Hike #537 1/22/11
Group shot in Port Elizabeth
1/22/11 Elizabeth-Newark with Jillane Becker, Chris "Cupcake" Kroschinski, "DJ Ray" Cordts, Chris Herbig, Christina Manley, Eric Pace, and Andrea Licciardi
The snow was driving me nuts. It was nearly impossible to do the kind of mileage on hikes I wanted to do because it was so deep. Every week we seemed to be getting yet another storm. The only way I had to make the best of it was to do more urban hikes.
I figured it was time to try to connect Elizabeth with Newark. I had hiked the entire outline of NJ from Barnegat Inlet north to Port Elizabeth, and from Newark north to the NY state line, but never filled in between. I didn't even know if it was possible to walk through the highly industrial strip of land that separated the Hudson Bay from the Newark Airport. It was definitely time to do some research for this.
Sure enough, there was a way to do it, one public road that connected through, and some interesting points we could stick together to make a good point to point hike.
Jillane and I showed up in Newark in the morning, but no one else had shown up. I parked at first at a thrift store of some sort, walked around the block to the old Elizabeth train station from the Jersey Central Railraod, but no one was there. I headed back and then moved the car to a parking garage on West Grand Street. I had found out Cupcake was coming, so we'd just wait for him before we left.
He showed up in his Ska Jeep and we were on our way. We could see the trains going by on the active NJ Transit track out the sides of the building.
We made our way from Grand Street to a left turn on Broad Street and went under the active tracks and past the CNJ station again. I think next we made our way to Cherry Street somehow using a side road and we stopped at a little store for snacks. Cupcake had a hot chocolate, which took them forever to make and he said it was awful.
Somehow, we ended up on streets further south from the Elizabeth River than I wanted to be. The plan was to follow the Elizabeth River Greenway, which has a couple path sections along the way, segmented, and follow it to the bay. We ended up too far south, but on this route we found a discarded purse we joked had probably belonged to a dead girl, and then stopped at a Dunkin Donuts.
Mongomery Street in Elizabeth
We got close to the river at Montgomery Street I think it was. It was actually quite pretty walking along the Elizabeth River in this area they were trying to preserve.
Elizabeth River, NJ
Rt 1 and 9 underpass in Elizabeth NJ, next to the river.
A pathway along the berm of the river led us downstream. It was very nice and scenic along this section, but it was also sad because there were benches and such along the way that had been destroyed by vandals. There were benches with no seats remaining, paths that went down along some wetlands that were now overgrown...but it had all been wrecked.
Along Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River Greenway
The path took us south across South Fifth Street, and we continued on until Jersey Avenue. From here, we were able to turn left past Mattano Park, another park on the opposite side of the Elizabeth River we'd have to come back to explore another time, and then turned right onto Third Avenue.
Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River
Along Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River
Elizabeth River
Along Elizabeth River Greenway
Elizabeth River
3rd Ave passing under the NJ Turnpike, Elizabeth NJ
We passed beneath the New Jersey Turnpike and continued heading south. The area seemed pretty run down, but not nearly the worst I'd seen. There were really no businesses surviving. Many buildings throughout the area were vacant and abandoned. We came to an intersection with South First Street and went left.
Vacant building at Port Elizabeth
From here we continued down the road until we came to a right hand turn onto Elizabeth Ave. This led us to Front Street. Jillane waited here while Cupcake and I turned right because I wanted to show him the cool counterweight bridge I'd found during my previous trip to the area a couple years before.
Nothing really looked different from the previous visit. We did notice though that the bridge was still operational. There were boats moored along Elizabeth River to the north of there which meant they needed to get out somehow. Cupcake determined the bridge was now operated by remote.
Counterweight bridge on Front Street, Port Elizabeth
View from Front Street, Port Elizabeth
On the old Counterweight bridge on Front Street
View up stream of the Elizabeth River from the counterweight bridge on Front Street
We headed back up Front Street to a bar and grill place Jillane was sitting in front of. Here, we were joined by DJ Ray, Herbig, Christina, and Eric. We all walked on a short distance to one of the Arthur Kill parks on the right. We walked in and turned back because there was no way through, but there were nice views.
View of the Goethels Bridge and railroad bridge in front of it, on the Arthur Kill
Park along the Arthur Kill, Port Elizabeth
View across the Arthur Kill, Elizabethport
Bayonne Bridge from Arthur Kill parkway
View of the Arthur Kill, Elizabethport
We walked up Front Street just a little bit more and came to the parking area at the entrance to the Arthur Kill Park, opposite a marina that we had to go around. It was here we were joined by Jillane's old friend Andrea Licciardi. She showed up in an interesting old BMW. From here, all of us continued along the Arthur Kill Greenway, a nice path to the north I followed on a hike a few years prior.
View of Staten island across the Arthur Kill
Trail along the Arthur Kill
View toward Bayonne along the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill trail in Elizabethport
Arthur Kill trail in Elizabethport
The trail took us north for a bit along the waterfront. The surface changed over from a wood decking to just a trail along the ground. I think some of this at one time might have been a railroad right of way.
We passed the last access point to the path on the left and continued north closer to the water, and I don't know why but I thought the path might no longer dead end up ahead. Everyone followed me almost to the end, but only I got to the end itself. I had to turn back through the deep snow and get back to the previous street which led back out to First Street.
Along the Arthur Kill greenway
Arthur Kill
Along the Arthur Kill Greenway looking toward the Bayonne bridge
Bayonne Bridge from Port Elizabeth
Old Singer Sewing Machine Factory (I think).
We continued from here to the right, then turned left along Trumball Street. This one followed the incredibly long building that went right out to the water, which I was told was once the old Singer Sewing Machine factory. We headed up this street for a bit, then made a right hand turn onto Third Street. We took this one to Jersey Gardens Blvd and turned right.
Not too far ahead we crossed and entered the parking lot of the Jersey Gardens Mall.
Jersey Gardens Mall
I had head of the Jersey Gardens Mall for a long long time. It was supposedly one of the largest and most visited malls in the state, but I had never stopped by, so into this hike I incorporated a loop around the perimeter of the mall. I figured it would give us a break from the cold weather and a very different change of scenery. No one was really into it as much as I'd thought they would be, especially Jillane, but oh well, I can't win them all.
Jersey Gardens Mall
Bathroom in Jersey Gardens Mall
Cupcake in Jersey Gardens Mall
In Jersey Gardens Mall
We walked to the right inside the mall, I think we went in through some store like a Bon Ton or something, I can't remember. We kept around the bottom, used the restrooms, and then took to the upper level for a bit. We looped all the way around the inside of the mall, and I think at least some of the group got some food somewhere along the way, but I really don't remember what.
Although I had planned to exit at the north end, we ended up closing the loop and going out the same way we went in.
Escelator in Jersey Gardens Mall
Jersey Gardens Mall
Exiting Jersey Gardens Mall
We turned north from here, I think on Kapkowski Road. DJ Ray took a shopping cart from outside the mall and started pushing it. By the time we got to North Avenue, the next intersection, I knew we were keeping it for a while.
Heading north, I think on Kapkowski Road from Jersey Gardens
North Ave made a sharp turn, and the name changed to McLester Street. In fact, it made more turns to the west, then to the north and according to Google changes names again to Rangoon, Lyl King, and then Corbin. It kept the name Corbin Street all the way to the north to the next real intersection, Port Street.
Pushing a cart, Corbin Street north of Jersey Gardens
An old railroad spur near the ports of Newark
Pushing a cart on Corbin Street
We took turns bushing the cart along the street, between DJ Ray, Herbig, and I. We followed Port Street for a ways to the east, and then turned left onto Doremus Ave, which took us over railroad yards on a bridge and into Newark.
Sign near Port Newark
We had an incredibly long walk along Doremus Ave heading north. It got dark while we were walking, and I couldn't believe it had taken us so long. Jillane was made because we took too long in the mall, and she was probably right, but I thought that would be a good addition to the trip.
We finally reached the bridge for Truck Rts 1 and 9, which we had hiked across for the Liberty Water Gap Trail as well as the Morris Canal. We climbed up the embankment to the top of the bridge on where the old canal would have been, but when we got to the top realized it was too difficult to just cross and figure our way around. We left the shopping cart up there on the walkway, which will certainly have people scratching their heads because the entrance to it on that side was badly overgrown.
Market Street, Newark
We made our way onto the entranceways to the highways on the opposite side by going underneath, and then took the route I knew to be the Liberty-Water Gap Trail along Raymond Blvd to Ferry Street.
Because we'd already hiked Ferry Street before, as well as Raymond on the aforementioned hikes, this time we opted to follow Market Street. I stopped along the way for a slice of pizza and Christina somehow ended up behind. We waited for her along the road, and it was freezing cold.
We also stopped along the way at a liquor store and got some kind of wine or something, I can't remember exactly what it was.
On Market Street, Newark
We headed on straight to Newark Penn Station and took a break. It was nice and warm inside, and and we bought tickets to get back to Elizabeth. Cupcake bought everyone tickets, and I bought two extra no knowing I didn't need to. Oh well. I was really upset with myself because I couldn't think straight. In fact, the weeks prior to this I had felt a bit off, and how I felt and could think didn't feel like it was improving until about a week and a half later.
Cupcake in the parking garage, Grand Street Newark
We all got on the train and headed back to Elizabeth. We exited the train, and I couldn't get my bearings as to where the garage was we parked in. I walked the correct way from the station under the bridge, then I must have missed the turn onto Grand or something. I really don't know.
The others found it first, probably thanks to Cupcake, and they waited down below while he and I went back up to retrieve our vehicles. We were thankful to see them both there and in one piece.
View from the Grand Street parking garage, Newark
We headed down and picked the others up to return them to their cars at Port Elizabeth. To our great dismay, Andrea's car had been locked in to the parking area where she had parked! It was not yet the posted closing time as it appeared on the signage of that park, but they had closed it anyway. Fortunately, Cupcake and I were able to lift the chain up high enough that Andrea could drive her car out under it without causing any damage.
And so ended another crazy day where things didn't go as expected, but we sure had fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment