Hike #1553; 5/28/23 Pennington/Mt Rose/Rosedale with Professor John DiFiore, Robin Deitz, Violet Chen, Andy Cosma, David Adams, Kat Cataldo, Kevin Kowalic, Jesse ?, Christian Bykovets, Evan "Joe Millionaire" Van Rossum, Kirk Rohn, Justin Gurbisz, Heshy, Stephen Argentina, Craig Craig Fredon, Susie Duncan, Carolyn Gockel Gordon, and Serious Sean Dougherty (I hope I got these right, based on meetup)
This next one was originally planned to be a route that would take us where I had planned the last Pennington area hike, which would be stroller friendly the entire time and a pretty easy loop.
Sadly, Jillane decided she was going to make off with Ev for the day and didn't tell me until the night before, so I did some last minute looking over the route and came up with something that'd be a bit more adventurous instead of the original planned route.
Some of the route and some of the places that I had originally planned to incorporate would still be part of it, but I would also add some foot path stuff that was originally not part of my plan.
I get really upset when Ev isn't going to be with me at the start. I'm so used to having him in the car, that if I don't hear him cooing in the back seat, I start to panic, even when he's not in the car with me.
When I arrived at Pennington Market, our meeting spot, I had to try to focus on the good as best I could as not to get too depressed from not having my son with me.
I put the finishing touches on the new planned route right about there, and decided that rather than a full on loop, we would shuttle just a short distance to the north, to the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association headquarters to start our hike there. There are foot path sections in there, and always something a little different, so I figured that would be a good spot to start.
Some of the hike would end up including the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, the multi use trail that goes around 25 miles between those two municipalities, skirting Princeton to the east and Pennington to the west. There are just a lot of connectors in there that I've never tried to use.
We started our walk toward the Watershed Institute building itself, and right behind it was an impressive, long section of boardwalk trail out over some of the seasonally wet fields.
The first time I did any hiking out on this section, which must have been 2006 or 7, there was none of that. It has really come quite a long way.
The section of boardwalk was really quite impressive for how much of it was installed. We followed it through woods, and then along field edges. It dipped down as a mowed path when it got to dry areas, and then more of it started up again. The multi flora rose through here was in bloom and looking quite pretty despite being an invasive species.
We reached an old farmstead and a pond area I'd been to many times, but the pond was now much empty, with a viewing area along it. We stopped to have a look, and it was quite different than any of the previous times I'd seen it.
Someone wrote "help" on the door of the old barn near the pond.
From there, we got on the trail to the north, which parallels the Honey Branch, the stream that feeds into the pond. This section of trail has really improved from the wet mess it used to be, as there are now sections of puncheons all along the entire route of it. It was dry on this visit however.
We meandered through the woods for a while longer, which was pleasant except for the fact that so many of the Ash trees have been killed by the Emerald Ash Borer. This area, which I remembered being reasonably shaded, was now rather open, and the dead sticks of ash trees were all through the woods around us.
We continued on this trail almost out to Moores Mill-Mt Rose Road. There, we turned to the right to an access point, and then turned right onto the road to head to the east. This would get us back to the formal route of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail.
The trail joined our trajectory on a road from the right, and eventually, it is supposed to go to the left into I think the Honey Branch Farm, but as of right now, it is built out to a property line and dead ends.
We had to continue out to Pennington-Rocky Hill Road and turn left. Up this road, we could see the trail emerge from the fields to the left, but it doesn't go through to anything. It is just a paved trail cul de sac to nothing and has been for years now.
Still, from here we were able to get on the formal trail route to the north.
We moved on closer to the little settlement of Mt Rose itself, but then the trail cut into the woods to the right before reaching that point. This section is finally on google maps and on the official trail website, but it wasn't there for a good while. I first hiked it on night hikes while I was stationed at Washington Crossing State Park. It was a pretty nice section that I didn't do in daylight for a few years.
The last time I'd been up there, I discovered that there was another side trail from the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail that led into the Mt Rose Preserve.
This was a nice wooded area, and I figured it might or might not be good for a stroller, but this was definitely the day to explore it, so I added it to the plan.
This preserve was part of the land holdings of the nation's first corporate campus, opened in 1958 on the east side of Carter Road. It served as a major research and educational facility for Western Electric, which became AT&T. The corporate educational facility, which was built in 1969 on the west side of Carter Road, where much of the preserve is, was torn down in 2016.
Among the electrical advances and development methods that were tested on the site were the first industrial use of lasers.
After the facility closed, a developer got the property, and it was proposed that an 800,000 acre commercial complex be built on it. Citizens rallied against it, as did NJ Conservation Foundation and others, and it went all the way to NJ Supreme Court. The developer agreed to sell the site as open space, and it was preserved in 2015.
The site really was not amenable to such a huge development taking place on land that wasn't already built on, because there are three different major tributaries to the Honey Brook passing right through the property. It would have been a major headwaters issue.
We turned right on the side trail, which weaved us through some pleasant woods for a bit. Then, we emerged into the giant paved parking area that would have served the facility before it was torn down.
I wasn't quite sure where to go next, so I consulted the maps. The Forest Trail appeared to break off of the Meadow Trail, or rather the old access road, just to the west of where we were standing.
We made our way along, and then found our way into the woods on this trail. It was apparently a lollipop loop, so I chose to take the trail to the right into the preserve.
The map shows that there is only the one lollipop loop, but I think we found other trails in there that I wasn't expecting to see as well.
I figured this was just going to be a very short loop, but reading into it now, I realize that the Forest Trail is a whopping two miles! That and some of the stuff we did in the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed preserve was what put us higher.
It seemed like we were walking in these woods forever. It was pleasant, but it just went on and on when I knew we had to get moving.
I recall there as a side trail not shown on the maps, which led out to another access point that I think would have been off of Bayberry Road.
Somehow, we may have done a loop within the posted loop on the maps, and ended up backtracking a bit on what we had already done. I am still uncertain about what happened based on what was on the maps, but we definitely got into something confusing out there.
We eventually made our way back to where we first entered the woods, and then headed back out into the former parking areas. Heading out, I brough everyone down to the right instead of back up to the left first, to see what the meadow area trail was about.
I couldn't really see any kind of trail blazes that way, sow we just made our way back out to that main road, and then toward Carter Road.
Lance Beden showed up to pick up Susie on the road, so he paused and got in the group shot with us and we chatted for a few moments.
After we got our group shot, the rest of us continued to the east across Carter Road. Directly across was the former AT&T facility discussed earlier, and I'm not sure if it is still active.
There is some confusing stuff based on the maps of the preserve as I see it; the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail is shown going through but "unimproved", but I saw nothing in the past we could get through where it actually crosses the road. The paved pathway goes into the front of the complex and then terminates at the turn around in the front lot of the building.
I just had everyone follow me across and through the parking lot of this facility, and then onto a paved path into the woods on the other side. That's been there for a long while, and led us out directly behind the next building, which also looked pretty vacant. It was a Sunday though.
We turned left along the back lawn around the building, and then saw a path going in to a power line clearing to the left. I suppose this is the future trail, and the maps seem to agree with that, but where it will make the physical connection to existing trail on Carter Road, I do not know.
I recall there were wrecked old ball fields along the left side of this complex. We walked to the south when we got to near the tree line, to head out to Cleveland Road just to the south. Probably the toughest part of the hike was fighting through these weeds at the end of that property to come out to Cleveland Road.
We all made it through, and turned left on the road, which is the route of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail.
I seem to recall the road and the next farm ahead on the left had something to do with former US President Grover Cleveland, but I can't remember exactly what the relation was.
There was a mowed trail just inside the woods to the right side of the road, and some of the group went over onto it, but I stayed out on the main road to the east, which eventually took us to the Province Line Road.
Province Line Road is so named for the Province Line, also known as the Keith Line, which delineated the boundaries between the separate colonies of East New Jersey and West New Jersey in 1686.
To the right, where the trail goes, the road is only lightly traveled to the few residences below. It is then closed off when we approach the Province Line Bridge over the Stony Brook near the ETS (Educational Testing Service) property.
The rare example of a triple pony truss bridge was constructed in 1903 by the Berlin Construction Company of Berlin Connecticut. The first time I ever walked across it in 2009, it was in really rough shape, but it has since been rehabilitated and looks quite great.
We took a nice long break here, and I took a dip in the Stony Brook on the downstream side of the bridge.
This was a great spot for a little break. Eventually, we were heading back uphill from here, and Carolyn met us on Province Line Road, just uphill from where we crossed the bridge, at pull off parking.
From here, we went up the road only to the start of the Laurie Chauncey Trail, and began following that upstream along the Stony Brook.
This property was purchased in 1955 when Henry Chauncey, CEO of the Educational Testing Service, convinced his board to purchase the 340 acre property off of Rosedale Road.
Public was encouraged to use the preserved land around ETS from the start. The trail was named for Henry's second wife, Laurie,who died prematurely in 1975.
We continued along the trail with lovely views of the brook, and I stopped a couple of times to take a dip. It's just such a beautiful area.
We continued on the footpath along the brook, and eventually it went up some steps to cross ETS Drive. From there, it is mostly a mowed path through woods parallel with their parking lots.
The trail meandered through a bit, and eventually we had to come out toward the parking areas along Assessment Road. We only had a very short distance to walk from here to reach the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail again.
The trail took us through a swath of woods out to Rosedale Road, and then goes straight across onto Mya Drive.
At the next intersection, the trail turns right on Benedek Road, weaves around to the left, then left again and changes its name to Belleview Terrace.
In this stretch, we crossed the right of way of the historic Johnson Trolley line, though through the development it is quite obscure.
Lawrence-Hopewell Trail turned right from the road into Carson Road Woods just ahead. This preserve was eyed to become a development since the 1980s, but also involved a fight that eventually led to its preservation in 2001.
We followed the trail south, then it cut ninety degrees to the east, but we turned to the right, away from the LHT, then left to the south, and out to Carson Road.
We had to walk Carson Road just a little bit to the west, and around this time Kat and Kevin decided they were going to Uber out and the rest of us continued.
Carson Road took us out to the intersection with Carter Road. We went almost directly across onto an unpaved access road, which led out to a parking area and the access to Shipetauken Woods.
Along the edge of the parking area was once again the right of way of the old Johnson Trolley Line, which is now a power line through this area. Except for the access to Shipetauken Woods, none of it in this area is preserved.
We headed into the woods, following the red trail, which was not all that well marked because the metal blazes were getting consumed by the trees completely.
I felt that I was going the correct way and following blazes, but we didn't seem to be getting where we needed to get. I ended up along the edge of a giant deer exclosure fence.
There didn't seem to be a good way out of Shipetauken Woods. My plan was to go out via Terhune Orchards, which is allowed from 9 am to 6 pm daily.
I had hiked through this only once before on a trip back in the earlier 2000s, but I can't for the life of me remember how exactly we got out of there.
We made our way through an area that had some washouts, and the group ended up getting split up somehow. I made my way to a giant fence enclosure around the outside of the orchard property, which looked like it blocked off everything I once walked through.
A few others and I turned left and followed the edge of the inside of the fence, which went hard ninety degrees left, and then we cut into more woods.
We ended up making our way out at a gate a bit further to the west. I think maybe I was supposed to make my way out another way further to the east based on the maps, but now I don't recall.
Eventually, we did end up in the orchard property, and followed a service land through the fields to the north. I don't know that we were following the correct way out of there.
Either way, we reached the area where we could see the buildings, and turned to the right to reach the orchard business area.
There was a big event going on, so our timing going to this place was just great. I wasn't expecting it to be as good a stop as it was, but I found it the place was also now a winery!
I picked up a bottle of Campfire Red from them to consume for the rest of the trip, and probably something else as well, but I don't remember exactly. Little Ev wasn't with me this time, so I figured I'd just be more irresponsible.
They were serving food at the place as well, and I don't remember at all what I ate, but I know it was great.
By the time we got going from here, I was feeling pretty overly happy. We made our way out past the wine area, and then out to Cold Soil Road where we turned left.
There was a trail to the right of this road, which in the past we used to use to get into Rosedale Park, but when we went by it, it was now closed. Apparently the trail is totally closed now, so we had to continue further on Cold Soil Road.
Serious Sean met up with us somewhere in this vicinity, I think in Rosedale Park, but I don't remember the exact moment where he cut in.
We reached Blackwell Road and got on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail briefly, toward the Mercer County Park headquarters, in the historic Hunt House.
This stately farm house was originally built in 1762, and had additions in the 1790s and 1850. We didn't approach the building, but rather turned to the left on a grassy trail that goes along a utility clearing to the left, west.
Once up a slight hill, we made the first right turn into the woods on another trail that makes its way to the north, and then made a left turn in these woods on another natural surface trail that led to a crushed stone trail.
This crushed stone trail was the former route of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, before it was rerouted past the Mercer Park Headquarters I believe.
We turned left, north, on that trail, which soon reached the current Lawrence-Hopewell Trail. We turned left on this, which descended down over a little footbridge, and then across the dam of Rosedale Lake.
The lake was looking really beautiful at this time of day. The LHT turns to the right in this park area and crosses a long bridge over the Stony Brook, but my plan had been to cut to the left on the old trail route and head into the Mercer County Equestrian Center and Curlis Lake Woods to the southwest.
This was probably a bit of a problem because it ended up adding extra miles onto the hike, but I was pretty inebriated from the wine I'd picked up.
We headed out along and then across the access road to the park, past the dog park, and crossed Federal City Road to enter fields on the trail on the other side.
Somehow, I ended up losing the crushed stone trail into the area, and then ended up in a large meadow on a barely used trail heading south. I think I lost a whole lot of the group in this area, as they headed more direct ways back to the cars in Pennington.
There were still a few of us passing through, and we followed this grassy section until it took us directly into the thicker Curlis Lake Woods, which had some lovely big beech trees in it.
Once we were in the woods, we gradually made our way to the west to the southern end of the lake, and then along the trail that paralleled the brook that fed it.
We continued until the first trail turned right to cross over the brook, and then continued along the main trail to the west, which eventually leads out of the park onto Pennington Road.
We turned right on the road, and in a couple of blocks passed by the former Hopewell Central High School, built about 1929. It was replaced in 1959 with a newer structure, and I'm not sure if this became a middle school or what, but it's definitely still used.
We headed north a bit more and then made a left turn onto I think Curlis Ave to Burd Street and continued to the north.
I'm pretty sure we turned to the left and walked through the campus of the Pennington School out to Delaware Avenue, but I'm not exactly sure what route we took at that point.
We turned left on Delaware Avenue, and on the other side was the Pennington Market and the end of our hike.
The day I think came up to over twenty miles, which was not at all what I'd intended, in fact I was planning on making it a little shorter by starting at the watershed institute place, but it didn't work out that way.
We did a bunch of extra stuff that ended up being really fun and good for me, but I was afraid I might have turned off a couple of the newcomers with this one. I suppose we'll see if they come back out for some more of them. I actually think it was great!
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