Hike #392 1/1/9
The group above Buttermilk Falls along India Brook
1/1/9 Randolph/Mendham/Randolph Area Loop with Shelly Janes, "Commando Tom" Petrucci, Jason Itell, Al MacLennan, Jillane Becker, and Eric Pace
Jillane and I in India Brook Natural Area
Log crossing of Burnett Brook
Crossing Burnett Brook
Crossing Burnett Brook
Crossing Burnett Brook
Crossing Burnett Brook
Burnett Brook. This becomes the North Branch of the Raritan River. Here, the connector trail crosses to the Schiff Reservation, but the cylinders we'd have to cross on weren't looking too good, so we changed the route.
Burnett Brook crossing
Burnett Brook crossing
Burnett Brook crossing
Burnett Brook crossing near Ralston
Possible old mill site along Burnett Brook
Crossing the Burnett Brook on fallen logs
Burnett Brook crossing
Burnett Brook
Crossing logs over Burnett Brook near Ralston
Crossing Burnett Brook near Ralston
Burnett Brook crossing near Ralston
Commando Tom in Burnett Brook Preserve
Pond in Burnett Brook preserve
Sky
Cider Mill in Ralston
Cider Mill, Ralston
Cider Mill in Ralston
Old bridge site in India Brook Natural Area
India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Fireplace along India Brook
Fireplace on India Brook
Fireplace on India Brook
Old dam site on the India Brook
Old building in part of Buttermilk Falls Natural Area
Abandoned building
"The Rules" in an abandoned shack
Pond in Heisteins Park
Pond at Heisteins Park
Pond at Heisteins Park
Trailhead north of Combs Hollow
Along India Brook Trail
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
Buttermilk Falls on India Brook
India Brook Trail crossing
India Brook Trail crossing
Crossing India Brook
The end of 2008 for me was intense. On Christmas eve, after getting home from work Cathy told me she'd reserved a room for us in the Poconos because we needed to get away. While this was a sweet gesture, it was absolutely insane. With over 15000 dollars of dept, we could not afford a getaway like this, nor did I want to pursue anything further the way Cathy had treated me. She had done and said things to push me away before and it hurt me terribly. I started becoming numb to it, but now the numbness was gone and I was getting angry at this senselessness. I came back a little later and things escelated further. I told her she needed to go back out west, that I couldn't give her the level of help she needed and that it was over.
I met up with Jillane and I was a mess.
Unfortunitely, Cathy just didn't "get it" that I was serious, but this was the end for me. I couldn't handle talking to her or anything, and spent most days after work taking long walks and avoiding her.
For this hike I met the group in a park in Ralston. We started by following a path that led from this park out to the Patriot's Path on the former Rockaway Valley Railroad. We headed west on that to where it used to cross over the Burnett Brook I think it was. We could see that the trail route was cleared to the right following the river upstream. We followed it, and then came to a tributary that didn't seem crossable. We ended up crossing the river on a log, then walked along it and found some ruins, somthing stone. We then had to cross over the river again on more logs and got to flagged section of trail, and I think we found a Patriot's Path post that didn't have anything on it written yet. We could see yellow blazes along the driveway it dead ended at so we followed them to the left. They soon turned off of the paved drive and looped around through the woods to the north. We came right back out to the road and then followed it in the other direction. The yellow blazes took us to the right and by a pond, and then another trail took us out to the trail head for I guess Burnett Brook Nature Preserve. We continued out to Old Rt 24 and turned right past a cider mill, then turned left on Patriot's Path on the railroad bed. We followed this to the side trail along the India Brook to the north.
We headed up across Mountainside Road along the creek. As we headed north there was soon another new trail ascending to the left. We followed this up hill which took us into another preserve, I forget what it was called, then it looped us around and back down to India Brook again. I remember feeling dreary in the face of everything going on, and we talked about death and stuff. Commando Tom called it on this one, that it's really an unhappy thought and he would rather not think of it at all. He was right, we were hiking and I wanted to be happy.
After coming back into India Brook area near Buttermilk Falls, another trail ascended to the east side. So after crossing we made our way up along this route and found what I think was an old mine site. We continued along the trail and checked out an abandoned building that was obviously being used as a hangout for some kids before coming out to I think part of Combs Hollow Road. We turned left at first and I realized it was the wrong way, then we went right to turn left on Calais Road. We followed this to where it dead ended and the former road route was now a trail in Randolph Township.
We followed these trails to the left, now on part of the main branch of the Patriot's Path. We followed it westbound to the intersection of Combs Hollow and Doby Roads. We crossed and followed the trail as it went along Doby Road, and I was forced to remember an argument Cathy and I had gotten into there. When we walked by, she insisted something ridicules about a driveway, like it wasn't made of pavers or something when it obviously was. She wanted to knock on the door to ask them, which seemed insane to me.
I tried to put it out of my head and we moved on to Heisteins Park. We walked around a pond and then turned back on the Patriot's Path to the Doby Road parking area where we'd just come from. Jillane met up with us here, and we walked the Patriot's Path to the somewhat new trail south parallel with India Brook. We followed it to Combs Hollow Road, crossed the bridge, then headed back into the woods to remain on the India Brook Trail south. I think this time the bridge over the brook was completed.
Jillane seemed to be in a bad mood this time again, and I was worried about this just not working out. We continued along the stream down to the second crossing which hadn't been bridge yet.
We then headed directly back to the blue branch of the Patriot's Path on the rail bed where we were joined by Eric Pace, and he finished the end of the hike with us.
We tried to stop for dinner in Mendham but we couldn't even figure out parking so we just left. I took Jillane back to her car and we had a talk. I think at this time neither of us knew what was going to happen.
Jillane told me around this time that she wanted to marry me in a couple of years. I remember very well her saying "I really think this could be it". I didn't even have to propose, those words were what I needed to hear to know she was serious. Within days from our moment of uncertainty I think we were both sure what we wanted.
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