Hike #624; Ridge and Valley; Camp Mohican to White Lake

 Hike #624; Ridge and Valley from Camp Mohican to White Lake

4/29/12 Kittatinny Ridge and Valley from Camp Mohican to White Lake with Rich Pace, Shelly Janes, Teun Ott, Dave "Captain Soup" Campbell, Jaque Melo, Sharon Daley Kelly, Bill Kuhfuss, Tim Kovich, Sue Bickford Martin, Bobbi Landrock, Ron Phelps, Al MacLennan, Craig Nunn, John Spiridon, Eric Pace, ? Esposito, ?, ?, ?, Dana Janes, and Brendan ?.

Group shot on the Kittatinny Ridge

My next hike would be a point to point on the Ridge and Valley Trail, a somewhat different version of the one I had done the previous year.In the time since the previous hike, Ridge and Valley Conservancy President Bob Canase told me that the trail no longer had permission to use Lightning Bug Hollow Road, an important piece to connecting the trail. They would have to go with the previous plan of looking for permission to cross Princeton Blairstown school property, which has an existing trail system. Bob gave me a map of the campus.We met in the morning at my house on White Lake, then shuttled to the beginning point, spotting cars along the way at Sunset Lake Road.

Mohican Outdoors Center trail

We drove in to Camp Mohican and parked near the Blueberry Hill Lodge where I had started hikes in the past, and where I had once hosted a Mohican Getaway Weekend.We started off by hiking the short interpretive trail that connects camp buildings along Catfish Pond. We followed it out to the "Executive Suite", a beautiful camp site overlooking Catfish Pond.

Catfish Pond

We then turned back and followed paths out to the camp road, and then to Rattlesnake Swamp Trail which we followed up the ridge. It looked like more rock work had been done on the ascent since the last time I was on it, which was very nice. Eric skipped the trail at Camp Mohican so he could get a head of us on the up hill.

View along the AT

We stopped for a break when we reached the Appalachian Trail, with the great view of the valley and toward the Lower Yards Creek Reservoir. I had been here so many times in the past I kept thinking. Rich mentioned the first time he was at that same spot in the seventies.

Lower Yards Creek Reservoir from the AT

We continued on along the AT heading northbound along the ridge until we got to Catfish Tower for another break. We met two AMC guys who had stayed at Mohican the night before, and then did a loop hike to start the day. I chatted with them for a while. They were on their way to Manunka Chunk Tunnel after this ironically.

iew from Catfish Tower

I climbed the tower and took in the great view. We could see north to the Catskills the sky was so clear. I was thinking about how I can't wait to backpack them in the coming months.After the break, we continued along the AT descending into the Millbrook gap.Dana and her boyfriend cut out and turned left on Rattlesnake Swamp Trail for a shorter loop because Brendan had to get to work.

Old road south of Millbrook, future Ridge and Valley Trail route

Looking down Rick's Rocks at abandoned Sand Pond Road

Unmarked trail above Millbrook Road at Rick's Rocks

We continued along the AT until it got to a badly blazed sharp left turn. Here, an old roadway descended to Millbrook Road to the right. I figured this would be the route the Ridge and valley Trail would have to take one day to connect to the AT.We followed it down hill a bit, and then a side path led to the right. Captain Soup and I checked it out, and there was a slight view to the south. We could look down and see abandoned Sand Pond Road breaking off of Millbrook Road below. This would be our next turn. The area below us was Ricks Rocks, a popular climbing location.

Abandoned road, possible future Ridge and Valley Trail

We descended along the old road way which switched back and came out on Millbrook Road where we turned right. It didn't take long before we reached Sand Pond Road.

Trail turn off on abandoned Sand Pond Road

Captain Soup and a nice big trunk

Future Ridge and Valley Trail

Immediately after turning onto Sand Pond, the future Ridge and Valley Trail turned to the right. It was crudely blazed with a reddish or yellowish spray paint, and was clear and recognizable enough to follow. This trail was put in in the fifties by Camp Mason to connect to the AT. We continued down and crossed over a swamp area on sticks and rocks.

Beaver Pond at Camp Mason

Beaver Pond along Ridge and Valley Trail

Ridge and Valley Trail below Beaver Pond

Beaver Pond

We soon reached the power line crossing where we left the National Park Service property. From here, we would be on Camp Mason property for a while. The trail descended from a knoll, and then crossed over the outlet of Beaver Pond on a beaver dam partially, as well as an old earthen dam that the beavers had "improved".The trail followed the power line and then turned right off of it. In the woods, it came to an intersection where we turned left. There was a sign here that read "Beaver Pond".We continued on and reached another intersection, where a trail went right. We continued straight ahead through a small old quarried area with fire rings in it. Directly on the other side, there was another trail, or former road way. We crossed it almost directly and continued on another trail heading down through more camp property.Another side trail went left to a dead end, and we made the next left, on a trail leading away from the camp pond.

Ridge and Valley Trail crossing Blair Creek

The trail led near a wetland and over a couple puncheons, then reached the Blair Creek's northern branch where we crossed on the fantastic wooden suspension bridge.

Ridge and Valley Trail bridge over Blair Creek

Everyone always gets a kick out of this bridge because there are so few like it in NJ. The only other one I know like it that we've ever gone across on my hikes is the "swinging bridge" in Princeton connecting Princeton Battlefield State Park with D&R Canal state park in Institute Woods.

Ridge and Valley Trail bridge over Blair Creek

Ridge and Valley Trail in the lower part of Camp Mason

Ridge and Valley Trail

Ridge and Valley Trail in southern Camp Mason

Ridge and Valley Trail in southern Camp Mason

Ridge and Valley Trail

Ridge and Valley Trail in Camp Mason

We took a nice little break on the other side of the bridge and admired the view. Bill shared some awesome cheese he had brought with everyone. When we were ready to go, we continued on the trail across Shannon Road. It turned sharply to the right on the other side and paralleled the road before crossing Birch Ridge Road. The previous time, we turned left on Birch Ridge and then right on Lightning Bug Hollow, but there was no longer permission for that, so we continued on.

I had only followed the trail once before on this next section through the lower part of Camp Mason, and I couldn't follow it to the end because I got lost. This time we would follow it through.The trail made it's way up hill a bit through woods to a camp road. Crude spray painted blue blazes led to the left, with no Ridge and Valley markers, so we followed it. There was a guy working on an area out another woods road, and I figured maybe we'd try to walk the other way. We went back to where we came out to the road and I was right. We followed the trail further and passed a camp area and some nice tent pads. We then followed a woods road for a bit with a stone row along side.The trail took us past some nice wetlands and through an open area, but there were a lot of weeds. We continued to where the trail dropped off to descend toward another branch of Blair Creek. The blazes ended here.There was flagging going to the right, which is probably the proposed route, but we needed to stay away from the active use area and continue to the Princeton Blairstown Center Trails on the other side of Blair Creek without being noticed.

Bushwhacking in the valley of Blair Creek

We descended, sometimes with wet areas along the property boundary posted signs which we skirted. There were a few deer stands that looked actively used, but no one was there.We soon reached the lovely Blair Creek.

Blair Creek near Lightning Bug Hollow

Blair Creek near Lightning Bug Hollow

Ruins along Princeton Blairstown Center trail.

Pond view along future Ridge and Valley Trail

Sunset Lake Road along Ridge and Valley Trail

Ridge and Valley Trail near White Lake lime kiln

Ridge and Valley Trail, White Lake NRA

Ridge and Valley Trail at White Lake

Me!

We crossed Blair Creek carefully on rocks. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw posted signs entering the Princeton Blairstown Camp property, and we headed up hill to the south. It didn't take long before we reached a yellow blazed trail from the camp. It was nice to see it was rather well maintained, and marked to the international sandard with turn blazes and all.It was well lined with sticks to show the route. The blazes were hammered to the trees, probably too far in, with plastic yellow diamonds.We followed the trail past an old building foundation, and then headed up hill on it. Where the trail finally turned to head back to the camp, it was the boundary of the Lightning Bug Hollow Preserve. We could see ahead the hillsides we had walked on during the previous hike. I could easily follow toward Al Carrizone's pond using my GPS, so we had no trouble. There was almost no undergrowth to fight through, so this was fine.We continued to the last bit of ridge, where there was a bit of a view toward the south, and descended to the abandoned portion of Butler Road. We then walked Butler Road down hill the short distance to Sunset Lake Road.We turned right on Sunset Lake briefly to the next section of Ridge and Valley Trail. Bill, Eric, John, and Sue cut out here. The rest of us continued on along the trail heading south.Some of the trail got really overgrown. I lent out one of my two saws so that we could work to clear it off better. We worked heavily on everything as we passed over a hill, down a woods road, and right to climb the edge of another ridge. The trail went up and down between a couple ridges and passed another little view, then descended through a cleft in the ridge to an open flat area full of Barberry. We didn't fight through this for long because it was just too much and would take all afternoon.We managed to find the trail through it, and then continued as it skirted a field just into the woods. It continued past the junction with the western leg of the trail, and Ron asked if he'd been there before. Indeed, he was right, I had a picture of him in the old truck sitting out in the valley!We followed the trail further, and got pictures with my favorite giant pine tree before passing through the little valley with all of the blow downs. We continued up to the parking area on Stillwater Road from there.From here, we followed the trail out along the farm lane and across Stillwater Road. The gate was still dummy locked at the north end of the county property, which of course the land steward still hadn't noticed.When we got to the blue blazed White Lake Trail, which I re-opened as one of my first little tasks when I moved in (and then the land steward put his stupid arrow markers on it, and took credit for it), I enlisted the help of my hiking companions.The puncheon over the vernal pool, which should never have even been put in since there's a dry area just to the south, had floated out of place, and I wanted to put it back where it belonged. I couldn't do it by myself, but with this big group, we could all pick it right up. We moved it back to where it belonged, which made me very happy because I knew if I didn't do it that it would never get done.Much of the rest of the group left from here and continued back to their cars, while I continued on along the trail with Shelly, Teun, Tim, Captain Soup, Jaque, and Bobbi. We made our way past the lime kiln and through the little valley, then up past the former girl scout camp.

The tree roots grow rather crazy at the site of the Girl Scout Camp main lodge, where the floor used to be.

We stopped to get a remaining group picture at the chimney of the old mess hall from the scout camp, and then admired some of the interesting growth in the area.

More strange growing root system from the floor of the old girl scout camp building

The root system must have grown up around the area before the floor of the old building had completely rotted away. All of the roots were sitting higher than ground level. I figured they must have grown on top of the floor boards and remained in place long after they were gone.

Chimney from former girl scout camp lodge

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Vass House across the lake

Vass House across White Lake

Pitcher plants

Pitcher Plants at White Lake

Little bench on a marl mound at White Lake

Bench overlooking White Lake

Resting along White Lake

More new graffiti at White Lake

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Marl Works

Some of the group with my new markers at White Lake, Ridge and Valley Trail

Farm view from Ridge and Valley Trail

Ridge and Valley Trail on the old White Lake spur line

Someone threw shoes over the wires

Crazy Willow at Squier's Corners

Crazy growing Willow at Squier's Corners

White Lake barn

View of home from an overlook on the new White Lake Trail, blue blazed.

White Lake Trail

View across white Lake

We continued from here down hill along the trail to the Marl Works ruins. There, we turned right and headed out to the front of the building into the marl beds.Marl, a limestone based sediment made of ancient ground up shell fish, was dredged off of the lake starting in the 1880s and processed at the Marl Works. It was then hauled by train on the NYS&W Railroad to Newark where it was used to neutralize their sewer systems. I brought everyone to the bench overlooking the Vass House across the lake and picked up a hand full of the muck, then pointed out the tiny little shells still seen in the sediement.

We continued from here back through the marl beds, and I pointed out the naturally growing pitcher plants living in the muck.Next, we headed back through the Marl Works past the stacks, and found even more new graffiti had happened since my last time there a few days earlier.We headed out of the Marl Works, and Captain Soup and I reminisced about how this was actually part of his first hike with me so many years earlier.When we got out to Spring Valley Road again, we turned right and followed it up hill through the neighborhood until we got to the next piece of county land again. We turned right and then picked up the new red blazed trail. It took us to the overlook toward my house and the lake.Where the red trail ended, the blue one began, leading away from the lake and down to the Ailanthus forest that I worked with the land steward to kill. We then headed up to the cleared former farm lane through the autumn olives heading down to the lake. My new carsonite posts marked the trail along the way, although the land steward made them the wrong shade of blue blazed, and used half size ones rather than screwing them together as I'd asked him to.We crossed the boat launch and meadow, then came back into the woods to my driveway. We walked the driveway back to the house and finished the hike.Our friend Bill "Guillemro" Fabel joined us for pizza, and brought some meat balls and bread. We had a nice time, hanging out and laughing, and looking through old pictures of some of the earliest hikes we had done together.

So much time has gone by.

Now, these friends have been hiking with me continuously longer than almost anyone who used to be regulars before their time. At the same time, even Conrad and Derek, who were on hike #1 had re-appeared and joined in. They were themselves, the same as they've ever been, interacting with more recent friends who have become embedded in my life. As we looked through photos, Captain Soup was surprised to see that he'd met so many people before he'd thought he had. He found himself in photos with Matt Davis, whom he thought he only met recently, and with Conrad.I started thinking that the connections I'm making on my maps, putting pieces of property together, works similarly with people. It's a wonderful feeling to see unlikely friends come together apart from my hikes, and how ithe friendships improves their lives and blossom in their own way.

I liked showing people how I manage my hikes, scale them off, and showing my filing system that I've done the same way for the past decade, with pretty much every bit of public open space imaginable.It's a stressful time, but I have to make things improve no matter where I end up when I move from this place.

princeton blairstown center