8/22-8/23/9 High Bridge/Taylor Wharton Greenway with Kyle Zalinsky, Matt Davis, Shelly Janes, Dana Janes, Zachary Crowell, Bill Honaschefsky, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Amanda Rosanblatt, Lois "Korky" Adams, Carol and Rob Creamer, "DJ Ray" Cordts, Heather Gebhardt,
Pizza dinner after a hard day's work
This was one of the most memorable weekends of the Summer. We helped to create something substantial, and we did a very good job. We were a great example of what volunteers could achieve, and it was more than a pleasure to do it. We had an incredible time working on the bridge, and a great hike the following day. So many great memories came of this time. It was also this weekend that Kyle accosted a gas station attendant with his "Hess?" inquiries, then tore out of the parking lot shouting "Yes!". There were so many times I could laugh with Kyle till it hurt.
It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this project, and then to immediately lead a hike over what we'd helped to create. The trail just beyond the bridge would become the location of a memorial to Kyle on July 31st 2010. The bridge is a connection to the history of the area, but it is also an example of Kyle's passion and energy. I'll always think fondly of him when I cross that bridge.
Removing old decking from the bridge at the TISCO site
My next hike would be something a bit different, as the first day would be a volunteer project and the second would be a regular hike with a history tour. On Saturday, we met in the morning in High Bridge NJ, on the former Taylor Wharton TISCO (Taylor Iron and Steel Company) property. The project was to redeck a century old truss bridge that used to be part of the site. Bill Honaschefsky who was in charge of the project got me involved through my work. I'd travelled to the site with assistant park planner Doug Kiovsky to see a new 7.5 mile connector trail to the Colombia Trail and became interested in the project. Bill and I stayed in touch and I offered to help and bring in some volunteers. And so, Kyle Zalinsky, Matt Davis, Shelly and Dana Janes, and Dana's boyfriend Zachary Crowell showed up to help us. In addition to us and Bill, Mike Gronsky was with us and had been working on this project with Bill for a while. Our first task was to tear off the old rotten decking from the bridge structure. This took us quite a while, but we did a good job of it (1-8c).
Looking down through the bridge framework
Bill working on the bridge
Some of the wood fell off into the South Branch of the Raritan below and we had to pull the old wood out and drag it to the side (8d-8g).
Matt and I didn't mind getting wet to drag the fallen boards out of the river...but it was all in vein. I think I'm going to cry.
With Kyle on site we weren't always safe, but we had fun.
Removing the old bridge decking.
Soon, we were ready to start putting the new decking pieces on (8h-10). We worked until dark and then they got us pizza.
Redecking
We also walked around the property a bit and checked out the TISCO building which was the oldest office building in NJ (10a-10n). Kyle and I climbed onto the old railroad spur line bridge up stream as well, which was sort of tough to move around on because it was so fenced in (10o). We set up out tents on the driveway of the property and camped on site, and in the morning were ready to meet up with the other hikers. Joining us here were "DJ Ray" Cordts, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Carol and Rob Creamer, Carol's sister ?, and my nurse from a doctor's visit I'd recently had named Korky (I think here real name is Lois Adams) (10p-10q). With the heavy rain we'd recieved the night before, a lot of our wood we'd dragged up from the river washed down! We began walking up the drive from the TISCO building and onto the old railroad right of way spur line into High Bridge. There used to be an awesome blue treste on this line but it was down down in the mid 1980s. My grandfather walked me across it before it was torn down (11). We walked through High Bridge (11a-11d) and turned onto the COlombia Trail, former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ. We followed this to the beginning of the new trail at some metal railing on the right side. We followed it down hill to where it took us back out behind the TISCO building (12). We then crossed the bridge that we'd decked about half of the night before (12a-13). Next, we walked across the Custom Alloy property which allowed an easement for the trail. They also had a nice set up for kids activities that we played around on (13a-13b). The trail took us over a foot bridge parallel with another old rail spur bridge (13b1-13b3). We then came to the base of the Lake Solitude Dam which had been recently preserved, being the only remaining I Beam dam in the state. Kyle and I took an illegal swim (13b4-13da). From here, we made our way to the Solitude House build in 1710, now a museum for Taylor Wharton. Bill gave us the grand tour of the place (14-14j). I played "Imagine" on the organ inside which was kind of neat. We walked from the building over to the old furnace site, which is the remains of one of the oldest in America (15-16).
The group near the Bloomery Forge site in High Bridge
We walked up the abandoned road from there to Nassau Road. There was a new washout on the road that revealed some sort of stone work that merited further research. Could have even been an underground tunnel system we'd heard about (17-17aa). Bill cut out here and the rest of us walked up Nassau Road to a park known as the Nassau Tract and hiked the section of trail through (17ab-17af). It took us back out to the road (18), and we took that a short distance to the entrance of Springside Farm, another municipal property. Shelly had been having a hip problem and so she could'nt go on, so Wyatt rode back on his dad's bike to get the car to pick Shelly up. He did so and then tried to meet up with us. Shelly stayed with Bill and Mike to work on the bridge some more (18a-18k). The rest of us walked up past the old house at Springside Farm and then to the old barns. We of course had to walk all through all of them (19-22ad). We then walked into the woods and followed the route of the new trail though it was'nt finished to Herman Thau Road (22ae-22ak). We crossed the road and headed along an old road route north and reached the old abandoned Amesbury Furnace, which not many know still exists (23-24). We continued following the stream from there northbound, crossing a couple times and finding an old dam site (24aa-25). We came out to David Post Road and then turned left on Cokesbury Road. We followed that down hill to Readingsburg where we waited for Wyatt to catch up with us on the bike at the South Branch bridge (25aa-25ae). When he caught up, we continued along River Road into Ken Lockwood Gorge where they were building new handicapped accessable fishing piers (26). We took a dip in the river and a break at the trestle (26aa-27ab). From there we climbed to the trestle, and followed Colombia Trail (27ac) to where the Highlands Trail broke off, then followed it (27ad-27ae). This took us out to Rt 513 near an abandoned cabin (28). The trail turned left on 513 where we found a humorous mailbox (29,30).
Why the hell not?
We passed the church (31) and then stopped at my co worker Bryan Manning's house to scream in the driveway, but he would'nt come out! Later he told me he was in the bathroom, but I think he saw us. We turned from here into Voorhees State Park and took a break (32-32aa). We then took the Hill Acres Trail out to the camping area where I took a shower. DJ Ray came and picked up Rob, Carol and her sister, Amish Paul, and Korky leaving Kyle, Amanda, Wyatt, and I alone to finish the hike. We headed out to the Vista Trail to the Highlands Trail via Observatory Road, and while we were heading down realized that Amanda did not have her car keys. We had to call to get a ride back so we could retrieve them. We got picked up on Buffalo Hollow Road along the Highlands Trail by Amish Paul and Shelly (33-35), then went out for pizza (35a,35b).
Without these guys the Taylor Steelworkers Historic Greenway Trail would not exist. They are the passion behind the project.
Removing old decking from the bridge at the TISCO site
Looking down through the bridge framework
Bill working on the bridge
With Kyle on site we weren't always safe, but we had fun.
Matt and I didn't mind getting wet to drag the fallen boards out of the river...but it was all in vein. I think I'm going to cry.
Redecking
Pizza dinner after a hard day's work
The group near the Bloomery Forge site in High Bridge
Without these guys the Taylor Steelworkers Historic Greenway Trail would not exist. They are the passion behind the project.
Why the hell not?
Removing the old bridge decking.
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