Hike #308 9/23/7
9/23/7 North Morris County; Sparta-Berkshire Valley with "DJ Ray" Cordts, Christina Manley, Russ Moyer, "Naaron" Young, and Gina Hidalgo
At Headley Overlook
This next hike would be mostly in Morris County, with a small part of Sussex County, beginning just south of Sparta. I met my group in the morning on Mount Arlington Road, at a commuter lot along Rt 80 where a new railroad station was under construction. Joining me this time were Russ Moyer, DJ Ray Cortds, Christina Manley, "Naaron" Young, and newcomer Gina, a friend of Ray's.
Woods road in Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Sparta Mountain WMA
Old road in Sparta Mountain WMA
Ogden Mine Railroad bed at Saffin Pond
Saffin Pond
Ogden Mine Railroad bed in Mahlon Dickerson Reservation
Along old Ogden Mine Railroad bed
DJ Ray humping a tree on the highest point in Morris County NJ, in Mahlon Dickerson
Mahlon Dickerson Res.
Mahlon Dickerson Res.
Headley Overlook
Headley Overlook
headley Overlook climbing
Lake Hopatcong view from Headley Overlook
Map along the way
Split Rock along Beaver Brook Trail
Split Rock along Beaver Brook Trail
Lost Lake
Lost Lake
Lost Lake
Lost Lake
Tributary along Beaver Brook Trail
Beaver Brook Trail
Mushroom!
Along Beaver Brook Trail
Valley View Vista along Beaver Brook Trail
A rest at a convenience store along Rt 15
New Mt. Arlington Station
Mt. Arlington Station under construction
We shuttled north to just below Sparta in my car and parked at a small lot near an entrance to Weldon Brook Wildlife Management Area. We wandered into the woods on an old road which led us through what at one time was supposedly a scout camp or something. The only remnants there were some foundations. There was also some sort of lake, but we did'nt go too close to it. We followed the most used woods road route through woods passing many forks and eventually coming out to a power line where there was a regular paved road leading to a tower on one side and Weldon Road the other. We headed down to Weldon Road and entered Mahlon Dickerson Reservation bushwhacking down to the right of way of the Ogden Mine Railroad, which I'd hiked the previous fall. We turned left and followed the rail right of way north passing Saffin Pond and then a couple of marsh lands. There was at one time a railraod spur to a mine that broke off here somewhere but I could'nt find it. We continued north and turned right on another trail which led us to a fork, where a left turn took us to the highest point in Morris County where we putzed around a bit. From here, we headed down hill and followed some new trails along the south side of a swampy area to the Highlands Trail. We were only briefly on the Highlands Trail here before we followed a side trail leading us out to the camp sites where we came to the shower house. DJ Ray, Naaron, Christina, and I all took showers and then we moved on. We continued out the access road and across the main road to the Highlands Trail, which led us to Headley Overlook with a bit of a view of Lake Hopatcong. DJ Ray and I climbed on the rocks a bit, then we moved on along the HT to the junction with the Beaver Brook Trail, a longer trail which led out of Mahlon Dickerson Reservation and into Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area. We followed the trail which had a lot of little ups and downs out of Mahlon Dickerson and into the state WMA lands leading us to Lost Lake, a beaver lake which we went partially around. On the southwest side was Split Rock where the trail passes between an aptly named giant boulder with a walkway crack in it. Naaron climbed up onto it, and when he jumped off pulled a muscle in his foot, which made it tough for him to walk for the rest of the trip. The trail led us out to the edge of Mase Mountain and a lookout called Valley View, which was a meager view of Rockaway Valley. We continued along the top of the ridge, descending and ascending a bit along the edge until we finally made a descent down, which seemed to take forever. There was a black bear below us when we were nearly to the bottom, which startled Russ as it was on the trail right in front of him. We soon came out to Berkshire Valley Road and turned left, then again right on Taylor Road along the Rockaway River. Christina and Gina slowed down and took a break, while we decided Russ, DJ Ray, Naaron, and I continued on. We soon reached Rt 15 at a gas station where we were able to get a little nourishment before moving on. Naaron waited here, and we planned to pick him up later. We headed south on Rt 15 and turned right onto another part of Berkshire Valley Road, which took us along Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area. I neglected to look at the map and took us on a wrong turn into some woods on some ATV paths. We were trying to cut in to the old rail bed to Lake Junction, but we were too far east for that. We ended up walking along the edge of a huge bog, and had to turn back, and we somehow ended up back near where we started at a strange circular shaped cleared area, maybe an old hearth, back in the woods. It was getting very dark and we did'nt have much time, so we shifted our priority to simply getting out of the woods. We ended up in someone's back yard and crossed to the driveway cautiosly, and then ended up back on Berkshire Valley Road. We passes a couple walking their dog who directed us to the railroad underpass just beyond Rt 80, so I figured that would be the best move. While we were walking DJ Ray tried to get his parents to pick us up, to no avail, so we continued on across Rt 80 to the former Morris and Essex/Lackawanna Railroad tracks and followed them west to the new Mt Arlington station that was under construction. Adam "Death" Coughlan came to our rescue and fortunitely picked up Naaron, Gina, and Christina (who had made their way to the gas station) to meet us at the parking area. All of us but Russ who had a long drive had some dinner at a diner near Sparta after walking 22.5 miles!Photos...
Me near highest point in Morris County
1.) DJ Ray in Weldon Brook WMA on the foundation to an old building2.) Nice swamp land along the old woods road in Weldon Brook WMA3.) Along that same old woods road4.) On the right of way of the Ogden Mine Railroad in Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, along Saffin Pond.5.) Swamp land along Weldon Road and the Ogden Mine Railroad bed6.) The rail bed north of Saffin Pond7.) Scene along Ogden Mine Railroad in Mahlon Dickerson8.) DJ Ray hugging a tree at the highest point in Morris County9.) Video of DJ Ray humping a tree, again at Morris Co. highest point10.) Me with a giant boulder in Mahlon Dickerson11.) View from Headley Overlook with Lake Hopatcong in sight12.) The group at Headley Overlook13.) Gina and Christina at Headley Overlook14.) DJ Ray and Naaron climbing around on rocks at Headley Overlook15.) View from Headley Overlook16.) A map we found along the way of the Beaver Brook Trail17.) Naaron and Russ at Split Rock near Lost Lake18.) DJ Ray at Split Rock19.) Lost Lake20.) Beaver Dam on Lost Lake21.) On the trail along Lost Lake22.) Naaron along Lost Lake soaking his hurt foot23.) Nice little tributary along Beaver Brook Trail24.) Along Beaver Brook Trail on Mase Mountain25.) A bushel of mushrooms along Beaver Brook Trail26.) Valley View along Beaver Brook Trail on Mase Mountain27.) Another Valley View along Beaver Brook Trail, Mase Mountain28.) DJ Ray and Russ getting nourishment at a gas station in the median of Rt 1529-30.) The new Mt Arlington Station under construction
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