Hike #1189; Spruce Run Recreation Area to Changewater Mountain
1/1/18 Spruce Run Recreation Area to Changewater Mountain with Scott Helbing (Tea Biscuit), Amanda Lance, Matthew Davis, Craig Craig, Jennifer Berndt, Jennifer Tull, Diane Reider, Carolyn Gockel Gordon, Kralc Leahcim (Lerch), Serious Sean Dougherty, Ellie Zabeth, Daniel Stone, Jason Itell, Megan Itell, Robin Deitz, Janet Lynn McCourt-Finsen, Michele Valerio, Beesan?, Ric Giantisco, Lyz Abeth, Kenneth Lidman, Anne, ?, Mr. Buckett (Jim Mathews), Eric Pace, Ricardo Alejandro Furstein, Daniel Trump, Ted Wright, James Quinn, Red Sean Reardon, Deidre Supple, Dan ?, Erin Lloyd, Major Tom Connroy, Don Mayberry, Emily Mayberry, Darryl Schmidt, Max Davis, and Buddy V Mayberry.
This next hike would be our annual first day hike. It’s something they allow me to do through work, but I get a lot of leeway to do the kind of hike I want to do as well.
The beach at Spruce Run, Highlands Trail route
This time, my concept was to follow the tributary, Spruce Run, from Spruce Run Reservoir all the way up to it’s headwaters. We wouldn’t go all the way to Crystal Springs this time, but we would get up as far as beyond Woodglen, and then finish at my grandfather’s house.
Every year around Christmas time, I try to do two holiday hikes. One of them is the Holiday NY City hike, and the other goes to my grandfather’s.
The reservoir
This time, instead of doing that hike right before Christmas, I decided instead to have the new years day hike end up there. I thought it would be a great concept rather than doing the same old thing we always do.
I put together a trip that would include some things I’d never done but wanted to do, as well as plenty of things I knew well. I figured it would be a pretty interesting trip directly related to where I report to work daily.
Highlands Trail on Serpentine Drive
I planned to have the hike meet at my grandfather’s house in Lebanon Township, on what we’ve always called “Changewater Mountain”, part of the Musconetcong Mountain formation. We would then shuttle with as few vehicles as possible to the reservoir area where my plan was to start with the museum of the Union Forge Heritage Association, which occupies the historic 1760 Joseph Turner House near the park.
I like to interpret history chronologically, and the story of the iron works that once occupied the site is among the first development during the colonial occupation in 1742.
We had several things not go as planned form the start. The day before, while I was at work, I started getting a barrage of text messages asking questions like “how long is the hike?”.
Seasonal view
I then got a few messages reading “I’ll see you at Spruce Run at 8:30!”.
I made it clear in my posting that the hike was about 15.2 miles, and that the meeting point was my grandfather’s house, not Spruce Run. I started questioning some of this, and one sent me a screen shot of the state’s posting.
Someone had made a facebook event and posted it on the state’s web pages saying that the hike started at Spruce Run, and the mileage was not prominently featured. Also, I had no way of posting or moderating it.
Seasonal view of Spruce Run Reservoir from the Highlands Trail in Union Furnace Nature Preserve
I tried posting the correct meet point as a comment, but all comments have to be approved by a moderator. I was pretty angry by this point. Not only did I have to deal with questions that should never have been an issue, I had a problem that I could not correct.
Old mill race
I called my Superintendent to try to fix the issue. She had no clue that the event had been made or posted. It turns out it was a kid in Trenton that did it. Fortunately, she was able to put me in touch with him, and the event posting was corrected in the last minute.
I started the entire process frustrated that my own event was posted somewhere that I could not engage with participants, answer questions, or modify the text should there be any issues.
Highlands Trail on the old raceway
Every year I’m allowed use of a state van to alleviate the transportation, but this year I didn’t really want to drive to Spruce Run to pick up a van identical to my own, then have to drive back again. It made no sense and saved no gas really. So, I asked one of the VSA staff, Deidre, who was already signed up for the hike, if she would be interested in doing the hike on the clock. She was happy to pick up the van at Spruce Run for me, and help with the car shuttling, which helped a lot.
The next issue was higher sign ups than anticipated. Last year, I only had five show up because it was so cold. In fact, we were one of the few hikes that didn’t get canceled.
Reportedly the slave quarters ruins at Union Furnace area
With thirty seven sign ups on the Metrotrails meetup page alone, it was looking like a lot more cars than we’d easily be able to fit at my grandfather’s house.
Fortunately, it all worked out. In fact, it worked out so well that we probably could not have fit one more car in up there! We got everyone fit into the two driveways and drier parts of the yard, and were able to shuttle the remainder to the start point.
The next part that didn’t go as planned was the fact that my friend Bill Honachefsky was stuck working and couldn’t open the museum for us. I know he really wanted to be a part of it, but unfortunately work gets in the way of things sometimes.
It took a long time to get things moving along. I saw a lot of great friends I hadn’t seen in a while and caught up a bit. Lerch was finally home after a long stint in Kansas, but he had to go back already the next day. He gave me a great book on the Bel Del Railroad.
Along the reservoir
Dan Stone, who had moved to Washington State, and then to Virginia, occasionally makes his way back to the area, and he too showed up for this one. Amazingly, he had to visit family that night and then drive all the way back to Virginia as well.
We eventually got together and headed to Spruce Run Recreation Area. Since we couldn’t use the museum, I chose to go to the tower area since there was a restroom to get started. I called park police dispatch to keep the gates unlocked for when we came back later.
While everyone was getting their acts together, I went over some of the history of the area starting with the purchase of the land, known as “the Union”, by William Allen and Joseph Turner in 1742. I went over the progress of the iron industry and how major operations were moved to nearby High Bridge.
Spruce Run along 31
I then went on to describe the Water Bond Act of 1958 and the creation of the reservoirs afterward. I held back on talking about sewage treatment and water filtration on this one, just because people get a bit shocked by it and I needed to cut it a little bit short. It was long winded enough as it was.
The tower and club house buildings where we started were built by the CCC in the 1930s, and were associated with hound hunting. The tower was a judge’s tower, which makes it more strange that it was converted to a restroom.
The Spruce Run
We started by following the Highlands Trail route along the concrete path that connects the tower area, Picnic Area #1, and the beach complex. It’s a pretty nice walk. I paused along our route along the trail to explain that it is a 170 plus mile long trail connecting Riegelsville NJ with Storm King Mountain in NY.
Ruins along Spruce Run
We followed the trail route past the beach complex, then up into Picnic Area 2, followed by 3 and 4.
When we got to the winter boat storage area, we left the “official” trail route for a better route that avoided all of the pavement walking. We had cut a path out of the back of the cul de sac to the boat launch road years ago, but were not allowed to formalize that as the Highlands Trail even though it was a more sensible and safer route. Still, whenever I hike it, this is the way I go to avoid the route we’d see cars on.
Ruins along Spruce Run
We turned right on the Boat Launch Road for a bit, which actually follows some of the earlier route of Van Syckles Road from before the reservoir, across a bridge over a small tributary, then turned left into the grove of Eastern White Pines on foot path. We weaved through this section under some fallen Autumn Olive. These highly invasive species necessitated the reroute of the Highlands Trail through this area because it was becoming impossible to keep up with maintenance. It grows like crazy and closes in the trail often.
Collapsed autumn olives
We soon came out to the parking area off of Van Syckles Road. It was just off of this lot that the Union Furnace remnants are just under the water off shore, so I pointed out roughly where it was.
The parking area there is actually the original route of Van Syckles Corner Roard, predecessor to Van Syckles Road, which continued to a four way intersection with Cregar Road and the predecessor to Route 31 now under the waters of the reservoir. In previous years, we could walk that old road route with ease, but at this point the level of the reservoir is actually beyond capacity.
Spruce Run
We turned left on Van Syckles Road, then right on Serpentine Drive, which ascends for a bit. The Highlands Trail cuts to the right into Union Furnace Nature Preserve, a Hunterdon County Park, at the cul de sac at the top.
The section is really nice because it provides seasonal panoramic views of the reservoir and area hillsides. I particularly like the reservoir view on the way out, and then after another climb, the 180 degree vista of the valley through which the Spruce Run passes, and out toward the reservoir.
Ruins
The climb in Union Furnace was the hardest of the entire hike. Everyone was sweating and getting winded on that one. The temperature was unseasonably high, with highs in the upper forties. I made sure we took a break at the top of the slope.
Ruins
After a few moments, we started heading back down slope to the east. This took us out to an old mill race.
The raceway is apparently part of the earlier Union Furnace works. It travels out of the county land to the south and parallels the current route of Van Syckles Road, then turns out to it at the point we had reached before, where old Van Syckles Corner Road goes off into the reservoir. The raceway appears to have been repurposed in later years, probably for another mill, as there is concrete in the stream at the former dam site. I’m not sure what mill was in the area.
Old woods road
We continued along the racway for a while, and then I pointed out to the right where a chimney can be seen in the dense thickets. This was reportedly the slave quarters associated with the Union Ironworks. The site is pretty inaccessible now because of so much overgrowth.
We continued off of the raceway and then out to Van Syckles Road across from the large parking lot where we met up with Red Sean. We let everyone catch up with us here. I was impressed that even though I’d given Eric the opportunity to cut this section short with a road walk, he still managed the climb in pretty good time.
Old foot bridge over Spruce Run
With the group together at the lot, we turned out to cross the Spruce Run on Van Syckles Road. It was at this point that we left the route of the Highlands Trail. From here, we’d follow the route of the Spruce Run Turnpike a bit. We walked it through the Toyota dealership lot to the north, and then along the edge of Route 31. That route deviates from Rt 31 a bit, at the base of Buffalo Hollow Road, and then again a bit further up before Glen Garnder in the little section of Lebanon Township homes known as Irishtown.
A forgotten foot bridge remnant over Spruce Run
We continued on Rt 31 where the creek came very close to it, and skirted the edge of Christy’s, an abandoned bar building on the creek that’s been vacant for year.
Old fire place along Spruce Run
Christi’s, according to my co worker Darryl, was originally called the Stony Brook Pavilion. There was a restaurant in an old house that sat closer to Rt 31 that did a modest business, until they opened a large pavilion along the Spruce Run further in the back. Then, the pavilion did very well but the restaurant was floundering.
The restaurant burned down in a suspicious fire, and the pavilion’s walls were closed in to create the restaurant building that’s back there today, and business was better.
Old road across the creek
The place failed as Christi’s, and eventually closed. There were talks of some full nude strip club that was supposed to go in there, but that never came to be and I’ve not heard of anything else happening there.
We continued north on 31 just a bit longer, to where more state property appeared on the left. There is the ruin of an old stone building, which appears to be 1930s style work, on the far side of the creek. I’d long wanted to get over to that, but never got around to it. Usually it’s dark when I walk this stretch.
Looking down on 31 from an old woods road
I decided that this was the perfect time to finally get around to that. With the group clear on where they needed to go (basically stay on Rt 31 and make the right turn into Glen Gardner on the main street where it’s cut off from access to the highway, formerly the route of Spruce Run Turnpike), I waded across the fast running creek and made my way up to the building ruin. There was no roof, but it had four windows and a doorway. I’m really not sure what this was, but it’s interestingly placed over there with no reasonable access.
Spruce Run at Glen Gardner's park
I didn’t think anyone would be coming with me, but then Red Sean braved the waters and soon was climbing up toward me to the building. Everyone else was moving along pretty quickly, so we had to move a bit too because it’d be easy to fall behind.
1853 Jersey Central culvert in Glen Gardner on Hill Road
There was a vague on woods road that climbed up high above the building ruin. Just upstream from the building, the edge of the creek was far too steep to be able to navigate. We’d have to move along above that for a time. We turned off the road and continued.
Old 1870 Lowthorp pony truss bridge in High Bridge
The slope got to be really very bad. One fall and we’d tumbled down to the creek over fifty feet below. It was much steeper up there than what we see while driving along Rt 31.
High above the Spruce Run in Glen Gardner
We weaved along the slope as best we could, moving up and down a bit as we went. The toughest spot was making our way back down where the flood plain widened out again. There used to be a couple of houses along 31 in this area where the state bought more land. Only a shed remains there, but it was an interesting little spot I’d never paid close attention to.
The creek was lined with wooden and stone cribbing, and there used to be a foot bridge across in this section. The wires that held it, and one single plank from the bridge were still intact over the creek. There was also a chimney and grill in the level area it reached.
Historic image of the Glen Gardner CNJ train station
We walked along the edge and could still see some of the group in the distance. Tea Biscuit had stopped to let his dogs take a dip in this area while we were coming down.
CNJ logo at Bell's Crossing
Red Sean caught up with me after some difficulty on the slope, and we continued from the flood plain level to another old woods road that made it’s way gradually up hill again above the creek. The vague route seemed to disappear, but only because of years of rock slides, and then reappeared again. We got higher up, and then it started making it’s way back down toward a power line cut. The Spruce Run went beneath Route 31, and we could see the former turn off for the Main Street/Spruce Run Turnpike. We crossed the power line and descended.
Spruce Run pony truss on Bell Avenue
The road pretty much disappeared at the power line crossing, so we were headed down steeply on that to 31. We then dashed across to the old turnpike route and started following it into town. I could see the last stragglers from the group in the distance.
Bridge fun
Some of the group was waiting for us by the Glen Gardner town park along the edge of the Spruce Run, a really pretty little spot.
We moved on further into town from here. We met Celeste near her home at the park, and just a little further ahead, we met Don Mayberry and his daughter at the post office. We continued a little further up the main street from here, and I pointed out where my great grandfather’s barber shop used to be. He was the town barber for Hampton for many years, but in his last years in business he moved to Glen Gardner. Just a little beyond this, Matt met up with us with his new dog.
The group on the bridge
We were going to do a group shot on the steps of Humprhey’s Tavern, named for the original proprietor, but the shadowing from it was no good, so we decided to move on a bit.
Old lime kiln
We made our way further up the main street, and passed the old Lowthorp Pony Truss bridge over the Spruce Run, to the left of us on School Street. The lovely old bridge still retains it’s original historic look from it’s 1870 construction, complete with it’s ornate pedestrian mounted walkway on the up stream side.
We turned to the right up Bell Avenue, and soon reached Bell’s Crossing, the grade crossing with the former Central Railroad of New Jersey. I gave everyone a brief dissertation about the railroad before moving on. The CNJ logo with the Liberty silhouette that’s been there for years was still on a box.
Pony Truss on Bell Ave
From here, we descended a bit more and reached a standard pony truss bridge over the Spruce Run. I chose this as the appropriate place for our group photo, and of course Justin had to climb up to the top of the truss. Serious Sean climbed up the opposite side.
Red Mill Road
Unfortunately, this was the point where Lerch had to say goodbye. He still had to get back home and say goodbye to his family before disappearing to the sad flat lands of Kansas for the next month again.
We headed up hill for a bit, through a little bit of a new development. Bell Avenue became Forge Hill Road, and headed toward the village of Changewater. We continued a short distance and then turned right on Red Mill Road, which is high above the Spruce Run at that point along farm lands.
The old mill house before demolition, 12/2016
We continued through wooded lands and passed Spruce Run Road. Shortly after that, we came upon the former site of the mill and millers house that had been razed recently.
After demolition
The house was an historic one. The mill has already been gone for years, andsome of the foundation remained behind it with the spot where windows used to be obvious.
Miller's house before demolition, 12/2016
It was in pretty bad shape and had been abandoned for many years. I posted the photos I took of it on the Metrotrails page after the last hike we went by on.
After demolition
I was happy to see that members of the family who had owned it and had lived there were engaging on the post, and happy that it was seen there. They weren’t happy that it was being ripped down, but took some comfort in knowing the land was preserved.
Old mill wheels
It was kind of disappointing to see that the old mill ruin had been brought to the ground. It wasn’t a very high and unstable thing. One would think it could have stayed there, especially when we have something as badly deteriorated as the Swackhammer Church ruin in the same township still standing.
Additionally, the old mill wheels were just strewn about close to where the house used to stand, growing over with stilt grass or something. Hopefully they find their way to some sort of preservation spot.
Old barn ruin
We took a break at this point because so many in the group had fallen behind. While waiting, Deidre found a really nice example of Burning Bush, which has wings on the stems.
Ruins at the mill site
I forget what the latin name is for that invasive, but she knew it, which is always impressive to me.
We discussed how she likes to bring up “pop quizzes” to people when doing environmental programs. I’m more into “ambush education” that people weren’t expecting to get (a term I coined when putting in interpretive signs for which I wrote the text). My feeling is that people don’t really care about history or ecology until they have a common frame of reference for it. It’s a struggle to figure out how it fits into people’s lives always.
Ruins at the mill
Below the old mill site, there was a foot bridge over a waterway I’d not notice before because the foundations always blocked it. It didn’t appear to be a raceway for the mill, because that was higher up slope from this point. The mill must have had an overshot water wheel or a turbine style.
When everyone had caught up, we crossed this little bridge and walked to the edge of the Spruce Run. Someone had been cutting trail out toward it, but never continued through very far, because soon we were bushwhacking a bit.
Old bridge
We turned to the left and passed a little fire pit grill type of thing, and then I headed over to the slope toward the mill race. From afar, it looks like this is just the road above us, but that goes much higher up at this point. I had to step over a bit of wetland, and with some difficulty climb up to the old mill race. Some sections of it still had water running through it, coming in from springs and such. Some of the mill race had been cleared off to be used as a trail, but other sections had nothing. It was really slow going to get through this area.
At the old mill ruin
I got to the front of the group and was soon moving ahead much more quickly because I didn’t mind getting into the water. We remained on the mill race until it came back close to the creek, and we found where the old dam used to be that spanned it.
Old stone fire place site
Some of the stone cribbing was still visible, but it was easy to miss if we didn’t know what we were looking for.
The trail was somewhat cut from this point back up to Red Mill Road. We were able to head out to it at the corner of a private driveway just a bit east of the intersection with Mt. Airy Road.
Major Tom took a shortcut and followed the road through this section, so he avoided the weeds and such.
The old mill race
We turned right to follow Red Mill Road along the creek a bit further, and soon it crossed over to the other side next to an historic home that might have been another mill at one time.
The Spruce Run
We continued as the creek came closer to the road in a beautiful, narrow back road section that I’ve always loved. I learned to drive on these Lebanon Township back roads, which I think is about the best way to learn to stay on your own side, but not go off the road.
Across the creek was the Hendra Property, which is supposed to be open space, but has always had tons of no trespassing signs all over it. I’ve never gone into it, but have always wanted to.
Mill race
It would probably be a nice walk, because the slopes along the creek aren’t that steep. The mill race we had followed was totally in a deep cut gorge area, built right into the side.
Mill race
Celeste was asking me if she could go in there, and I really don’t know what the disposition of the property is. There is a rather new sign on it that read “trail access”, so there’s that....
Mill race
We walked on, and then passed the site of a former bridge that went from Red Mill Road to the Hendra property. I’m pretty certain this was the old route of Mt. Airy Road, where it would have come down direct from a ninety degree bend to cross the Spruce Run.
Purge in the mill race
We continued on along Red Mill Road to the intersection with Newport Road, where we would be turning. I waited to regroup here because everyone needed to see the turn.
Old mill race
When together, we crossed the Spruce Run on a cute little bridge, and then reached the home of my Uncle Ken Hoy and Aunt Pamela J. Helbing Hoy.
I had let her know we were going to be walking by, to see if she wanted to say “hi”, but she was stuck babysitting in Clinton I think it was.
I wasn’t expecting anything at all, but they went out of their way to make us welcome with all sorts of stuff: crackers, cheese, wine, hershey kisses, and all sorts of other little snacks!
The group at Aunt Pam and Uncle Ken's!
They had a sign outside that said “Happy New Year 2019 Metrotrails” which was great!
A King's welcome!
I texted my co worker Darryl Schmidt, to come and join us at this point, because he’d never seen the next section I had planned at Miquin Woods, so he showed up there.
Don's Ass Saver
Don pulled out a funny thing that looked like a shoe horn while there, that read “ASS SAVER” on it. Apparently this is used by cyclists for something...
We had passed a large group of cyclists just a bit earlier, to whom I shouted out that they were our two wheeled equivalent. Actually I don’t think that exists.
When we were ready to go, I was going to follow the old camp road, which my uncle owns out to the bridge over the Spruce Run, at the ruins of the Newport Mill. The land owner next door can be a total ass, and even though my uncle owns to the center of the bridge, he wants no one back there.
Mill race
A few years ago, he threatened to sue Metrotrails for photos posted of the old mill, even though they were taken as I understand before he even owned the property. He called me up livid and being really ridiculous. I told him to calm down and that we’d take care of it, even though we really should have had no legal obligation to remove the photos.
We removed the things anyway, and he’s got a reputation for causing trouble for people.
Mill race
Still, there are plenty of other places on the personal pages where they exist.
Because of that incident years ago, I’ve avoided going near the place, but moving through quickly, especially when the chances of seeing us are little to none, I figured would be fine.
We walked up and turned to the right to head down the road. There’s a very old house on the left, possibly a miller’s house, before the old stone mill ruin.
Along Red Mill Road
Just as we were heading down, I saw a figure walking down the road and then off to the left to the vacant house. I figured it was the land owner, so we turned around and walked back out to Newport Road to follow it to the regular entrance to Miquin Woods.
I found out later, that person we saw was just Serious Sean, who had gone back to use separate, and was on his way back out. I didn’t get a message from him soon enough to know.
Old dam ruin
We headed up Newport Road and reached the front of Miquin Woods, where a gravel road leads in to a fork. A left fork leads to where there is parking, and the right leads in to the former camp property a bit further. Originally, the road at my Uncle Ken’s house would have continued through to the camp. When I was little, we used to ride quads back into the property, because it was already abandoned by that time. It was like our own private ATV park. The woods road was clear back at that time, but now tons of trees are over it.
Spruce Run
The area was originally farm lands, but then was purchased for scout camp use. I’ll share here Maria Naccarato’s dissertation on the scout camp site:
Hunterdon Parks historic image of Camp Watchung
In 1928, the Boy Scouts of America purchased 287 acres of land from the estate of Edward Pierson for the establishment of the summer headquarters of the Watchung Area Council.
Mill race walking
In 1939, Miquin Lodge #68, the Order of the Arrow, was chartered. The word Miquin is Lenape for feather.
The oldest structure on the property, a stone farmhouse, served as the main office for the camp through its duration. The scouts were introduced to fishing, boating, handicrafts, target shooting, nature ecology, conservation projects and all facets of sportsmanship. About 1,300 Boy Scouts from the Watchung Area Council attended the camp each year.
Welcoming!
A 362' long man-made pond served as the camp's first swimming area and was fed by the Spruce Run Creek. In 1971, a concrete swimming pool was constructed in the upper part of the camp and the pond was extended in the shape of an arrowhead for boating and canoeing.
Another aspect of the camp was restricted to older and more experienced Boy Scouts. The tribal village taught Scouts the customs of Native American heritage.
Along Newport Rd
The village was made up of lavishly decorated teepees where the scouts stayed. Activities included making bows and arrows, holding powwows and creating Native American costumes. The costumes were worn every Saturday night when tribal ceremonies were performed. Attended by parents and the public, these functions consisted of lighting the council fire, smoking the peace pipe, and giving Native American dance exhibitions. Following the ceremonies, camp honors were awarded.
Spruce Run at Miquin WOods
The camp expanded its facilities over the years to include fifteen campsites, three lean-to villages, a waterfront area for teaching canoeing skills, pavilions for teaching outdoor skills, an archery range, a rifle range, shower and restroom facilities, staff housing and numerous storage buildings. After the merger of several Boy Scout councils, Camp Watchung closed in 1986 and went into private ownership until its acquisition as open space by the County of Hunterdon in 2003.
On the camp road
Today, Miquin Woods is open to hiking, biking, hunting, fishing and nature study. The Spruce Run and the pond are home to beavers, amphibians and reptiles as well as largemouth bass and sunfish. Two large meadows exist within the park along with the forest where several species of birds can be spotted.
For several years after the closure of the scout camp, the property was known as September Farms. That’s when I started working for Hunterdon County Parks Department.
Feathers at Miquin Woods
The park had been acquired by the county for years before it finally opened. I was hired the end of 2007, and the park still had a sign on it that said “opening soon”.
The old house
The name “Camp Watchung” was not going to do for the name for the park, and “September Farms” wasn’t really anything fitting either.
The name Watchung comes from the native American term, which was adopted by the boy scout council that opened the camp. They were from the area of Watchung NJ, in the Watchung Mountains, which is in the Piedmont geological province. We could not name a park “Watchung” so far displaced from the location and cause more confusion.
Big spring at Miquin Woods
John Trontis, the Director at the time, came up with an idea that would be both an homage to the former camp, as well as an educational tool.
He named the park “Miquin Woods”. The word is the Lenape word for “feather”, and he named it this because the scout lodge building on the property was called the Miquin Lodge.
John had said it was an embarrassment to have the park there for so long without it opening.
It had been there for years, with no opening. He said one day at a trails meeting “I want it open. No fanfare. Just one day, the sign “opening soon” would disappear. And it did.
There were issues with it from the start. For one, they put in a trail system but blazed every single trail yellow. They also nailed all four corners of each blaze completely in.
Along the Spruce Run
As someone who takes great pride in the work I do, especially making sure trails can be followed, I found the place to be an embarrassment from the start. They were insisting to me that I was wrong about what colors the trails were marked, and I would keep saying “no...they’re all yellow”. Finally, one day the head ranger, Craig Evans, said at a meeting that I was right. They were all yellow. And then something was done about it.
Spruce Run
There were several more structures that were demolished back there, but some of the lean tos, a nature center, and the old farm house still remain. The farm house is in bad shape and has a crack down the side, so it may collapse some time soon. I wish someone would do something to save it.
We turned right at the entrance and headed down slope on a gated road to cross the Spruce Run, then left when we got to the public portion of the old camp road we would have folowed from my Uncle Ken’s.
Board walk
We passed by a stump that had lots of feathers sticking out of it, which seemed appropriate for the name of the place, near the intersection with the yellow trail (the one that was left that way).
The maintenance was atrocious. We could barely even see where that trail turned.
When we were working on the trails, there was a footbridge over the creek. It was in bad shape, but salvageable. We wanted to connect the bisected park with that, but then there was always some red tape and they wouldn’t let it happen. The years went by, and the beavers incorporated the bridge into their dam, and it’s now totally destroyed. The pond is now overflowing and will probably break one of these days. The camp facility is lost.
Boardwalk trail
We walked out the main road, which at one time would have gone all the way through to Woodglen Road. I’m not sure where exactly it turned off, but e followed the entire thing that could be followed. When it started to peter out, we continued off trail on a trail route we had flagged out when I worked there, but was never connected. Lebanon Township started working on a trail in their preserve off of Woodglen Road, by creating a boardwalk through the very wet areas there. That only went to a certain point and ended too.
Spruce Run from Woodglen Road
This was by far the crappiest section of the hike. We had to cross a tributary to the Spruce Run in a wooded area that wasn’t quite easy. We then had to find our way to an old gas line the trail is to be routed over.
The weeds and muddy woods from all of the excess rains were too much, and so we had to walk on top of an old stone row. I missed the turn off by a couple hundred feet and had to turn back, which was aggravating people. Still, we pushed on and got onto the pipeline route. It was horribly wet there.
Along Anthony Road
It was still a mess for quite a while, and I went through woods parallel with the pipeline clearing looking for the board walk. It seemed like forever, but I found it. Darryl was none too happy about the maintenance of the property and made sure to berate me through the whole thing.
After the nice boardwalk section, it got muddy again out to the small parking area. The trail wasn’t marked at all, which was part of the problem, because no one would ever find their way to the boardwalk as it was. I might have to help them open that up. It really wouldn’t be that hard to do with some scrap lumber.
Swackhammer Church
They actually took it way farther than they needed to when it comes to how they built that trail. They could have done the same job with less than a quarter the amount of wood and much more simply. I think we could open up the entire section to the confluences of the two Spruce Run branches in a single day if we had enough wood and nails.
Once we reached Woodglen Road, Darryl got his son to come and pick him up.
Swackhammer Church ruins
Darryl calmed down about it later, but both of us agree about what a shit show the park out there has become. I was laid off by Hunterdon Parks in 2011, and others followed me. Fortunately, I was able to get the job with the state following John Trontis when he got the Director position.
Since that time, the guys remaining have had a really hard time keeping up with the maintenance, and many of the park trails have since been abandoned. Others are completely grown in even though they’re technically not abandoned.
Swackhammer Cemetery
We followed Woodglen Road to the left and crossed over the Spruce Run for the last time. We didn’t follow it any further than here. The creek actually begins in Crystal Springs preserve (where I also put in some of the trails).
It’s interesting to think that my first paid job on a trail project I ever did was along the Spruce Run, and now I’m working at the reservoir that it directly feeds. We didn’t go that far this time because it would be a bit too far, and I wanted to have the convenient ending at my grandfather’s place.
Swackhammer Church in 2002
We turned left on Anthony Road and followed it out toward the Changewater Mountain area. On the way is the ruins of the historic Swackhammer Church.
Swackhammer Church ruins today
I’d been visiting this site too since I was very little. My grandfather took me in to see the cemetery back then, and walk around in the ruins.
Swackhammer Church
Whenever there was a dead animal would turn up somewhere around his house, we would take it to the old cemetery.
Several years ago, Matt started talking with a group of people who wanted to get the old church cleaned up, and clear off the cemetery. Many involved were the descendants of those interred.
I reached out to my old coworkers at Taylor Rental to see if they would rent a chipper to us to get the work done. Gary, the owner, was fast to allow this to happen, and it helped immensely to clear everything.
Matt/SGF Studios made this thank you to Taylor Rental
It was a great project and looks amazing now. The site sat neglected for probably half a century until everyone came together to clean it up.
Sunset over Anthony Road
We continued on from the old church towad my grandfather’s house by following Anthony Road to where it becomes Hollow Road, then turned right on Mountaintop Road.
The sun was going down as we approached his place, and finished without any time to spare before it was completely dark.
Some of the group headed out to go home, and others stayed and had pizza with us. Janet went to get her car, and she was good enough to pick up the pizza for us at Dimola’s who were open with just enough time for us to get our food.
It was another really great end to the day, and a great way to start off the new year with such great people.
Two people share your experiences everyday. Both of them are you. And both should be doing things the other would be impressed by. So you should ask:
Do your plans have value and merit?
Have you done things to be proud of?
We can all be better, but we mustn't fool ourselves. Sharing such a great experience and beginning the obligatory counting and measuring of time we all must adhere to is in my own opinion the best way we can start off. Even for those of us who do just see it as inconsequential numbers, we can still make it a reason to share in fun together. Most any reason is a good reason.
HAM
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