The group along Wickecheoke Road
10/5/8 Locktown/Wichecheoke Creek Preserve/Seargeantsville/Rosemont/Lockaton/Bulls Island with Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, Jason-Michael "Jamal" Flintosh, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Steve Sanbeg, Al MacLennan, Kyle Zalinsky, Irina Kulikovskaya, Shelly Janes, Ron Lozowski, and "DJ Ray" Cordts.
The group along Wickecheoke Road
Here's a link to all of the photos from this hike, be sure to check the sub folders for the pics from Shelly and Steve!
http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk97/sneezehorse2/hike375%2010-5-8/?start=0
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Wickecheoke Creek near Locktown
Spot along the Wickecheoke
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Old Mill Road, a nice Hunterdon dirt road near the Wickecheoke.
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve near Pine Hill Road
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge, last authentic covered bridge in NJ.
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Historic marker
Green Sergeant's Covered Bridge
Historic marker at Green Sergeant's Bridge
Wickecheoke Creek
Wickecheoke Creek
Wickecheoke Creek
Wickecheoke Creek below Sergeantsville.
Wickecheoke Creek below Sergeantsville.
We walked down the Wickecheoke Creek Trail toward Prallsville and came to this set of old steps heading up the hillside to the right. Not sure where it goes.
Wichecheoke Creek
Snail
Snail along Wickecheoke Creek
Trail to Rosement in Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Trail to Rosement in Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Wickeceoke Creek
Trail to Rosement in Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Trail to Rosement in Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
Trail to Rosement in Wickecheoke Creek Preserve
On Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
On Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
On Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
On Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
On Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
On Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
Wescott Nature Center
Old schoolhouse outside of Rosemont, now abandoned
Old bridge on Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
Old bridge on Raven Rock-Rosemont Road
In Zega-Lockatong Preserve, on Mimi's Trail
In Zega-Lockatong Preserve
In Zega-Lockatong Preserve
In Zega-Lockatong Preserve
In Zega-Lockatong Preserve
In Zega-Lockatong Preserve
Peters Trail in Wescott Nature Center's north end.
Lockatong Creek
Along the Lockatong Creek in Wescott.
The Lockatong
The Lockatong
Lockatong Creek
Lockatong Creek
Heading north on Peter's Trail
Along Peter's Trail
Peter's Trail in the fields
Peter's Trail deer stand
Deer stand in Wescott Nature Center.
Deer Stand in Wescott Nature Center
Deer Stand at Wescott
Lunch
Private residence near Wescott
In Delaware Bluffs State Park
In Delaware Bluffs State Park
In Delaware Bluffs State Park
In Delaware Bluffs State Park
In Delaware Bluffs State Park
In Delaware Bluffs State Park
Old quarry near Bulls Island
Old quarry area near Bulls Island
Old quarry area near Bulls Island
Walking along the water bypass at the quarry near Bulls Island
Near Bulls Island
Near Bulls Island
This old flume was intended to keep water away from the quarry up the hill from Bulls Island
Culvert under Quarry Road
Culvert under quarry road. The entire hike we were using these walkie talkies to communicate, and making ridicules noises.
Culvert beneath quarry road
Culvert beneath Quarry Road
Old quarry above Bulls Island
Al!
Al!
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
Bulls Island Foot Bridge
SHEEELLLLYYYYYYY!!!
SHEEELLLLYYYYYYY!!!
SHEEELLLLYYYYYYY!!!
Having Din Din
Having Din Din
Having Din Din
Having Din Din
Mr. Buckett
Mr. Buckett
Not yogurt
I unfortunitely lost the original journal for this one as well. Hopefully someone has a disc with it, but here's what I remember.
After meeting in the morning at Bull's Island along the Delaware, we shuttled cars to the beginning point, Locktown in Hunterdon County. I ended up taking a wrong turn and we drove a really long way to get there.
We parked along the road near a church in Locktown, on a tiny little road called Kingwood Locktown Road and walked it shortly west across the Wickecheoke Creek, and then turned left onto the even tinier Wickecheoke Road. This dirt road was lovely to walk, but we did'nt stay on it long. We were soon at the Wickecheoke Creek Preserve and we bushwhacked into the woods to the creekside with beautiful cascades over rocks. We were able to do a lot of walking in the creek itself which was fantastic. Kyle and Wyatt hit it off right away, climbing like crazy around on the rocks.
Though there was no trail yet in this section, we soon came to it. It started just down the road from where we entered the woods, we just went in early. We followed this trail section as I recall even when the trail seemed to end, along the creek right out to Old Mill Road. It was very scenic the entire way.
At Old Mill Road, we turned left and went up hill for a little bit, then turned right on Pine Hill Road. Soon, another trail which exited to the right from Pine Hill Road took us back down to the creek. Some of this trail was really overgrown and not often maintained. I remember Al cut his legs or something along the way, but he was alright, and in fact laughing and carrying on, having a great time as he always does.
The trail we were on veered away from the creek ahead, but another trail had shown up on the opposite side, so we found a place to cross. We then continued on this trail as it followed the creek and then slowly ascended up hill to Upper Creek Road. Along the way we passed a small abandoned building which we of course went in.
We followed Upper Creek Road south and soon came to Green Sergeants Covered Bridge, the last remaining covered bridge in NJ. We turned left and went through the historic bridge and met up with Shelly here. We then turned right on Lower Creek Road parallel with the creek closely. The trail would enter woods and come back to the road a few times in this section, and it made it's way down to Prallsville. Everyone except for Kyle and I, I think, stopped for a break here. Kyle and I ran down the trail toward Prallsville where we met up with Ron Lozowski. We then turned around and came back to where the group was. We had to backtrack a little bit, and then we turned onto another trail which ascended the hill to the north, and then skirted fields to come out on Rt 519 in Rosemont.
We followed 519 north and then turned left on Raven Rock-Rosemont Road. As we walked, we were joined by DJ Ray, who parked just a bit further down at Wescott Nature Center. I took the group into Wescott when we got there, and followed the trail down along the cliffs of the Lockatong Creek. The trail headed back up hill, and it closes in a loop at the parking lot, but we bushwhacked off of it and continued down Raven Rock Rosemont Road. We checked out the abandoned old school house on the right next. The basement was open, but we otherwise could'nt get in and my county keys would'nt open it.
From here, we headed down hill and crossed the Lockatong on an historic steel bridge. We then turned right onto "Mimi's Trail" in the Zega section of the Lockatong Creek Preserve. My previous time here we were only able to walk out and then cross the Lockatong into the main section of Wescott, but this time the "Peter's Trail" was completed to the north. We continued along the Lockatong, and the trail left the creekside and ascended to high hills above the creek to the left. We then ascended further and turned away from the creek into the fields above. In the third field area was a long abandoned deer stand tower of some kind. I tried to go up the stairs but they broke under my weight and were covered in multiflora rose anway, so I just climbed up it another way.
We continued on to a driveway and I could'nt figure out where the trail was supposed to go, as it was very poorly marked (I added trail marker posts within the next year to this preserve). Somehow we ended up on a driveway trying to find our way out. I think we ended up at the person's house at the end of it, not knowing wiich way to turn, and then we followed the driveway out to Strimples Mill Road. We turned left on Strimples Mill Road to Federal Twist Road. From here, we walked a short distance and then bushwhacked into state property. I had envisioned a trail following this property down to Quarry Road and then to Bulls Island, making this a direct trail connection to the D&R Canal State Park. We bushwhacked, sometimes very hard, down to Quarry Road. Near the end we came close to a driveway. It's amazing that by 2010 an official trail was actually cleared on the exact spot that I proposed, with a loop around a quarry at the end rather than the Quarry Road walk.
We walked down Quarry Road, a nice dirt road, and I pointed out the flume system that once carried the creek away from the giant quarry that was now on our left. Twice the flume system passed through culverts under the road which were dry and really cool. Kyle, Wyatt, and I crawled through them
We then crossed to Bulls Island. Rather than just head out, we made our way onto the island and then walked out across the foot bridge over the Delaware and back, a fitting way to end a great day, save for the nice dinner we had in Frenchtown I think it was.
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