Hike #1054; Wharton to Flanders

Hike #1054; Wharton to Flanders

7/5/17 Wharton to Flanders with Jessica Anne, Lowell Perkins, James Quinn, Dan Asnis, and Benjamin Emmett

Our next hike would be another point to point afternoon/night hike, this time covering some ground I’d been wanting to explore for a while. There would be a lot of new stuff for me in terms of what I do on night hikes, and probably a lot more new stuff than I put on any night hike.

Wharton Station in 1900

The area around Wharton New Jersey has been interesting to me for many years. I used to go to the local library and look through “Iron Mine Railroads of Northern New Jersey” before I had my own copy of the book, and xerox pages of it with maps and information so I could explore. I had covered most of the rail beds in the area, but it had been years since I’ve gone back to have another look.

Historic image on Wharton and Northern Railroad in Wharton NJ

We met in Flanders, at the strip mall on Rt 206 southbound, and then shuttled to the north to Wharton Farm Market just off of Rt 15 to start out hike. My plan from there was to wander north to the old Wharton and Northern Railroad bed, then head south on a diverse route to take us back to where we started.

Historic image of Wharton Station

The Wharton and Northern line started off like so many of then do, as short lines such as “Timber Brook Railroad”, “Green Pond Railroad”, and “Charlottesburg and Green lake Railroad”. The lines came together and became the Morris County Railroad, and later the Wharton and Northern. It was built predominantly to serve iron mines at Green Pond, Copperas Mountain, and Oreland, all of which had their own little spurs and branches to them.
We started walking to the north a bit, across the road from our parking lot and into the Wharton Apartments. We cut to the right through some weeds steeply, and then came out at Brentwood Gardens Apartments. We skirted this property before reaching Route 15 at the intersection with it’s predecessor, Union Turnpike. We followed the route to the north for a while, across an intersection where the original highway route was covered over, and continued on it north to where the Wharton and Northern Railroad once crossed.

Former Wharton and Northern line

It’s easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for. We actually passed right over it our first time by. It has lots of abandoned cars along the edge as if it were being used as a junk yard.
The last time I hiked the section there was a stalled development project that had never been finished, but now some of the section of development to the south had actually been constructed, and we saw it from Union Turnpike just to the south of the former rail crossing. This area was historically known as Spicertown.
The rails were left in place on the W&N as far as Picitinny Arsenal because they thought in case of war, the line might be needed again, or so I’m told.

Wharton and Northern line near Spicertown

We walked the wide gravel road, and I pointed out where the tracks could still be seen through the weeds to our left. We continued along the right side of the tracks, then switched to the left side as we came to more open areas. The right of way had a road alogn side of it that was laid out with Belgian block for when the development came in, bu this section clearly had never been developed. The section continued until we got to another apparently planned development road where I couldn’t quite tell where the tracks were supposed to be.

Development stuff built along the W&N line

I walked back and forth a bit looking for where the tracks should be, then spotted them in the woods. We bushwhacked down only a short distance and we back on them, heading to the southwest.
The section was a bit more clear than I’d anticipated it would be. There was a very good path following along the right side from the tracks. We walked south for a little while longer, and soon came upon a nice wooden bench that had been put off to the right. This really surprised me. It looked as though it was being turned into a trail, with the rails still in place!

Wharton and Northern line

The bench was placed at a nice sign that read “Wharton Junction”. Sure enough, this was the connection with the “Morris County Connecting Railroad” which went off to the east to Port Oram and the Mt. Hope Mineral Railroad area.

At Wharton Junction

I walked onto that right of way and followed it just a little bit. It probably wouldn’t lead us very far, but this is a section I could actually walk that I’d never done. I had tried to trace the route of the Morris County Connecting Railroad back in early March of 2007, the day I first met Matt Davis, but it was hard to figure it out due to snow cover and the fact that it was so badly obliterated because of new development. I had walked other sections of Wharton and Northern a couple of times, but I don’t think I’ve set foot on it in six years.

Historic image of bridge site and station in Wharton on the W&N

The line had a long bridge when it got to Wharton, and there was a tangled mess of railroads in the area. Most of them are getting to be indiscernible today.

Wharton and Northern line in Wharton

Since the hike, I have been able to study aerial imagery, and found that the Morris County Connecting Railroad would be well walk-able, and will have to be subject of a future hike.
We continued walking along the tracks to the south from here. I was feeling really good and relaxed at this point. It was a beautiful section in deep woods, within probably part of Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area.

Historic rail image in Wharton

We came upon a spot that looked different from my last time out, where there was a bad washout on the rails. Lowell walked on the rails approaching them, testing his own balance, and still managed to get across the washout pretty well.

Wharton and Northern

We came soon upon where the railroad crossed over the Rockaway River, at a nice I-beam bridge. It had previously been damaged by fire, but didn’t look that much different than it did a decade ago when I last crossed over it.

Wharton and Northern washout

This was my first planned swimming spot for the trip. Every other time I had been to the site, it was too cold to take a dip, but I kept it in the back of my mind all these years that it would be a good place to return to in warm weather. It only took me a little over a decade to get back to it!
Right before the bridge, someone had erected another nice wooden seat like the one we had found at Wharton Junction. I don’t think it’s an “official” trail project, because I can’t see them putting in something like this without redecking the bridge, but it stil makes for a nice and welcoming place.

Wharton and Northern Bridge

We had a nice extended break here and took a good swim. It was pretty hot, and this was very refreshing. I think everyone but Dan got in this time.

W&N line

After our dip, the tracks remained clear enough to walk with no problem out to Mill Road. It looked almost like it was a trail head, with enough room to park at the crossing if we so wished.
Across the road, it used to be the clearest part of the entire line south of Picatinny ten years ago, but now it was completely overgrown. I started walking on it, but we weren’t getting through easily at all, so we cut through the woods, down hill and parallel to the line on the left. This section took us out to Little Lane.

W&N line near Rt 80 underpass

The right of way was madly overrun with weeds on the other side of Little Lane as well, so rather than bushwhack through, we turned right here. I had only ever walked that messy section through once in the past, and didn’t feel the need to try to do it again.
Little Lane took us out to Berkshire Valley Road. We turned left there, which was a kind of busy route because by this time everyone was commuting home from work. It didn’t last us too long, and we were back on the tracks.

Lake Junction where Lake Hopatcong Railroad/Ogden Mine Railroad joined Wharton and Northern

We returned to the line directly under Interstate 80, where they’re clear again, somewhat, and heading toward Lake Junction. We walked a mowed off section near homes, then cut into some more brushy woods, but it was not impenetrable.
Soon, we reached the former junction with the Lake Hopatcong Railroad, the extension of the Ogden Mine Railroad from the north. That line originally extended from the Ogden Mines in what was later known as Edison (because of Thomas Edison’s quarry interests there) to Nolan’s Point as an interchange with the Morris Canal.

Historic image of Lake Hopatcong/Ogden Mine Railroad south of Nolan's Point in what is probably today Berkshire Valley WMA

Ogden Mine Railroad was built in the 1866, and originally brought iron ore from the mines to the north to Nolan’s Point where it could be unloaded onto the Morris Canal boats and carried to other locales.

One of two original engines of Ogden Mine Railroad, pre 1882 image. At that time, needed parts for engines were delivered via canal boat. From Warren B. Crater Collection

With the decline of the canals, Central Railroad of NJ took it over and it was extended south to connect with the main lines at Lake Junction. The site where the tracks joins is quite obscure now if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

Wharton and Northern's underpass below Morris and Essex

Soon after passing the junction site, we passed beneath the former Morris and Essex Railroad, later the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western, and today the NJ Transit Morris and Essex line.

Mothballed

Ahead, there is a rail yard that in the past had the mothballed ALCO engines sitting in them, which we always liked checking out. I had heard these engines had been scrapped, and figured there would be nothing still there. What we ended up finding were several more abandoned passenger cars, now covered in graffiti, but really not all that old. I figure the NJ Transit ones were the earlier ones from before they went with the double decker cars. I had probably ridden on one or more of these in the past. They were now quite a wreck.

Riding the train after a hike in 2003

The first time I had walked this sectino of track in November 2003, we actually rode a train back, and it looks to be the same kind of car.
We checked out all of them that we could, and then continued on along the tracks further. We also saw some old Adirondack cars, which I’m not sure if they are from the Adirondacks or not, but it made me think of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad that they are planning to tear out in NY in favor of a trail only alignment. It’s sad to think of the corruption involved with the trail plans up there.

Nice Adirondack car

Once we were past the mothballed rail cars, we continued along the right of way, at an open yard area and on a former Central Railroad of NJ right of way that led to the High Bridge Branch, which is at the end of a section of Morris Canal Trail out of Hugh Force Park in Wharton. I had walked this years ago when there were still sections of rails on it, but they had been removed in more recent years. The right of way still had an old signal post on it, and crossed over Dewey Avenue. It was getting badly overgrown, when it used to be clear.

CNJ right of way at Lake Junction

We followed this section to where the Morris Canal would have passed beneath the railroad. To the right of us is a junk yard, which has obliterated much fo the remnants of the canal’s Inclined Plane #4 East.
From here, the trail turns left off of the rail bed and down to the Morris Canal towpath, which we followed to the west.
Plane 4E is one of the most unrecognizable of all of the canals inclined planes because it seems to be almost completely removed, but I noted that there was a slope on the other side.

Historic image of Plane #4 East

I did the best I could to line up a photo with about where it should have been for the only historic photo I know of depicting Plane 4E before heading east on the canal.

Plane 4 East today

The next section is nice, full of water on both the canal side and the side on the Rockaway River, which folows directly to the left. There were several beaver dams holding it back on the berm side of the canal.

Cradle and boat at Plane #4 East

The canal side is a pond that was a sort of a pool at the base of Inclined Plane #4 East. We continued and soon reached the Lock #2 East.

Lock 2E historic view

Lock 2 is a really great place since it’s been restored. The lock had been filled in, but was recently dug out and restored to similar to the way it looked complete with some lock gates.

Lock 2 East today.

Lock 2 was also known as Burd’s Lock, I think after one of the lock tenders. The lock tender’s house is in ruins today, with only a couple of corners and bits of wall still standing on the berm side of the canal.

Historic view of Lock tender's house at 2E

When the building was still standing, but deteriorating, old railroad rails were wrapped around it to hold it together. Still, the building eventually collapsed and is now a ruin.

Lock #2 house today

The top of the lock walls have been capped, so it looks like the canal lock is now deeper than it ever used to be. I think it was done in lieu of having to put some sort of retaining fence in to keep people from falling off into the lock.

Historic view of Lock #2 East

Having the higher lock walls keeps the historically accurate ambiance of the lock without any additional devices, and limits significant change in the structure substantially.

Lock #2 E today

Hugh Force Park today is the most historically accurate piece of the entire Morris Canal today. It might have been the Stanhope section before, when it came to the canal itself, but they turned it into a braille trail and put up fencing which detracted from the historic look.

Historic view of the Lock House at #3 East

Since Wharton has restored the lock, it is now far and away the most well preserved section of the entire canal. We admired the fine work, then continued along the towpath heading east for a bit.

The lock house ruins today

The canal and towpath closely parallels the Rockaway River in this next section, and so when we got to a good spot I know of to take another dip, we went in. The water was a bit warmer because it sat still from the beaver dams up stream.

Historic view of Lock 2 East

It was in this stretch where we had arranged to meet up with Ben, who had connected with Jess on line, and I helped to direct him to a place to park and catch up with us.

Lock #2 East today

Ben came jogging up to us on the towpath, but didn’t initially go for a dip with us because he said he hadn’t sweated enough yet. He decided to run back the way he came a bit, then come back before going in!

Historic view of Lock #2E

Ben is in very good shape, and my first impression was that he was being a little cocky, meeting up with this group he’d never met before and doing these examples of physical prowess. After a little while though I found that he was really cool and fit in well with us. He was far more humble than what it seemed initially, and everyone enjoyed his company. Hopefully he had as good a time with the hike as we did, and will join us in the future.

Lock #2 East today

I’m sure people who come out on these hikes really have no clue what they’re in for until quite a while into it. It makes me wonder at times what kind of shock some of the more formal group people think of us.

Historic 1897 view of the Morris Canal approaching Lock 2E

We got out of the water of Rockaway River and headed back the way we had come to the lock, and then crossed. I lined up several of my then and now photos for future use (like the ones you’ll see here) before we moved on along our trip.

Morris Canal below Lock 2E

We crossed over the canal above the lock, passed the old lock house ruins, then climbed up the hill rather steeply to the abandoned grade of the High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ. This is the line that’s now Columbia Trail in much of Hunterdon and Morris County, but a nearby quarry obliterated the section between here and Kenvil.

Historic image at Burd's Lock/Lock 2E

We turned left to follow the old railroad right of way above the old lock heading to the east again. Some of the new trail system out of Hugh Force Park now follows some of the right of way in this area.

Historic view of Lock 2E

After walking the rail bed a little while to the east, we came to where a white blazed trail broke off to head up the mountain to the right of us. We then started climbing gradually.

CNJ High Bridge Branch looking toward Wharton

The trail took us up hill, but there were unofficial paths going off in different directions. We passed some homeless person’s tent, and then kept to the right when the official trail was going more to the left.

View on the power line cut

This entire piece was known as Irondale Mountain. There are plans that eventually this will be part of the West Morris Greenway trail, but as of now that does not connect officially beyond Ledgewood.
We headed up hill and reached a large power line clearing, now off of the offical trail route. From there, we turned left to continue along the power line clearing heading to the south. We followed it to a prominent cross road, with sand and dirt surface, and there was a machine parked to the right. Of course, we had to sit in it, and left an empty bottle of something to confuse it’s next operator.

Lowell in the mean ride

We continued to the south from here, and the sun was starting to set beautifully. We headed along the power line almost as far as the Trinity Recycling place, and the pathway weaved back to the north again a bit before it emerged onto Iron Mountain Road.
From here, we turned left and simply followed the road down hill. It was not heavily used, and most everyone that works in this area had certainly gone home for the day.
Iron Mountain Road emerged onto Route 46. At this point, we crossed directly, and then the power line forked.

Power line walking

We kept to the right on this power line, and it started getting really swampy wet after a short while. We turned to the left just barely into the woods, parallel with the power line and found an indistinct path led us to the south. As we walked, the path became more and more obvious. We were able to follow this a good while until we got to what appeared to be one of the official trails within the Dickerson Mine Preserve, which turned to the right and crossed the power line in a somewhat bumpy terrain area.
We had hiked Dickerson Mine Preserve only once before, but barely scraped the surface of just how much is out there. The trail system is quite extensive.

Silliness

The trail went down hill, then up a bit of a mound, then down and across, but while walking it, I noted some sort of masonry structure and some metal rods sticking out of it. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I realized a bit later that this could easily have been the site where the Ferromonte Railroad crossed over the stream, which is actually the head waters of the Black River/Lamington River. We crossed into the woods on the other side, and some of what we followed over there was likely the route of the old railroad as well.

Remnants possibly of Ferromonte Railroad

Ferromonte Railroad had a junction with the Lackawanna Railroad’s Chester Branch as well as the Central Railroad of NJ’s High Bridge Branch just to the west at a junction that was at the time known as Vanatta, another common Dutch descended name in northern NJ, southern NY, and eastern PA. Ferromonte was one of New Jersey’s very few switchback railroads, meaning it made it’s way up Mine Hill by way of an out and back series of tracks rather than a single inclined plane or major cut and fill project.

Historic image of Dickerson Mine

The rail line served mine interests in the area including the Dickerson Mine for which the preserve takes it’s name. Ferromonte was abandoned by the early 1900s, and the property of the mines has amazingly remained undeveloped.

Historic image at Dickerson Mine

We followed the trails to an intersection and turned to the right. There are never ending trails weaving all through the property, never going in a straight line because they were built by the mountain biking groups. So, when I spotted a prominent old road, we followed it right.

Dickerson Mine Preserve

We followed the old woods road down hill and to the right. This took us out to Frank Street, where there was an access to the preserve. We turned left here, came to the intersection with Green Road, and continued to the left there, heading southwest.
While we were walking, a police officer passed us, heading in the same direction we were going. There is a public beach just to the south of us, at Mine Hill Lake, and it looked like they were shutting down for the evening because it was getting dark.
Things were going well, and I wasn’t too worried. We simply stayed our course, and when we got to the entrance where the vehicles went to the right, we kept to the left on a rather good trail.
The trail was separate from the swimming beach by a large berm. There were a few vehicles still there, and the police were moving them out. I told everyone to just remain quiet, and we sat down and waited for a bit. We had no problems and made no noise, and when no one else was around, we continued along the path following the short of Mine Hill Lake.
When we were far enough out of the way of the beach area, there was a side path that went over to the waterfront. It turned out to be a perfect place to take a swim.
Only Lowell and I went in at this point, and everyone else totally missed out. It was refreshing beyond compare. When we got out, we continued on the path, which was really an old roadway, beside Mine Hill Lake.
We got to a point where the roadway reached a clearing that separated Mine Hill Lake with the Triple Lakes at Randolph Park. I had walked this way before, so I knew where to go to get us out. We turned right, then cut into the woods to the left parallel with the north shore of te Randolph Park pond. This very nice section took us out at a ball field adjacent to the Black River Barn, a bar and grill that I had in the past performed live music with my friend Ervin at.
We crossed the lot and patrons started at us like we were insane or something. My original planned route from here was a very odd route that would take us from schools to weird little park parcels, then out to Ledgewood Mall area where we would get on the old High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of NJ.

Historic view of the Flanders station

While walking, we were having extensive conversations about Taco Bell, and so instead of my plan for this little parks, if we did a bit of road walking we could stop by the Taco Bell in Succasunna. This sounded too good to ignore, so we turned right on Rt 10 and then remained on Main Street, which is parallel, until we got to St. Theresa Terrace, which led us right over to the place.
I forget exactly what I had on this occasion, but it was of course glorious, and we left there pretty stuffed. Lowell and I, as I recall, had far more than we actually needed and sort of pushed beyond the limit to where we were still feeling stuffed when we got to work the next day.

Historic image of an F Unit going through Flanders NJ

From the Taco Bell, we dashed across Rt 10, then headed to the tracks which parallel the retail places heading to Ledgewood. We got onto them in the dark and headed toward the southwest. We crossed Righter Road at grade, which is usually a super busy crossing, but we had no trouble this time. The tracks paralleled some apartments on the right, but then went out into a sort of swamp land, and we were in seclusion. We crossed Carey Road and Emmans Road, followed by Pleasant Valley Drive. When we reached Hillside Ave, we were in the sot of proper downtown area of Flanders where the station used to be.

High Bridge Branch in Flanders, historic view

We paralleled a street briefly, then were back into the woods after crossing Rt 613, Main Street. This part of the hike was a bit of a gamble. I had figured we could go right on Main Street and hit Rt 206 near where we were parked, or, we could remain on the tracks a bit longer and look for a cut through to the right and get there more directly and with less road walking. For whatever reason, I was feeling intrepid enough to want to explore it, and no one else had any complaints about it. It turned out to work very favorably for us, because we headed onward toward where the railroad crosses Rt 206, and thee was a cut over to the right into a section of woods with open paths. It looked like sorto f an unofficial ATV obstacle course, or mountain biking course.
We followed these little paths to the west a bit, and another path went to the left and led us without any bushwhacking directly to Rt 206, just a bit south of the parking lot where we had met earlier.
It was yet another fantastic night exploring new places, making new friends, and feeling very much alive. I would have to revisit some of these locations on future trips, because there’s still so much to see, and so much worth revisiting.

High Bridge Branch in Bartley NJ