Hike #496 7/5/10
7/5/10 Milford/Schick/Little York/Warren Glen with Amanda and Deb Rosenblatt, Jason Itell, Matt Casey, "Major Tom" Conroy, and John Spiridon.
Walking in Milford NJ
My next hike would lead us to the west central section of Hunterdon County through parks and along back roads that are close but unconnected. I'd been wanting to do a variation on this hike for years, and it now was a convenient time to post it.
After spotting cars at Dennis Road, Musconetcong Gorge Preserve, we shuttled to Milford NJ not to far to the south. On a map this hike would look like a big "C" shape. From the main street next to the Ship Inn, we walked directly out to Rt 519, and then turned right on Mill Street. This took us to Javes Road where we turned right. I'd always wanted to incorperate this road into a hike because it was just a windy backroad in a creek valley. We passed a nice little park with a dam and pond we also walked through parallel with the road.
Nice little park off Miller Park Road, Milford NJ
This might have actually been Miller Park Road, but if not we soon made a right where it became Miller Park. We continued to ascend out of the creek valley to Little York-Mt Pleasant Road and turned right. We soon made a left onto Ramshorn Road and followed it to the cul de sac where there was supposed to be a new trailhead for the Schick Trail system I had been helping to plan through work. It seemed as though the project was stalled however.
In the Schick Reserve's new trail system
We made our way through the woods following the flagging I and two park planners laid out through the woods, and onto an old roadway to a bridge made of parallel timbers. We couldn't even get onto it, it was far too gone and covered in weeds. Actually, some of us climbed on even though it was pointless.
The trail took us parallel with the creek shortly, then up to a field. We used my phone gps to navigate the edges of the fields, but first had a little break in the shade. It was a scorcher.
Hiking in the Schick Reserve
We followed the edges of fields heading east. Somehow I think we must have missed going by the old Schick barn. We stayed with the sides of fields and looked for ways to get through the tree lines to each one.
Hiking the Schick Reserve
Schick Reserve
We continued to the east and soon made our way to the field that had the best view, a large contour in the middle with the Musconetcong Mountain in the distance. Ascending through this field led us to the official parking spot for the Schick Reserve on the corner of Hickory Corner Road and Schick Road. We crossed Schick Road parallel with Hickory Corner and went into another field. We paralleled Schick Road in the field and then came back out to Schick Road heading sort of north.
Hiking along Schick Road
The road bent to the left next to the farm house that was still owned I believe by Curtis Schick.
Hiking at the Schick Farm
At the end of Schick Road we turned left on Rt 614 and followed it into the little village of Little York. I think it was a holiday or something, because the pizza place in town I had been counting on for our lunch break was closed. We sat on the porch of it sulking for a while before we moved on.
From Little York we wandered up Ellis Road I believe it was. After a little bit we came to where we could see the border of the Musconetcong Mountain Preserve, an undeveloped Hunterdon park, often referred to as "Mallin" in the woods. We cut through the woods onto the park land which was pretty easy, not really any undergrowth. This led us to the old driveway that went into the property. The drive was lined with lots of japanese wine berries which we consumed like crazy. This preserve had by far the most juicy and plentiful berries of this kind this year.
My main reason for leading this particular hike at this time was because the historic stone home on the property was going to be torn down within a few weeks. I'd been in it twice, my last time to secure it from people that were breaking in. It was really a cool house and it was a shame that it was going. It had giant floor boards on the kitchen level.
Abandoned Musconetcong Mountain House
Even though I'd secured it, I left a ladder in the nearby garage and barn structure with a window that was accessable just for such occasions like this, but it had already been broken back into so we didn't even have to use it.
Inside the old house
We of course wandered all through the abandoned house. It really wasn't in terrible shape. The roof didn't leak into the main part of the house yet. Windows were broken, but it wasn't unsalvagable.
Top floor, Mallin House at Musconetcong Mountain
The stairs were one of those incredible bending wooden ones, and the center of the wall had a round enclosure that I fitgure was probably something to cover over the chimney.
The bending stairs of the old Mallin house
Mallin House, upper level
Probably a chimney enclosure in the Mallin House
Staircase area in the old Mallin House
Outside the old Mallin House
The Mallin House, Musconetcong Mountain Preserve
We got out of the old house and wandered over to the barn structures. Some of the group had already gone over and rooted through some of the junk there. Matt had found a fishing net. We continued around the perimeter of the building, and I couldn't even find the ladder I'd left for access. Workers were already working in the area creating an access road from the west side to get to the site through fields, and graded a new road, so they probably took out anything they deemed of value.
Matt finds a fishing net at the Mallin property
We continued through the site and ate tons of berries, which seemed to get bigger and juicier as we'd continued. While I was working on the property I'd often eating berries right out of the window of our trucks. We had a look at the old farm fields that were giving way to succession below.
Matt tests the rof of the Mallin barn structure
Saying goodbye to the Mallin House
We left the old Mallin house and then headed back the road we came in for a short distance. There was a small building, like a spring house along the way as well. A secondary woods road ascended up to the left, and so we turned there. It took us up hill steeply at first by a lot more berry bushes.
The old road heading north from the Mallin House, Musconetcong Mountain Preserve
The road took us back out on Ellis Road. We followed that down hill to Hawks Schoolhouse Road. We turned left out to Rt 519 and made a stop at the mini mart and gas station for some refreshments, then turned back onto Hawks Schoolhouse and followed it to the corner of Staats Road and went left. We followed that to the Highlands Trail and followed it into the Musconetcong Gorge Preserve. We soon descended to Pine Run I think is the stream. The white blazed trail that descended from here, but was unofficial as far as the county was concerned, took us down hill past the little waterfall and to the former Lehigh Valley Railroad right of way, Warren Glen spur. We turned right on this for a short distance to the ATV trail that descended to the Musconetcong River and a beautiful double culvert under the main LV Railroad tracks. We took a nice long break here and swam in the river.
Taking a dip in the Musconetcong Gorge
We left here and ascended back to the railroad bed. We followed that parallel with the Musconetcong along old power canals from the Warren Glen paper mill, to where a trestle used to cross a small retention pond of some kind.
Me
We turned left here up a utility right of way, then right onto the Nature Trail which led along Scout Run across a footbridge, then up to the parking area where we finished our hike.
Musconetcong Gorge Nature Trail along Scout Run
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