Atsion Baby Bog

[Ben Ruset]

I've been skimming through "Iron in the Pines", and the Quaker Bridge chapter mentions a bog I have never seen:

"After a little turn past a cedar thicket, not quite two miles beyond Atsion, a bit of civilization punctuates the wilderness. It is a cranberry bog, not a large one as bogs go, but well fed by a briskly flowing stream, which is noted on most maps but not named on any seen by the author thus far. There is a small dam, water spilling from it under the narrow bridge which carries the road. Flowing on through tangled cedars, this little brook soon joins the Atsayunk -- now officially called the Mullica River -- which is not far to the right at this point."

It seems like this may be the bog that Pierce is talking about. I figured I would explore the area, and maybe see if I can bushwack to another possible bog a bit to the north here. A little bit to the west there is a clearing with some buildings. Might be worth investigating as well.

If any of that is a wash, I'd also like to try to visit Locke's Bridge.

I know it's last minute, but I'm thinking about heading out tomorrow, Sunday Nov 4th. Anybody up for a small trip? I'd like to meet up at the Ranger Station at around 10AM or so.

 

[Teegate]

Ben,

That is the location that he mentions. That flow of water is called the Mine Brook.

Look that bridge over closely while there since it is a stone bridge. I believe there have been alterations to it in more recent times.

Less than 2000 feet away just off the side of that road is one of the Fruitland boundary stones.

Sorry I can't make it. I was out most of yesterday and all morning today.


Guy

 

[Ben Ruset]

So I went out to explore these bogs. The bog right off of Quaker Bridge Rd. is one of the smallest I have ever seen. Pierce's description of it was pretty accurate.

Here's the dam:

that creates this bog:

So, I'm not quite sure but it seems that the stone bridge was replaced or reinforced by concrete at one time. The bridge that goes over the road is wood, but so much sand covers it that it's pretty hard to even tell that you're crossing a bridge.

It looks like the concrete was pored around the old stones, and that most of them are gone. You can still see a few here and there.

From here I donned my waders and wandered around the edge of the bog. It's pretty deep. Here's a view from the back end of the bog:

Around the back of the bog, a stream - the Mine Brook - flows to another bog. I figured the best way of finding that second bog would be to follow the stream.

Unfortunately, it got harder and harder to follow the stream. The stream itself was very deep for such a narrow stream - it had to have been dug out at one point in time. The water was about waist level. The briers on either side were pretty vicious, although here and there the traces of hunters could be seen.

Following the stream became impossible, and there was no easy way through the woods. I pushed as hard as I could through the woods, and finally ended up at a clearing that I labeled as "Salvation Clearing" in my GPS. (39.734657, 74.701549)

I'm still trying to remember how to use my GPS since it was gone from me for so long. Had I known how to turn on the topo map, I would have seen how close I was to the 2nd bog. However, I turned towards a nearby road that brought me back to Quaker Bridge Rd. While I was hiking back, a Jeep pulled up next to me and warned me that they had seen a "100 pound coyote" cross the road. I figured that it would be a good time to get back.

I reclaimed my Jeep and then brought it back up the road I had just come, which leads to that strange clearing. The clearing is a gun club/range owned by Sewell. They have several warning signs up at the entrance to their property, which I heeded.

I then took a ride down to Locke's Bridge. I've never been there before. It's a great trip through the burned area, although the sugar sand was fairly treacherous.

So, it looks like this is a state built bridge. Anybody know why it collapsed?

 

[Teegate]

It was shaking bad when I was there with Steve a few years back, and the last visit it had collapsed or was helped. So it was fairly recent this occured.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

Nice report and photos Ben. I was surprised about that gun club. I never knew a big clearing is there. That is what I love about maps and ariel(sp?) photos. You can spend hours looking at them and still miss things.

 

[Ben Ruset]

I googled for more info on the club, and got my own site.

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/showthread.php?p=38194

 

[RednekF350]

We came through there last night just before dark and there were two vehicles parked at that bog on the edge of Quaker Bridge Road.
You must have piqued someone's interset Ben.
A ranger passed us there and there were three people hiking east through the woods along the Mullica side of the road. They looked a little confused, possibly geocachers.
In fact, after checking, the area you were in has several caches including at the second bog you were headed for.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/gmne...19121429075&lng=-74.70342636108398&zm=14&mt=h
That spot holds a slightly bad memory for me .
Circa 1977, I came flying around the bend on my DT-400 Yamaha and squarely hit the edge of the bridge decking timbers in the middle of the road. They were exposed by erosion and stood about 9" out of the road bed.
I looked like I got shot out of a cannon as I flew through the air and landed in the road on the other side of the bridge decking. The bike landed near me.
I was very lucky and walked away without a scratch. The bike had bent bars and a cracked fender but was rideable. I had three friends following me who witnessed the whole thing and I think they were shook up worse than me.
I can't believe that was thirty years ago.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Interesting that I was killing myself bushwacking when you can pretty much just walk there.

Oh Geocaching.com, what fun won't you ruin for me?

 

[RednekF350]

Interesting that I was killing myself bushwacking when you can pretty much just walk there.

Oh Geocaching.com, what fun won't you ruin for me?

Geocaching in the pines presents a real dichotomy for me.
My wife loves it and I enjoy it too, in fact we are out there almost every Sunday afternoon in the winter.
However, I do feel that it brings a lot of people into remote and pristine areas of the woods who wouldn't normally be have found their way there.
That could easily spoil an outing by someone who also wants to explore a remote area and be alone and didn't expect to run into cache seekers.
We have only set out 3 in the last 3 years mainly becuase I didn't want to be part of the problem. There are plenty set by others to go out and look for and more pop up every week.
I will say I have never come across trash or damage left behind by a geocacher.
It seems that most caches are within an easy (lazy) walk of any major woods road and around the major pines attractions. Hampton Furnace, for example, has so many it is obscene.
So, we will continue to enjoy it and hopefully we won't piss anyone off in the process.
Scott

 

[woodjin]

That bog/bridge presents some fun fishing when the water levels are sufficient. Usually alot of small egar pickerel on the north side. Larger, less egar on the south side.

Jeff