Hike #489; Tranquility to Oxford

 Hike #489 5/31/10

5/31/10 Tranquility-Oxford with Al MacLennan, Jim Schlenker, Wayne Meiner, "DJ Ray" Cordts, and Deb Rosenblatt

The group on Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad bed in Tranquility NJ

My next hike would be my classic old Tranquility to Oxford hike, but this time about ten years after the first time I'd organized it with my friend Ron Short.

Also, this would be Deb Rosenblatt's first hike with us!

After meeting in the morning and leaving cars in Oxford, we shuttled as few as possible to Tranquility Post Office.

We began walking acros Kennedy Road and onto the rail bed, but it was already getting to be too overgrown to easily walk, worse than it had been that I'd seen. We opted to turn right and walk through the cemetary for a bit there instead.

Taking a shortcut walking through the Tranquility cemetary

We soon had to get back on the rail bed and head south. It cleared up a little but was still weedy. When we crossed the farm access road that led to a house to the east it became clear, and some of it was officially considered a trail here.

We soon reached Rt 612 at the old Allamuchy Freight Station that had been restored. It was here we were joined by DJ Ray. Once he was ready, we continued south along the rail bed. It was easy going through this section through woods and along fields  and across the Pequest on a concrete bridge to Long Bridge Road. We passed through the little parking area here and then crossed the Pequest River again on another concrete bridge.

It got a little weedy here again, but once we went under Rt 80 via the underpass we were fine. There were still ties in place for a bit ahead, but it wasn't a big deal.

It must have been forever since I'd led this hike, because when we came upon big condos and such off to the left it was amazing. We passed by the ball fields to the left and then through the wide open space of the Alphano Flats where there was a giant sod farm.

LHR Railroad bed over the sod farm, Alphano NJ

We crossed Young's Island Road, the access road across the flats, then followed the high grassy right of way with woods to our right and open fields to the left.

Along former Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad in Alphano

We then crossed the beat up wooden bridge over the irrigation channel from the Alphano Flats, which is always a beautiful view.

View into the Alphano Flats from a bridge on the old LHR rail bed.

We continued into a wooded area and to our left where there was once a trailer someone was apparently living in it now appeared abandoned. We continued on from here, then sourrounded by a field area and across a private lane.

We soon skirted some back yards on our left, and the right of way ahead had an old truck and some junk out on it. We then passed the south side of Island Dragway, but it wasn't particularly loud on this occasion.

We passed through some dropped trees and onto the cleared section under the Rt 46 underpass to the old Great Meadows Station.

Me

We continued under the bridge and along the tracks on the other side. The tracks through the line of trees parallel with Rt 46 were now clear for quite some distance. We continued on as the tracks stopped and the right of way turned away from 46 a bit. It was clearer than it had been in the past surprisingly.

When we got to old cemetary road I think we turned left for a bit and headed over to a general store for a bit. I think DJ Ray and I each got a couple beers.

We continued back to the Old Cemetary Road crossing, and to continued it was pretty overgrown. Worse than it had been in the past. The others stayed below the right of way for a bit while I bullied through it on a fill. It cleared up ever so slightly when it crossed a driveway (called Hudson Lane on Google Earth). Like in the past here, we turned left on the lane and cut through fields to get back to the rail bed where the field ended. I don't remember seeing signs of the telltale that used to hang in the area.

Next, we crossed the deck girder trestle high above the Pequest River and driveway below. We then came into a wooded area that has always been somewhat clear, but with little ATV use. The ties were all in place on this section that had given way to woods. We headed from here out to Pequest Road in Townsbury where DJ Ray, Wayne, and I stopped for a dip. I think Jim might have as well, but Al and Deb went ahead probably not noticing that anyone had stopped. It was the most brutally hot and humid day of the year, and neither Wayne or Ray were feeling well any more so they both cut out. Wayne had his wife come and pick them up.

Taking a break to swim in the Pequest

We continued on from here through woods and across the driveway with the 100 mph sign, then across another trestle over the Pequest River. I honestly can't remember if this one had been redecked or not yet. Deb went for a swim below the trestle at this point.

We continued on on the other side across the access road to Pequest Trout Hatchery and then continued on through Pequest Wildlife Management Area (which we were in since Townsbury). A long stretch took us parallel with Rt 46 and out to Pequest butted up against people's back yards. We soon passed the old Pequest furnace site and crossed Pequest Road, then the river on a through girder bridge. We turned left from here heading up to the old furnace railroad, then took the old Warren Railroad/Lackawanna main line south across Pequest Road, onto the paved trail section, and into Oxford to finish the hike!