Hike #98
Along the Lackner Trail in Stokes
Hike 98
7/6/3
For this next hike, I had a new section planned from Stokes State Forest heading south to
Andover to finish the main part of the Sussex Railroad from Branchville. Joining were Tea
Biscuit, Skyler, and Kenny Rasheed again.
Stokes State Park office
Dam on Stony Lake, Stokes
Stony Lake beach, Stokes
Swamp along Coursen Trail
Tea Biscuit dashing to Dairy Queen on Rt 206, Culvers Inlet area
Meeting horseback riders, Branchville
An old rail car at the end of the Sussex Railroad, Branchville
Old rail bridge in Branchville
Phantom bridge site, Branchville
Dry Brook underpass below 206, Branchville
Dry Brook Branchville
Dry Brook meets the Paulins Kill in Augusta
We parked at the Stokes State Forest office and went in to talk to the people working,
and at this time we decided to add a few miles to the hike and go out into Stokes Forest
covering some of the trails we had’nt covered yet out to Stony Lake before heading on to
our destination.
We started walking along the Lackner Trail, in the southern end we had’nt covered yet,
which took us across an abandoned little dam. We continued out to Stony Lake where we
stopped for a good swim and Skyler demonstrated his strange swimming styles he’d
invented, looking much like a drunken seal. We also had a swimming race, and to my
great surprise, Skyler easily won! Skyler was a trained lifeguard and is an excellent
swimmer. Strangely, Ken would not go in the water, insisting that it was dirty because it
did not appear blue. We insisted that it was cleaner than the ocean, but he would not go
in. After a good swim we headed out to the Coursen Trail, which we followed to Sunrise
Mountain Road, then walked to the Tower Trail up to the AT...or we might have walked
the road, but I don’t remember. I do remember we continued through Culver’s Gap and
up the AT to Acropolis Trail, which follows an old woods road downhill to Rt 206 at
Culver’s Inlet, where we began following the highway. On the way down, there were
some obscured views of Culver’s Lake, and Ken tried telling us that water is clean. We
tried explaining that the water would not look blue up close, but he would’nt listen.
After not walking far, we reached a small weekend flea market and began looking around.
Tea Biscuit was going through some coins, and found some rare very old American coins,
and the seller was telling us they were foreign. I inspected them, and found that he was
incorrect. The two of us them searched the containers and found all of the American coins;
we bought them all!
We continued along Rt 206, and when Tea Biscuit spotted a Dairy Queen, he ran top
speed to get himself a shake! We continued on, soon reaching an antique store. We
checked it out and found some vintage military uniforms, which I had planned on going
back to buy, but I never did.
We soon took a left hand turn into Branchville. There was a beautiful downtown section,
which was kind of dead. I went into a bar, had a beer, and asked for directions to the
Sussex Railroad right of way, but no one knew how to get there. I headed back out and
we looked around, walking some streets. We soon found some horseback riders who
directed us to a railroad car parked along the road. Ken wanted his picture taken with the
horse, and it looked like he was trying to get on it, and the horseback riders gave him
some strange looks.We walked a short distance and soon found a short piece of track with
a Lackawanna passenger car parked on it. We now knew we were at the end of the Sussex
Railraod, and headed into the woods. There was an old bridge with iron ties and rails on it
going into a siding. We made our way along the right of way to another road, where the
bridge over a creek was missing. Fortunitely, this was right next to a road bridge, and we
continued on along people’s yards to our right. The right of way took us under Rt 206
along a creek, which I tried walking across, and surprisingly found that it was over my
head! Some of the right of way was badly eroded here, and a bit of it still had some ballast
rock on it. We continued south, crossing a new decked bridge over the Paulins Kill River
at Augusta, and then over the Lehigh and New England Railroad right of way in Augusta,
though I did’nt recognize it at this time because it’s obscured by a road crossing.
We continued south, along some farmland and through woods, crossing Rt 206 at Ross
Corner, passing scenic little ponds on the way to Lafayette. We searched along the way
for a pizza place mentioned in a rail trails book, but could’nt find it. When we reached
Lafayette, we found a municipal swimming beach and pond accessable from the rail grade,
so we went over for a swim, though it said the beach was for Lafayette Twp. residents
only. No one said anything, so we went for a nice swim, and Ken was not in objection to
swimming here. The lifeguard was sympathetic enough to our situation to give us some
water! We soon continued on. Lafayette had a nice town center, though we did’nt stop.
We continued south on the right of way to Warbasse, where there was a junction between
the Sussex Railroad (Sussex Branch of the DL&W), New York, Susquehanna, and
Western, and the Franklin Branch of the DL&W. Warbasse was the NYS&W juction, and
Branchville Jct. was the DL&W’s. By this time both the Sussex Branch and NYS&W
were developed as trails, so the pathways were totally clear. We continued south along the
Sussex Branch.
Paulins Kill River, Augusta
Sussex Branch in Augusta
Sussex Branch in Lafayette NJ
Lafayette swimming area
Sussex Branch on the Newton Meadows
Bridge site in Newton Meadows
Just north of the town of Newton, the right of way turned slightly west. Originally, when
the Sussex Railroad was built, it continued straight on a right of way which is now a
public road, but years later it was moved to the west to better service downtown Newton
NJ, which the original alignment totally missed. The newer right of way was much more
interesting, passing through an enourmous swamp called the Newton Meadows. In old
days, it was considered a taboo place that no one went to. This marshland was the
headwaters of the Paulins Kill River, and a bridge was missing over the beginning of the
spring. The water here is bitterly cold, but we took a dip anyway. The bridge over the
creek was in ruins, made of wooden beams all fellen into the water. It is reported that at
it’s time of abandonment, this was the only wooden bridge the Lackawanna Railroad
maintained.
Former Sussex Branch in the Newton Meadows
Pond just south of Newton
Sussex Branch north of Andover
Sussex Branch in Kittatinny Valley State Park
Soon, we entered the woods before coming into Newton. The right of way took us
through a cut at first, near homes, then across a parking lot in town. We stopped at a pizza
place for some food, then continued south. The right of way was a mess, we had to climb
an embankment and almost decapitate ourselves on a wire to a phone pole. The right of
way at the top skirted people’s yards, and became overgrown until the next road, where
the trail resumed clearly. Another bridge was missing at the next road, which brought us
down hill and back up after a long dip at a triple intersection.
We passed an ice cream distribution place soon, and talked about going in for some, but
we were ready to finish the hike. We soon entered Kittatinny Valley State Park and went
into some deep cuts, then came out along a lake and the main parking area for the park.
There were some beautiful swamps and ponds along the final stretch, but Tea Biscuit was
too tired to enjoy it as he went way ahead.
We soon reached Andover’s Sussex Branch parking lot, quite tired.
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