Hike #88; Mountain Lake to Oxford

 Hike #88

Hike 88

On High Rock Mountain

4/27/3

 

Still getting late starts, I wanted to do another local hike anyway. This time, the plan was

to do another hike in Jenny Jump, beginning at Mountain Lake where we had finished on

the previous one, and hiking south and through Pequest Wildlife Management Area.

We began walking the Mountain Lake Trail, an old woods road at this point, near the

Spring House. We of course got some water. We also checked out an abandoned garage

along the way.

Spring House at Mountain Lake

Abandoned buildnig at Mountain Lake

Abandoned building at Mountain Lake

At the bar at Mountain Lake

Bar at Mountain Lake before it closed

Along Mountain Lake

Ascending on a loggers road up High Rock Mountain

Chair Rock on High Rock Mountain

High Rock Mountain

On High Rock

The trail took us uphill, and Eric did’nt lag behind too bad. We followed the whole route,

which took us down to the dead end road we’d used in the past. We then made a stop at

the little bar along the lake, where Tea Biscuit and Eric each had a little personal pizza,

and I had a Molson Ice.

Next, we walked along the lake shore, past picnic benches and through somone’s yard to

a trail ending at a cul de sac. We continued, still along the lakeside, and past a swampy

area beyond the lake. There appeared to be public land there, but no apparent trail access.

The next plan was to find a way up to High Rock, a famous flat rock on High Rock

Mountain overlooking Mountain Lake. We’d been there many times with my grandfather

when we were younger, but I had’nt been there in years. We opted to follow a barely

recognizeable series of loggers roads up hill, and Eric was so excited he went way ahead

and reached the superb viewpoint before us!

Eric made it to the top of High Rock Mountain first

View of Mountain Lake from High Rock

View from High Rock

View into the Pequest Valley from High Rock

View from High Rock

At High Rock

View from High Rock

Some sort of new development being built around High Rock

Along the Pequest River, Pequest NJ

Me walking up the Pequest River, Pequest NJ

Old lime kiln in Pequest Wildlife Management Area

Interesting rock outcropping on County House Mountain, Pequest WMA

The view was spectacular, and we took quite

some time here, climbing around on glacial erratics and admiring for the view. I set the

camera up to take a picture and almost fell off, but Tea Biscuit caught me and pulled me

up. We made our way down using ATV paths, which led us through what appeared to be

a new development being cleared. I don’t know what it was...this took us to a road which

we followed down to Pequest, where I walked in the river a bit.

We followed the railroad grade of the L&HR to Pequest Wildlife Management Area and

the Pequest Trout Hatchery. Tea Biscuit again had to use the restroom, so he just waltzed

into the employee place and went. Somebody asked him what he was up to, and told him

not to come in there again. Pretty funny. Eric could’nt go on, and so he called for a ride

home.

We then took the Pequest Trails past an old lime kiln and to the ponds we had been to

previously. We took the western branch of the trails we had’nt done on a long hike yet,

and then reached the power line trail, which we followed out to the dirt cross mountain

road designated “Warren Road” on many maps. We ascended to what appeared to be old

loggers roads, barely recognizeable. This area is called Stewarts Gap. We followed the

woods roads for some time across County House Mountain, losing them and then finding

them again often. There was one spot with cool rock outcroppings, but other than that it

was just wide ridgetop.

We continued on, at one point getting somewhat close to a home, which I figured might

be one that was along Jost Drive, a private road off of Tunnel Hill Road near Oxford. I’m

still not sure what it was.

We soon reached where a woods road began to descend, so we followed it, which took

us to a paved driveway. I thought we had reached the end of the mountain at Van Nest

Gap, or ended up on the south side of the mountain, but the area messes with the sences,

and we ended up on the driveway which used to belong to my step uncle, Bill Godfrey.

Later inspection of the map revealed we were in the strange shaped Syke’s Gap. We

decided to follow the road downhill, and the new owner was coming up the driveway as

we walked down. He seemed concerned with our presence at first, but then was interested

if we had found anything interesting. We took his road back to Axford Ave and followed

it back to Oxford where we got a ride home.