Hike #1181; Somerville to Branchburg

Hike #1181; Somerville to Branchburg

12/6/18 Somerville to Branchburg with Jennifer Berndt, Sue Bennett, Shayna Michaels, and Stephanie Konik

This next hike would be a point to point variation of one we’d done a couple of times in the past in the Somerville and Raritan area. There’s really a lot to see there, but there have been new connections added since my last couple of times out there that I’d wanted to see.

Peters Brook Greenway

This time, we met at the Shop Rite in Branchburg. I’d used this spot before, but wasn’t totally happy with the road walking we had to do at the end. There was still kind of a crappy way to go, but I figured we could improve upon it, and there weren’t a lot of good alternate options. We piled into my van and shuttled from there to Somerville area where we parked at a strip mall area and a store called “Buy Buy Baby” or something. From there, we could head down hill on a short slope to the Raritan Mall parking lot. We turned to the left there to skirt the back of the mall.

Peter's Brook Greenway

Stephanie was the only newcomer on this one. I’d seen her sign up but not make it in the past. She had heard about me from the stuff in Weird NJ, so it neat that she’d heard of me beforehand.
We headed to the back of the lot, and I looked for reasonable ways to get off of the pavement and back into the woods. The first step of the way for me was to get on the newest addition to the Peter’s Brook Greenway. I had loved this particular greenway the first time I did it with my ex girlfriend Cathy many years ago, in August of 2007. I brought the larger group through in November of 2008, and it was even the subject of the first group promo film produced by Tom Pettrucci.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3XCx1beG11E

The last time I was out on this greenway, as part of another night hike, or maybe with the fundraiser hike with Dr. Jenn, I had found that the greenway was to be extended to the opposite side of Route 206. A pedestrian bridge for it was already built, and it was being further developed. I knew I would have to come back to explore it.

An old water pump along the trail

Because it is such a small piece, I wouldn’t justify doing a whole hike around it, but I figured I could work it into a night hike.
This was the perfect time to do it. We didn’t have much daylight left, but what we had was just enough that I could see everything in the new section of the greenway before moving onto familiar ground.
We walked along the back of the parking lot, and there was an access to an apartment complex. We continued to the east just a bit, and then I could see the trail inside the preserve just below the level of the parking lot. This bit of the greenway was made a loop around the headwaters of the Peter’s Brook. It had a crushed stone surface, and looked as though no expenses were spared, because there were edges to the stone path delineating it from everything else, probably because of something underneath to keep weeds from growing through or something.

Peters Brook Greenway

The trail took us to the north, and then turned to the east somewhat close to Route 22. It then turned right and passed an old water pump with bollards around it. A second similar one was to the right. I figured this must have been some kind of park many years ago before this trail was developed to have stuff like this.
The first tributary we crossed, one of two branches of the Peter’s Brook, was a meandering stream with very sharp “S” turns to it. It looked pretty neat. We continued around, and the second tributary was a much deeper cut chasm in the earth, quite different than the other one. From there, the trail climbed up to the edge of a field. To the right, we would have closed in the loop in a short distance, but we went to the left. This took us out to the edge of Rt 206 where we crossed over on the aforementioned long pedestrian bridge. I was happy to be finished with this new section before dark.

Meandering Peter's Brook headwaters

The trail continued north along 206, then cut to the right out toward Mountain Avenue. If it had been earlier, I might have tried to continue through the woods directly along Peter’s Brook, which passes under 206 at this same point, but decided not to in the name of saving some time. We headed to Mountain Avenue and followed it south then to the old north terminus of the Peters Brook Greenway and started following it to the southeast.
We followed a good long section out to Mercer Street, then followed Green Street to Davenport Street where we turned right to reach the next bit of the greenway.

Peters Brook Greenway second crossing tributary

The trail cut back off of the road along the brook again, and then skirted the Exchange Fields. I pointed out the small cliffs on the opposite side of the brook, which one wouldn’t come to expect of such a small and insignificant stream flowing through the town. It’s really a neat section.
We continued on and came to Bridge Street, crossed, and then continued along the brook past Van Fleet Gardens, then crossed Grove Street. We turned right across the brook, then left on the path on the opposite side to continue. We reached and crossed Cliff Street, and the path continued on from there.
Jen called me at this point because she was ready to meet up. I had estimated we’d be further than this by this point, but weren’t, so I had her come toward the greenway crossing of the main street to have her join. She pocket dialed me again and I could hear here promoting the group to the employees of a pizza place she’d stopped into.

Peter's Brook Greenway bridge

We continued across High Street next to Vanderveer Parkway, but the trail offiically follows the road. Instead, I had everyone remain close to the bank of the stream where we headed down and around ball fields for a much nicer walking route. When we got to the other side, we headed up to the Quick Stop convenience store off to the right to get some snacks and drinks. They had my favorite Arizona RX energy in big bottles. These larger bottles had just recently come out, as I’d found some at Sheetz in PA. I also got some candy bar or something, but I can’t remember what it was exactly.
Jen met us there, and we started talking about the Kevin Smith films and the movies “Clerks” and “Clerks II”. Some in the group had never heard about Kevin Smith’s films, to which we had to try to explain the concept of vulgar humor and such.

Jay and Silent Bob from Wikipedia

We knew that the Quick Stop was an actual place in Monmouth County where the films were made, so it was a real place, but it’s apparently a chain. It made me realize we should do a hike that goes by it.
I mentioned that I found it particularly amusing that when Director Kevin Smith said that for the first film, he needed to get someone who “acted like that”, referring to the crazy outlandish behavior of local Jay Mewes. Then someone questioned him “Why don’t you just get him to do it...?”, and in the years that followed, Smith had to fight to keep Jay in his signature roll rather than recast it. I have always respected that dedication.

View from Peters Brook Greenway bridge over 206

We continued across the main street in Somerville from the store. From there, we headed just up the road briefly, then back onto the trail below along the Peter’s Brook. It led along the edge of it out around Michael Lepp Park. This took us to a large foot bridge that had been built across the brook, and then right ot pass under the large arch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, now active as New Jersey Transit.
I stopped here for a little historic dissertation on the line.
The predecessor to the Central Railroad was the Elizabeth and Somerville Railroad in 1839. It was extended via another line, the Somerville and Raritan, and the two merged to form the Central Railroad. At the time, the grade was much lower than where the high concrete arch is today that we were passing under.
The railroad became the major one immigrants would board from the station at what is now Liberty State Park heading westbound after checking in at Ellis Island.

Historic postcard of Somerville Station

We continued under the bridge, at a point where we used to have to swing across a gully just past the bridge on some vines. We also used to have to wade across the Peters Brook at the time. I remember some of the group would go up and over on the railroad bridge to avoid it.

Swinging across a chasm in Somerville in 2008, before the completion of the newer sections of the Peter's Brook Greenway

On the other side, we entered Arthur Chambers Park, a ball field park, and continued to the south. We soon crossed over Southside Avenue, and the trail turned left to parallel it for a bit to a parking area. It then turned to the right into a wooded area toward the Raritan River.
The Peters Brook joins the Raritan just east of this spot. Stephanie didn’t think it was a good idea to walk this section because it would be too muddy, but I wasn’t worried at all about it. It turns out she was concerned about a section to the west of here that I was not even aware existed yet.
We walked to the right along the Raritan, in a really beautiful little section, and then crossed the mud covered foot bridge over the Peter’s Brook. I was surprised at the amount of mud there. The water had gotten much higher than I thought it would somewhat recently, but we managed to get by with no problem.
Just after the bridge, there was a trail intersection, where I was intending to go to the right. Stephanie asked me if I was going under the bridge. I suddenly realized that this was a new extension, and asked “Wait, does this trail go UNDER Route 206 over there?”. When she confirmed, I of course needed to see it. We had hiked sections of public land on the other side of the highway before, but it was a messy, weedy section and kind of rough walking.
The trail did take us right under the highway, which was great. It stayed along the river, which was still muddy, and then turned to the right parallel with the power line ahead.
The power line follows the long abandoned former South Branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, also referred to as the Flemington Branch by many.

The last train on the Flemington Branch; 4/25/53

The trail came up to the grade, and I pointed out where it crossed in both directions. The bridge is now missing across the Raritan, beyond which the right of way goes through Doris Duke’s estate, Duke Farms.
The line has been out of service since 1953, and I’ve hiked it in the past all the way through from Flemington to Somerville.
The trail continued ahead from here, almost back out to Route 206, then cut back into the woods to the left. It descended quite a lot, and we soon reached the point that Stephanie was concerned about.
The trail went right into the flood plain waters of the Raritan. It was more than just a little under water. It was WAY under water. Fortunately, there was a power line clearing to the right that was easy to walk for a bit, and then cut off to the left to get back on it when it came out of the water. It was a very easy detour. Whoever put the trail in should have routed it that way to begin with.
We continued on the trail, which eventually moved away from the river and came out at Raritan Valley Park, where there is some sort of batting area fenced in.
We continued ahead along side the road. This was very different than the last time I’d gone by. There were industrial buildings to the left that had been taken down since the last time I’d walked by. The place was changing quite a lot.
We moved on to the Nevius Street Bridge, next to the castle building from the Doris Duke Estate, and walked out and back across it. It was cool that when the new bridge was built, they left the old one up next to it as part of a pedestrian route. The dam there was also removed.
We continued walking form here, out and under the new road underpass. The trail route is the former route of the old Raritan Power Canal that is now filled in.

Historic image of Nevius Street Bridge

The power canal was developed in 1840 in order to entice manufacturers to build along the shores of the Raritan in the area. This part of the Raritan River was one of many identified early in our nation’s history as a good point for a planned industrial city.
Alexander Hamilton had visited the Raritan valley including the nearby Wallace House, and knew of it’s potential, but he opted instead for the mighty Passaic River and it’s Great Falls in present day Paterson for his planned industrial city. Still, the area and the confluence of the north and south branches of the Raritan was noted for it’s potential.

Raritan Woolen mill historic image, served by the power canal

When we reached the underpass and the entrance to Duke Island Park, where the canal is again accessible and in good condition, Stephanie decided to cut out and walk home close by. The rest of us continued across the foot bridge over a spillway along the power canal.

The section is very nice, and is very much like the other towpath canals, just with a lot of exposed tree roots and such. The lights from the road across the power canal made it always easy to navigate this area. I pointed out along the way where we used to stop and swim in the river when it was deeper, before the dam was removed. The rope swing could still be seen there.
I suppose it’s probably still deep enough to be able to swim there, but we’ll just have to come back and try in the Summer.

Using the rope swing in 2007

As we moved ahead, we soon came to the old truss bridge that had been erected over the power canal. This was originally the Hibernia Mine Railroad bridge located in northern Morris County’s Farney Highlands. When that railroad was abandoned, the bridge was lifted off of it’s abutments and moved to Somerset County where it was used as a regular road bridge for nearly the next century. When it was deemed it needed to be replaced, the bridge was removed again and placed over the Raritan Power Canal as a pedestrian bridge. I noticed as we walked across it and back that it may have been flood damaged. Both sides appeared to have been oddly bent.

The old Hibernia Mine Railroad bridge before installation in 2006

We continued from this point and left the power canal. A trail leads out closer to the Raritan through Duke Island Park. It does become vehicle accessible at one point, but then the trail again breaks off to the left and remains along the river. It’s a paved path and really quite pleasant to walk.
We passed through a section of nice woods, then along the river with open fields to the right, followed by a nice section of woods again. We continued to follow the path until the sound of the next dam became very audible. We then cut over to the left where we could see it somewhat through the dark. The arced dam is quite a nice spot. The level of the Raritan was high, and so it was much louder than usual. Just up stream from this location is the confluence of the north and south branches, in what is known as Confluence Reservoir State Park. The undeveloped park land has a couple of access points but otherwise no trails or anything. We took a little break here and listened to the water.
We soon moved on ahead, steeply back up to the trail which regained the Raritan Power Canal route. We headed up stream on that for a bit, and we tripped a security camera. I was surprised that was there. We just kept on moving, reached the parking area, and then continued out of the park land to the Sellers Maintenance Building and then out to Old York Road where we turned left.
We followed the road down hill and soon crossed over the North Branch of the Raritan. The confluence could be seen to the south, even though it was dark. This area floods badly, and there are even gates on the road for when they need to close it.
We continued across, and then turned right on the other side onto North Branch River Road.
This was a pretty pleasant road. We’d followed it before. It skirts the state park lands, which I’d like to get in and explore more one of these days.
We followed the road north to Route 202 where there was a McDonalds at the intersection. We stopped there for a break and got some McChickens and such. I commented on how the McChicken has been just a dollar for over twenty years, which is quite amazing.
Once we had had a good break, my plan was originally to head up 202, cross the North Branch, and then go into North Branch Park. The only problem with this was that the level of the river would make it difficult to get through. There is no surfaced walking path in this section, and it was always a slippery, muddy mess even when it wasn’t a high water time. I knew this could be dangerous. If we did the wooded section, it was so close to the edge that we could end up falling off into it. I didn’t want to bother with that.
Instead, we decided to just continue north on River Road, which very closely parallels the North Branch anyway, and just remains higher up a slope. We did get the opportunity to get a bit closer to it in places, by way of park access roads, but overall it was just an easier but still pleasant route.
We approached the stone viaduct that carries the Central Railroad of New Jersey across the river, which was cool because we could not see the bridge in the dark, but we could see it’s reflection in the calm of the river. We continued on as the road started to turn off to the left, parallel with the former CNJ tracks.
River Road turned right and crossed the tracks where the station stop is. There used to be a handsome station building here, but it’s long gone. We continued straight on Central Ave which follows above the tracks, and then made the next right ot descend to the grade crossing. We turned left there and followed them into the dark to the left.
I figured this would be better than that road walk. We followed them as far as an access to the Branchburg Sports Complex, and cut to the right, through a fence, and into their parking lots. We cut to the north, left by way of another access road, and then reached Columbia Road. We turned to the left, which took us out toward Readington Road. We cut to the right just before that in front of another business, and soon reached Route 22 where we crossed to get back to the Shop Rite parking lot and the end of the hike. A train was going by just as we were making it out of the complex, so it was good we weren’t out there while it went by.
This was a really nice way to finish the hike. We had done new stuff with the new terminus to the Peter’s Brook Greenway, the new connection along the Raritan, and then the one nice back road I’d been wanting to walk parallel for some time.

HAM