Hike #753; Flanders and Ledgewood Area Loop

 Hike #753; Flanders and Ledgewood Area Loop

2/16/14 Flanders/Ledgewood Area Loop with Gregg Hudis, Brandan Jermyn, Lyz Hagenbuch, Ric Giantisco, Dan Lurie, Sue Olivar, Stephen Argentina, and Larry Phillips.

The group in a boat in Ledgewood Mall

Our next hike would be set up sort of last minute. We had gotten hammered with snow the previous couple of weeks, and things just weren't letting up. The previous hike in St. Anthony's Wilderness proved to be pretty difficult, and during the course of the week we just got more and more snow. I had to park my car in a municipal lot and was unable to get it until a day before this hike.

I hadn't posted a hike in advance this time because I was thinking I might end up going away with Jillane for the weekend. We ended up getting more snow on Saturday, so posting something for then wouldn't work either. I talked it over with Gregg, and we decided to post a trip that would be around his place, and then if I ended up going away, Gregg could still lead the hike from his place without me.

I ended up not going away at all, and so I showed up at Gregg's to do the hike, despite the deep snow. I had a couple of different plans for what we could do depending on how bad the snow was. It ended up being even worse than I was anticipating.

Stephen was the last one to show up. We met at Tractor Supply in Flanders because it was easy to get to, then shuttled up to Gregg's. Stephen met us up there. Larry and I both wore our vintage World War II jackets, and he also had a vintage WWII pack, shirt, and some crazy giant mittens unlike anything I'd ever seen.

We walked from Gregg's apartment along the roads, swerving back and forth and then into the woods along an unofficial path that leads out to the rocky outcrop and seasonal overlook within Veterans Park.

Gregg and I had discovered the newer trail, that had some bad green blazes or something before, and our plan was to follow that again. This time though, the snow was so deep that breaking through the layers and trudging through sometimes knee deep accumulation would have been impossible for an entire hike. Gregg wore his snow shoes, but none of the rest of us had them. Gregg took the lead out to the overlook, and we went through some sticks and such. Brandan and Larry climbed up the rock despite the heavy snow.

It was only slightly enjoyable for me really. I was already tired and this wasn't helping matter. The trail from the overlook, which was better this time than any other time I'd been there, was now marked with Roxbury trail markers, large plastic ones that matched stuff Hunterdon was doing more so than Morris, but at least they did them to standard with turns and such.

Starting off near Gregg's Domicile

It seemed like forever until the trail finally emerged onto Patricia Drive. It was a relief to walk the road. My boots were already full of snow and my feet were freezing. I had a slight chance to dry off while we turned right walking Patricia Drive, but then we turned left onto the blue blazed trail which went around a building at the end of the accessible part of the road, then came back to the abandoned portion of Patricia Drive at the end, now a fiber optic right of way. We hiked the road from here to Mountain Road which seemed like an eternity. I could have sworn that it was not more than a mile out to that road, but Gregg told us when we had gotten over a mile.

We made it out to Mountain Road and turned right passing the Fenimore Land Fill.

We headed down hill on the road, which had a good seasonal overlook along the way. When we reached Ledgewood at the base, I turned slightly left in toward Ledgewood Canal Park only to see that the access road was only plowed the short distance to the homes that used the road for access. I wasn't ready to bring the group up into the park this time for the view or the old mine after the mess we just went through. I gave them some of the the history of the spot, how the entrance road to the park was former Morris Canal Inclined Plane #3 East, and that the 1840 Scotch Turbine that powered it is now on display in Hopatcong State Park. While we were there, an older gentleman with an irish accent pulled up and asked if we had been up in the park yet. I told him that we probably wouldn't go in because of the snow depth, and then he asked if we smelled anything. He was referring to the methane burn off from the Fenimore land fill. We saw the stacks there, and smoke coming out of them. He said that people nearby were having trouble with throat lesions and all sorts of medical problems, and that honestly the park should be closed because of public risk. With all of the homes close to the park, I argued in a friendly way, they really shouldn't be there either. He also explained that the process used at Fenimore was outlawed in many European countries including England. I had been reading some about it and didn't put two and two together that it was this site (I get the Highlands Server, which is sent to government officials with all of the environmental news associated with the Highlands region).

When we were holding up traffic too much, we opted to move on. We said goodbye and then followed Canal Street southeast. I pointed out where the canal crossed Rt 10 to the next lock, then we turned right on Rt 10. We ended up racking up quite a bit of mileage just because of all of the snow piles we had to go around. It of course wasn't safe to be walking along Rt 10; it's sidewalk was completely covered and the snow was piled too high to ever clear it. We turned right past one store, then went out in front of the Sprint Store to the back of it, crossed Mary Louise Ave, then cut through another opening in the snow backs around some more stores. More zig zagging around the parking lots ensued, and we went out past the Barnes and Noble. We then turned to the right and headed slightly west again to the front of the strip malls approaching the Wal Mart.

We were all pretty cold and wet from the trudging we'd been doing, and some of us had to use the restroom, so we made our way into the front of the Wal Mart, which is connected directly to the Ledgewood Mall. I figured it would be funny to "hike" the perimeter of Wal Mart, and told everyone about the "retail hike" that I'd done with Tea Biscuit and Ian LaBrie in March of 2003, where we crossed Schooleys Mountain on the Patriot's Path, then went through every retail establishment in Hackettstown.

Hiking through Hackettstown Mall before it was torn down, March 2003

We made our way through toys and commented on about every ridicules thing we could find. Always a riot with groups like this. We then seemed to hang out near the restrooms forever, and some girl at layaway or whatever it was had to go in and tell their female janitor to come out because a group of people wanted to get in.

When we moved on, we headed around the rest of the perimeter and then into Ledgewood Mall proper.

This mall was like so many other dead malls in some ways, but then it was odd too. Barely any stores had anything in them at all. It was way worse than even the last time I'd been in it a couple of years back. This time though, all of the walkways were filled with boats. Lots of boats were on display in the halls of the mall, some with people sitting in them, and it seemed like one guy was walking around and talking to people about them. I don't know how well they could possibly do with this. Who goes to Ledgewood Mall to buy a boat in the middle of the snowy winter? There's no place to even safely store the things, or even to erect a safe storage facility for them. I feel sadly as though the boats in the mall is synonymous with Fonzie jumping the shark. It's near the end.

The floor of the mall looked almost the same as the Hackettstown Mall. It was so similar in so many ways. It reminds me of a lot of stuff from my life. We had always frequented the Hackettstown Mall when it was still a busy place worth going. My mom worked there for many years at Le Salon, and later Cutting Crew. I also worked there at JoAnne Fabrics in 1998, and at Radio Shak in 1999. My last time in the mall was 2003 before it was torn down. Only the Marshalls from that mall is still standing, with the entrance way changed somewhat. This mall also had a Marshall's at it's end. It was probably the same architect.

We made our way through the mall and turned back to the left at Marshall's to exit. We made our way from here to the former Central Railroad of NJ's High Bridge Branch, still active in this area but not used since the snow accumulation rather obviously. We tried to access near a fire hydrant that had been shoveled out, but then I opted not to even try to get closer. We turned left and paralleled the tracks, then had to go around numerous more snow piles pretty much back to being parallel with the Wal Mart entrance in order to get back out toward Rt 10. We did a little trudging to get over a corner when circumventing countless snow piles became ridicules.  We ended up having to walk for a bit on top of the high snow piles along Rt 10, then had to turn along a jughandle because 10 itself was not safe to walk with all the traffic and giant piles. The sidewalks could not realistically be cleared because of how much was piled up. We crossed Rt 10 at the next traffic light, then carefully made our way south on it for a while and then stopped into Taco Bell for a delicious lunch.

The majority of us enjoyed the new loaded grillers which come in four different varieties for only $1. I had three of the four of these, because the potato one did not initially appeal to me. I can always get the potato soft taco from the permanent dollar menu, and so I figured the loaded griller would be redundant and less rewarding. However, Brandan sampled all four of the loaded grillers and made the shocking discover that the potato one too contained ground beef. I felt somewhat regretful for not having sampled this item. On a happier note, just as I received my order, a young guy leaving asked me if I would like a soft taco which he could not finish. My excitement at this opportunity was probably somewhat alarming, as was the enthusiasm and speed with which I consumed it.

To my great satisfaction, this particular venue very audibly played only adult contemporary hit songs of the 1970s. I happily sang along with Barry Manilow, Loggins and Messina, and The Stylistics while we enjoyed our food.

If you'd like to get the same feel, listen to the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoGcH2L68Mg&feature=kp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FDcTyyXQb8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJm51jsRoo0

We continued from Taco Bell down Rt 10 a bit to the Bottle King to get more beverages for Gregg's get together at his house afterwards, and before. I didn't get anything this time, but we did find the delicious chocolate wine I'd recently had.

We continued from here across Rt 10, then of course had to circumvent more piles of snow as we made our way toward the Succasunna Shop Rite. When we finally got close to the Shop Rite, there was a giant machine with a large bucket removing some of the snow piles that were so high we couldn't even see over them, then loading it into a dump truck which would haul it off. We talked about all the flooding we'd certainly be facing when this finally melts off.

We made our way from the front of the Shop Rite to the front of the Home Depot, then followed from here to Ramsey Outdoors. I wanted the group to see this place, but also I wanted to check out the map section to see if there were any updates I needed, or if there were some some books I might want.

I did purchase a guide to the southern Adirondacks because I  had realized recently that from where Jillane and I had backpacked in September, in Canajoharie NY, we were only one day's walk from the Adirondacks. I might need these maps sooner than I'd expected.

We wandered around for a bit, then made our way out of the place and to Commerce Blvd left out to Righter Road, where we turned right to the north. We crossed over the railroad tracks, then turned left onto Willow Walk Way, in some sort of apartment complex. I suppose this was some sort of private community or something, but we walked on through anyway. We continued through until we got to Wisper Way and turned right. We passed a gate area for private access, then followed the road, which became very narrow and offered us a view of the mountain ahead. The road took us out to Emmans Road, where we turned right.

These back roads were a good way to continue the hike rather than trying to follow the tracks through the deep snow or some trail somewhere. Although they were very nice, I still miss being in the woods on a good foot path, and can't wait for the snow to melt off so I can enjoy it more. My hike in Saint Anthony's Wilderness was nice, but even that was very difficult compared to what it could have been.

We followed Emmans Road to a ninety degree bend where it soon crossed over Drake's Brook, which was almost invisible from all the snow cover. We then crossed over the High Bridge Branch railroad tracks. The road then turned ninety degrees again and turned to the southwest. It became more residential, and as we neared Flanders we could see the rock outcrop from which we got the view in the beginning above us on the mountain to the right. The road continued to move slowly away from the ridge view, and we came to Hillside Ave and turned right. We walked a short distance on this until we got to the Country Farms food store where we'd get some snacks and drinks.

In the store, I got an Arizona Rx Energy drink, and a Reeces fast break bar. Someone noticed some sort of crazy pill for sale at the register called "SWAG: Sex With A Grudge". It showed stick figures in sexual positions, and read "one pill to hurt it, two to destroy it" or something. The female stick figure's crotch was on fire. I couldn't believe they were selling something like that in Flanders.

We continued from here through the old village center area with lovely old homes and a church, over the railroad tracks and right on Main Street. We then turned right on Rt 46 heading north. With all the plowed off snow, this was an uncomfortable place to walk, but fortunately we didn't have to be on it for long.

We soon turned right onto Oakwood Drive heading steeply up hill. There was a nice seasonal view off to the right as we continued. I sweated as we were walking up, which just makes me realize I need to get more exercise, and how I can't wait for the snow to clear so I can get back to those things that I love to do like running up Point Mountain.

We continued along the road, and I noticed the mini mart on top of the mountain was now closed. We had hiked by this and gotten some snacks and drinks when we passed through Halloween weekend, 2010. We continued to Mountain View Way, then turned right  heading toward Gregg's place, just beyond the giant above ground water tanks.

Gregg was to move from this location the beginning of March to Washington, which will be conveniently close to Brandan and I. We had been talking about doing a party at his place for some time before he moved, so it was nice we could have a get together here before that time.

We all got to Gregg's place, which was very nice, with a view. Gregg had lots of cheese and snacks, and some great pizzas and spinach triangle shaped things. I realized shortly after arriving that we were missing someone: Larry! I asked if anyone knew where he'd gotten to, and no one knew. We knew he left the mini mart in Flanders with us but no one was sure since then. He had turned into the development with us, so he was close by. His car was still parked at Gregg's apartment, so we knew he hadn't left.

Lyz and Ric were good enough to go off and try to find him. We figured he might have gone straight when we turned right on Mountain View Way. Apparently he came up hill on the road, and then thought he had gone too far, and so turned back. Lyz and Ric found him pretty quickly, but he didn't stay to eat with us because his dad had dinner for him or something.

We hung out at Gregg's watching ridicules internet videos like Jerry Jackson, Drillbithead, Salad Fingers, and worse. It was a nice mellow get together to close out the day.

I felt okay, not too tired, and overall had a pretty good day. I still have trouble beating the depression of winter.

I just hope that this stuff is gone soon so I can get on with the kind of exploring I want to do!