Hike #599; Spruce Run/High Bridge Loop

 Hike #599; Spruce Run/High Bridge Area Loop

12/1/11 Spruce Run/High Bridge Area Loop with Alexis Kniazew and David "Captain Soup" Campbell

Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

My next hike would be another looping night hike. Hike #600 was coming up fast, and so I naturally wanted the following hike to be #600 because it would fall on Carol and Rob Creamer's annual Decemberween event. So, in order to make this happen I needed to promptly schedule a night hike for after work.

I of course love night hiking anyway, and had tried to put a few together in the preceding month or so, but it was getting increasingly harder to bring anyone in. Fortunately, this time Alexis and Captain Soup came through.

View of Spruce Run Reservoir from the Highlands Trail

Alexis showed up at Spruce Run first, and we shuttled her car to High Bridge so she could leave a bit earlier. Captain Soup would meet us shortly at the 24 hour parking lot on Van Syckles Road near Rt 31. Alexis and I started from the main entrance to Spruce Run Recreation Area and followed the Highlands Trail route along the park roadways for a bit, then cut off into the woods.

Highlands Trail in Spruce Run Recreation Area

I never get tired of the Highlands Trail in this area. It's constantly changing in it's terrain and feel. We passed through some of the dense thickets of the invasive Autumn Olive plants along the shore of the reservoir with some nice views of the sun beginning to set.

Observation blind along Highlands Trail at Spruce Run

Spruce Run Reservoir from the blind on the Highlands Trail

Spruce Run Reservoir from the blind on the Highlands Trail

Spruce Run Reservoir from the blind on the Highlands Trail

We followed the trail to the open and cleared area where there was the nice observation blind, still in good shape from how I remembered it. My first time in this blind was nearly a decade prior. It's hard to believe so much time has passed by.

From the blind, there were of course great views of the reservoir again, as well as of the peninsula where the boats were kept. We moved on from here along the trail through more Autumn Olive thickets and soon crossed over the Boat Launch Road. We passed one other hiker with their dog at this point, the only other hiker we would see on the trail any time during this hike.

Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

View from Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

Highlands Trail, Spruce Run Recreation Area

Highlands Trail on Serpentine Drive, Union Twp.

We walked on through even more dense thickets of Autumn Olive, continued across a small meadow area, and then entered a lovely stand of pines where the sun was casting a lovely light as it set. We continued on along the trail with a few more nice reservoir views, passed by a concrete cistern, then came out at one of the fisherman's parking areas along the reservoir. The trail made a brief jog to the left from here onto Van Syckles Road, and then began to ascend up Serpentine Drive, a long cul de sac.

We made our way steeply up hill on the road, and near the top had a nice view of the reservoir through the trees below us. At the end of the cul de sac, the Highlands Trail turned right, descended a bit and entered Union Furnace Nature Preserve. The trail was pretty nicely cut back around some rather large blow downs. It saddened me to think that the state parks don't receive the kind of attention they deserve because employees don't care about the trails so much.

The trail made a rather steep ascend through the woods up to the crest of the hillside. There were even more great seasonal views out across Spruce Run Reservoir from here. I always forget just how great it is until I'm actually out there to admire it.

View of Spruce Run Reservoir from the Highlands Trail, Union Furnace Nature Preserve at dusk.

View of Spruce Run Reservoir from Union Furnace Nature Preserve on the Highlands Trail

View of Spruce Run Reservoir from Union Furnace Nature Preserve on the Highlands Trail

View of Spruce Run Reservoir from Union Furnace Nature Preserve on the Highlands Trail

It's amazing how much of the reservoir is visible up there within season. Once at the crest of the hill, there was a bit of a view in both directions near a rocky outcrop. The trail then descended with a stone row to the left of us. It was a good thing we didn't have to do this route in the opposite direction as it would have been difficult.

I told Alexis a lot of the history of the preserve, about the Union Irion Works and Taylor Iron and Steel Company, and how the original furnace site was now under water. We descended to the old mill race as the Highlands Trail followed the berm, and came out to meet Captain Soup at the 24 hour lot. His timing was perfect to arrive.

As we reached the lot, the sun was setting beautifully over the reservoir.

Sunset over Spruce Run Reservoir from the Highlands Trail, Van Syckles Road

Seasonal night view along Highlands Trail, Voorhees State Park

We headed to the left out Van Syckles Road to Rt 31, and crossed following the Highlands Trail route up Buffalo Hollow Road, a beautiful little back road. There was a bit of a dark view from the near crest where the road crosses over the former CNJ railroad tracks.

We continued up the hill, and some trucks went by. I think one of them might have been one of my co workers who lives on Buffalo Hollow. We continued down hill and crossed the bridge over Willoughby Brook, and the Highlands Trail turned right for a ways until we reached where a house used to be in Voorhees State Park. The trail ascended the driveway and continued up a set of steps made of blocks into the park.

We continued up hill and the Highlands Trail joined the Vista Trail, which was originally built by a boy scout with the intention of it being part of a cross state trail. It ironically ended up being just that many years later. We followed the Vista Trail over a nice foot bridge my buddy George from work had built, and then headed further up to Observatory Road to cross.

The Highlands Trail was now part of the Cross Park Trail, and remained pretty easy to follow. We occasionally made use of Captain Soup's flash light, but it wasn't so tough to follow it all the way back out to Hoppock Grove where there was the big pavilion. We walked through it and down hill, but I couldn't find the next trail connection. I was going to use Tanglewood Trail because the Highlands Trail just went out onto Rt 513, something I always thought was stupid because there is so much other park land left. Glenn Oleksak, Highlands Trail Supervisor told me they didn't want the trail going anywhere into the park besides the entrance. I'm looking into having that changed.

We walked up the road, and a park policeman was driving out. We paused on the road until two of them left, then reached the building. We made a stop at the restroom, and then followed the old connector road east to the loop road which went around this piece of the park. We then crossed over the wide open green field, through another small pavilion, around the pond, and then up to Rt 513. We passed by my former co worker Bryan Manning's house, and I screamed all silly like my buddy Kyle Zalinsky used to do, and we continued on past the church in Bunnvale.

Nice sign at the church in Bunnvale on Rt 513

There was a nice phrase on the church about holding a grudge being like letting someone live in your mind rent free, which I thought was good. The Highlands Trail followed this section of Rt 513 for a bit, and there was a rather recently opened mini mart here at Bunnvale, so we of course had to stop. Captain Soup was much happier having gotten some food.

Dog that came into the mini mart on 513 in Bunnvale

We could see a little better out on the road, but it was still nice to be in some more light. It was really almost a perfect night for this hike because the sky was totally clear, the stars bright. The moon was only a half, but it shone enough light that most of the time a flash light was not needed at all.

A lady came in with a Chihuahua or something, which was surprising to see in a store. We took a short break here and I had some sort of food that I just can't remember. The guy running the store was of course rather shocked that we were out hiking this time of night. It had been dark a long time at this point, and it probably did seem pretty out of the ordinary.

Mini mart in Bunnvale for a rest

We made our way along the Highlands Trail down Rt 523, and turned off to the right where it entered Ken Lockwood Gorge Wildlife Management Area on an old driveway. I recalled this driveway being actively used in the past, but now it looked like no one had been out there for quite some time. We accidentally turned left into an open area on the left of us, and I wondered if maybe there had been a house there that the state removed because it was on the WMA property. I'm not sure.

It was tough to find the Highlands Trail's teal diamond blazes through here. Since the route in most normal circumstances would be easy to follow on the road, the blazes could be more spuratic. This made it hard to find where it turned off. Captain Soup notices the blaze that marked the left turn, but we had trouble following it for some time. It weaved around through the woods on a much narrower foot path than those within Voorhees. Still, we managed to find it and began to descend into Ken Lockwood Gorge. The sound of the South Branch of the Raritan was awesome as we made our way down.

Somewhere in this section, Alexis fell and dropped her cell phone. We went back up the hill for a bit looking for it, and I passed right by it. Amazingly, Alexis found it rather quickly and we were able to continue on our way.

The trail made sudden sharp turns, and then soon reached the Columbia Trail. We turned left through a cut and went out onto the Ken Lockwood Gorge Trestle just for a look, then turned around and began to follow the rail bed out toward High Bridge.

When we reached the near end of the trail, we made the left hand turn onto the Taylor Steelworker's Historic Greenway, which now had great kiosks in place. My huge sign I had built while working for Hunterdon was still in place and holding up well. We took a side trip down the dead end trail to the view of the Lake Solitude Dam. The area was noisy, and there were earth movers around the base of the dam. Apparently they were doing work on it around the clock. It was decided recently to preserve it since it was the last dam of it's kind left in NJ.

We followed the main trail down hill past the TISCO building, oldest office building in NJ, and then turned to cross the old Carnegie truss bridge the volunteers and I worked to re-deck. We then continued on the trail and paid a visit to our good friend Kyle's grave.

The site was still in fine shape from when we first cleared it, although the flowers and such his family had come back to plant were dead for the season. I moved leaves off of the head stone and showed it to Alexis and Soup, as well as the memorial bench that was out there. I was happy to see no one had stolen it.

We followed the trail then past the old bloomery forge ruins, and then to the right out toward the Nassau tract. We didn't continue on the trail, but rather followed the roads out and around the Custom Alloy place and former Taylor Wharton, and then walked through Union Forge Park. I wanted to point out the giant fill where the historic High Bridge once was.

We then headed up hill, past the old blue trestle site that was removed in the eighties, and into the middle of town.

Downtown High Bridge NJ

We headed up hill through town, and then came to the parking lot where we'd left Alexis's car. She did really well on her first night hike, although she rolled and ankle that had already had an existing injury. It was a good thing we'd left the car there for her.

Captain Soup and I continued out along the former High Bridge Branch of the CNJ; rails were still visible protruding from under the screenings of the parking lot. We followed the right of way out to the main CNJ line north. A new wooden fence had been erected over where the tracks were since my last visit, but we could walk right around it. We continued on the railroad tracks north under Cregar Road, then back up onto Buffalo Hollow Road when we reached it, and then headed back across Rt 31 and onto Van Syckles to the end.I was happy to have completed my 599th hike, and it was a really nice time.

I hope I can continue to host such activities during the winter months regardless of less light hours, because it's so rewarding.