Hike #355 7/18/8
7/18/8 Long Valley to Succasunna with Cathy Fisher
Me inside a sort of hollow tree along the Chester Branch of the Lackawanna Railroad right of way
This was another journal entry I unfortunitely lost in the fire. If anyone has a disc with it on it please let me know....here's what I remember.
Animals at the Ort Farm in Long Valley
Former CNJ Chester Branch east of the Ort Farm
Patriot's Path east of Tanner's Brook Road
Patriot's Path east of Tanners Brook Road
Patriot's Path east of Tanners Brook Road
Patriot's Path east of Tanners Brook Road
View of the Black River from the rail bed near Chester Furnace site
Former Chester Branch of the Lackawanna Railroad
Chester Branch heading east from Chester Furnace
Abandoned bus along the right of way
Abandoned bus
Abandoned bus
Abandond bus
Abandoned bus
One can see where exactly the ties once layed on the Chester Branch
DL&W Chester Branch
Abandoned industry
Abandoned industry
Abandoned industry
Abandoned industry
Abandoned industry
Mirror shot
Mirror shot
Chester Branch
Chester Branch recently cleared in Succasunna
Chester Branch recently cleared in Succasunna
Horseshoe Lake, Succasunna
Horseshoe Lake, Succasunna
At Horseshoe Lake, Succassunna.
For this one Cathy and I spotted cars, one out in Ledgewood area. We started in Long Valley area and got on the Patriot's Path heading eastbound through the Ort Farm on the old Chester Branch of the CNJ Railroad. We followed that to Coleman Road where it became pretty impossible to follow and then I think we must have gone out to Rt 513 and then back on Furnace Road to Tanners Brook Road. The trail picked up again there. We followed it through a grove and then back onto the railbed heading toward Chester.
We passed by the Pequest Furnace site and continued on the white blazed Patriot's Path to Furnace Road. The trail turned left on Furnace Road, but an earlier alignment of it took the trail over a wetland and then onto the Lackawanna Railroad Chester Branch. The old route had painted out blazes, but the board walks over the wetlands were still in place so we hiked that. It came off of the wetland next to a hollow based tree. Years later the Patriots' Path would be moved off of this route altogether in favor of a different route right through Chester.
We continued on the rail bed out to Rt 206, but stopped first to check out the abandoned old bus in the woods.
We crossed 20 and the rail bed on the opposite side was still clear but unmarked. We took this to Bernie's Hillside Lounge on Hillside Road, and while we were there we saw a guy we used to hang out with there with Ervin and I performed there years earlier. I did'nt recognize him because he'd cut his long hair off.
Cathy and I made our way behind the abandoned building on the corner of Hillside and Oakdale, then got on Oakdale and followed it to Pleasant Hill where we got on the next rail bed section, here maintained as a the next piece of Patriot's Path.
We continued on the rail bed to either Ironia or Pleasant Hill Road (not sure which, maps call it both) where the rail bed entered water authority property. I was'nt about to bring Cathy in there, because if we got caught and had to run there was no way she'd get away like me, nor would she quickly scale the fence on the other end. Instead we walked the road to the south as I recall, Park Ave to Righter Road which seemed to take forever. We got back on the old rail bed here. Tracks started up again as well, but where they were long overgrown in the past, on this trip they had been totally cleared. We walked the tracks to where they became and active industrial spur, then turned off into Horseshoe Lake Park. I thought we'd get around to the other side easily, but somehow we made it to the inside of the Horseshoe and had to walk all the way back out. I believe we had to walk along Rt 10 to where we were parked.
Me inside a sort of hollow tree along the Chester Branch of the Lackawanna Railroad right of way
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