Pleasant Grove Road where we reached the head of the new trail into the Crystal Springs section of the Hunterdon Parks land. The trail led us through a wetland area. Some of the Crystal Springs section is in Morris County, but John Trontis convinced the county to buy it because it had the headwaters to tributaries within Hunterdon, so it's still a Hunterdon Park. We followed the trail until it crossed a brook and then led out to a field where blazes abruptly ended. We looked into the woods to see if there was a continueing route, but nothing to be found. We continued on, skirting the edge of the field heading north. We continued along, then went through a line of trees to where there were some heavy earth movers...two of them anyway...and a foundation and ruins of a building they had just demolished. Apparently this was an old camp that was being removed for the new parkland. I climbed into one of the earth movers, a large track hoe, but could'nt start it. There was no key inside, though I thought I might find one. We carefully crossed all the splintered wood and headed up the dirt road to an abandoned house. We of course had to go in and look around. After this, the dirt road ended and a small road, overgrown, made it's way onward toward a pond. We walked it passing by another old camp building. We followed a faint trail as best we could alongside a lake, then out to a berm that held the water on the east side. We continued through woods alongside a little creek. I even walked in the creek for a while because it was easier. We continued on, turning away from the creek to the south a bit, and another body of water, a larger lake came into view. A trail appeared out in the woods, and though it was faint, it was blazed. We followed this as it led us out to Schearer Road where we turned right. I had been in phone contact with Tea Biscuit who was going to meet up with us near here, as he parked in Penwell. We continued on Schaerer Road until we reached Mt Lebanon Road and turned right a short distance to Turkey Top Road. Tea Biscuit was waiting for us at this intersection. We headed down Turkey Top Road, and found a basketball along the way which we proceeded to kick back and forth. David kicked a bit too hard and knocked half his toe nail off from in his shoe, so we took a break. While running around kicking the ball, I slipped on the recently cindered road, slicing hand up, my righ hand badly. I had a small cut on my right leg, which I fell on, but fortunitely I had a water bottle full of wine in my pocket that broke my fall. My swim trunks were torn badly down the side, but I was luckily saved by the bottle. My hands stung something terrible, and Russ put some sanitizer on the palm of my hand. We turned left on Penwell Road, and when we reached my friend Vance Calvin's house, we stopped and his wife Mary Anne bandaged my hand for me. We continued down the road across the brdge and turned at the old side road to the Penwell Rope swings into the Musconetcong. I had talked to my grandfather, who met us here. Also, Sue Zeleznik, who had'nt hiked with me in a while, showed up to swim with us. We all went off the rope swing, though I only went once because it was too hard to do with my hand it the condition it was in. Sue changed into her bathing suit in front of everyone without removing any of her regular clothes which was amazing. We all took a dip and then got ready to move on. As we were about ready to move, my friend Adam "Death" Coughlan showed up! Naaron actually found out about the hikes through him. He joined us for the remainder of the hike as well. We recrossed the Musconetcong and headed up to the Point Mountain Preserve into the field section. We followed the field edge and descended to the riverside trail along the Musconetcong. My grandfather and Russ were far ahead of everyone while DJ Ray and David were far behind, and Death and Naaron were somewhere in the middle. When we reached Point Mountain Road, my grandfather decided to walk with David on the road back to his house, while I continued with the others ahead along riverside. I had carved mine and Cathy's initials into a log recently on the rock where we first kissed on 8/23/99, and I pointed it out to everyone. We continued along, and the trail took us higher above the river, then back out toward Musconetcong River Road. We cut through the woods directly to the road rather than continueing along the trail, and then bushwhacked through woods up to Point Mountain Road, then to the right down towards the creek and the falls, which I refer to as Helbing's Falls as my family owned the house down below them. Death fell into the water by the falls and submerged his cell phone, ruining it. He was not very happy about it. We hung out at the falls a bit, then moved on. We climbed back up to Point Mountain Road, then continued bushwhacking up to the orange blazed trail to the top from behind a huge boulder. We climbed on top of it as well. We continued on the trail to the viewpoing where we took another break, and I pointed out all the locations in view. We soon took off, heading down the yellow blazed trail, which had been relocated in the past couple weeks. It now had a little stone staircase and wide switchbacks leading out to Point Mountain Road just up from where the trail used to come out. We crossed the road continueing on the yellow trail, across a low wet area and up hill. We soon reached the White trail and turned right. We followed this out to the fields and walked the newly mowed path out to Mountaintop Road and turned right. We walked up through the farm lands, woods, and passed Addicks' orchard reaching my grandfather's house where he and David had cooked us up some pizzas and got cake ready. We all ate, and I put on a digital slide show of past hikes on the DVD player. David entertained us with some piano music before we finally parted. David drove my grandfather and Death back to his truck, and when he returned he drove me back to Califon to get my car.
1.) Naaron, David, DJ Ray, and Russ on the Colombia Trail east of Califon2.) Clydesdale Horseback riders on the Colombia Trail near Vernoy3.) Russ checking out the old building along the right of way in Vernoy4.) Nice house at the county line from Rt 513 near Crestmoore, but on the Hunterdon side5.) Walking up Trimmer Road6.) An EMU!7.) Naaron with his home made backpack, a grociery bag! Near Teetertown.8.) Stone bridge in Teeterown Ravine9.) View under the bridge in Teetertown Ravine10.) DJ Ray along the brook in Teetertown Ravine11.) Historic marker along Hollow Brook Road in the ravine12.) Hollow Brook in Teetertown Ravine13.) Naaron in the preserve14.) DJ Ray and Naaron along the Orchard Trail, Teetertown Preserve15.) View of the fields in the Mountain Farm section16.) Along one of the mowed paths in the preserve17.) Taking a break at Mountain Farm!18.) Out in the fields at Mountain Farm19.) Ray with his special happy stick on a log bridge on Crystal Springs section trail20.) Recently demolished camp building in Crystal Springs Hunterdon parkland21.) Next to the large earth movers where the buildings were being demolished22.) Some building of some sort that was'nt destroyed yet at the camp area23.) Abandoned house in the preserve24.) Inside the abandoned house25.) Inside the upstairs of the abandoned house26.) The front doorstep of the abandoned house27.) Another old camp building along a lake28.) Along Turkey Top Road after Tea Biscuit joined us29.) My hand after I fell and cut it30.) Sue Zeleznik after swimming at Penwell31.) Tea Biscuit at his truck32.) My grandfather, Eldon Allen, and Russ on the Point Mountain trails near Penwell33.) Along the trails through the fields at Point Mountain preserve34.) More in the Point Mountain Preserve near Penwell35.) Mine and my girlfriend, Cathy's initials on a log where we first kissed on 8/23/9936-42.) The falls below Point Mt43.) DJ Ray at the bottom of a large rock coming up Point Mt44.) Death, DJ Ray, and Naaron on the rock near the trail up Point Mt.45.) View from atop Pt Mountain46.) Port Murray area view from the top47.) View to the west from Point Mountain48.) Leaving the viewpoint49.) In the Point Mountain South Section park in the fields nearing Mountaintop Road50.) The fields51.) Wildflowers growing across the mowed trail near Mountaintop Road52.) Jay Garish's property on Mountaintop Road53.) Along Mt Top Road near Jay Garish's place54.) My grandfather's house at 104 Mt Top Road...kinda blurry55.) Around the table at the end of the hike, having dinner56.) David helping my grandfather clean up57.) My grandfather showing Russ his office58.) David entertaining on the piano59.) Hanging out60.) My hand the next day
David on piano at my Grandfather's
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