Took a ride out to Deep Run on Saturday for a quick hike with family. My wife, my son MIke, his wife Alex and her father made the trip along with two of my grandsons, 3 year-old Sage and his 6 month-old baby brother Ford were on the outing. Sage is a veteran hiker and has hiked since he could walk. Last week he helped his Dad build a duck blind off of Mantua Creek! Lastly, we brought my sister's 10 year-old Springer, Paisley. We have adopted Paisley and another one of her dogs because my sister is now in a long term care facility with dementia. Paisley is 10 and absolutely loves the woods.
In all of the years I have traveled Hampton Gate Road, going back to the 1970’s on my motorcycle, I have never seen Deep Run run dry. It was an amazing sight to see the first bog as dry as a bone, revealing a square-bottomed channel that was shored with wood and staked with cedar posts. The bog further north was holding water because of active beavers who might soon be running out of water too. Sadly, there are fish trapped in the last strip of muddy water up against the road and elsewhere. I found two dead Banded Sunfish laying in the mud that look liked they died that day. They are an endangered species in NJ.
We ended the short hike on the tailgate and had a surprise visit from Smoke Jumper and his family who were cruising in his Jeep.
A beautiful and interesting day in the Big Woods.
In all of the years I have traveled Hampton Gate Road, going back to the 1970’s on my motorcycle, I have never seen Deep Run run dry. It was an amazing sight to see the first bog as dry as a bone, revealing a square-bottomed channel that was shored with wood and staked with cedar posts. The bog further north was holding water because of active beavers who might soon be running out of water too. Sadly, there are fish trapped in the last strip of muddy water up against the road and elsewhere. I found two dead Banded Sunfish laying in the mud that look liked they died that day. They are an endangered species in NJ.
We ended the short hike on the tailgate and had a surprise visit from Smoke Jumper and his family who were cruising in his Jeep.
Last edited:
