Backpacking through Pine Barrens upon return to U.S.?

[NewSchoolPiney]

Hello everyone, I hope all is well. I've been keeping up on reading the forum posts while over here in New Zealand. However, I will be coming back in about 2 weeks and I'd like to 'adjust' to life in the states again by going backpacking through the Pine Barrens for 3 or 4 days.

I know I'd rather not do the Batona Trail, at least not all of it. I was looking for some route suggestions from some of you guys, hitting some of the places which are discussed on this very board.

One area I'd really like to hike through is the Pine Plains/Forked River Mountains. After that, it's all up in the air. I'd like to head away from the shore, more towards the forested areas and stay off of paved roads and sand roads as much as possible.

Any suggestions on routes would be great. There isn't too much on the internet by way of multiday hiking trails in the Pines which I find quite odd. I've been 'tramping' like a madman over here in New Zealand and I'd like to apply the same theory to the Pine Barrens now that I have all of the gear, besides a GPS, to accomplish it.

Peace, I hope to meet some of you guys upon my return to the U.S.

Justin

ps: Don't forget to check out some of my photo galleries from my travels througout New Zealand these past 4 months. This is my favorite picture and sight I have personally seen in my entire lifetime

 

[bach2yoga]

Justin,
Did you take that picture? It's beautiful!
Renee

 

[NewSchoolPiney]

Renee,

Yes, I did take that picture. I've been getting better with the manual settings on my Canon digital camera. I have about 500+ photos posted now on my website and it just keeps getting larger.

Justin

 

[bach2yoga]

Am moving to the electronics thread...
Renee

 

[Teegate]

Justin,

If you want to hike on the Forked River Mountains themselves, there are some motorcycle trails that travel between the two hills that have some interesting views and I have walked them for years. This photo was taken on that trail near my old camp looking at the larger hill where everyone seems to go to.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/frm.jpg

Here is the same general view in 1978

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/Fall1978.jpg

If you want to walk the Plains, you have quite a few choices. try starting at Spring Hill near Bear Swamp Hill and walk toward Coyle Field. You can get the views at Spring Hill, and the roads from there to Coyle Fields are desolate and nice. I walked them with Ed and also with my daughters. Print out the aerial view of that area on terraserver and take that with you.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/BehindCoyleField_.JPG

If you decide to go behind Coyle Field write me and I will tell you how to get to the large cement tower that is in my Then and Now Gallery.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/JesBehindCoyleField.JPG

Guy

 

[BEHR655]

Justin,

That is an awesome picture. As far as trails in the area you described, I think you are mostly going to find sand/gravel roads in that area. Of course there are tons of deer and fire trails but they are a little tough to navigate. At least the deer trails will always lead you to water.

Steve

 

[NewSchoolPiney]

Ok,

Where exactly would I find the West and East Pine Plains with the Pygmy Pines? Do you guys know which quadrants and/or coordinates these places are located at so I can start to plan a route?

Justin

 

[Teegate]

Justin,

Since I am not certain what you like to see when you hike, I will just give you the links. Both links show the west plains. This is the woods behind Coyle Field off of 72. The first link shows you the topo map, and the second the aerial map of the same area.

http://topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39....amp;symshow=n&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25

http://terraserver-usa.org/image.aspx?t=1&s=13&x=343&y=2753&z=18&w=2

So head east on 72 and at Coyle Field you can start walking on the roads that form the square around Coyle Field. They will take you out into the plains. If you don't want to start at Coyle Field, head farther east on 72 to the wide road that runs N & S shown on the right in the second link. Drive down there, park, and head into the woods toward the west.


Or you can start at Spring Hill near Bear Swamp Hill if you want some views. To get to the Spring Hill area:

From the fire house in Chatsworth take 563 south for 7 tenths of a mile to where 563 curves to the right and a smaller paved road goes straight. Leave 563 and take the road straight. Travel on this road for 5.3 miles making sure you take the right fork at the only paved fork that you come to. Once you have reached 5.3 miles, turn left and you will be heading north down the road in the below link that shows the red target symbol. At the top of the below map map you can see the lines showing higher elevation. That is Spring Hill.

http://topozone.com/map.asp?z=18&am...50&size=l&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25

I would suggest a GPS but if you don't have one at least print out the terraserver map and take with you on your hike. It is easy to get lost out there.

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Justin,


Teegate has just turned you onto some of my favorite areas.I"ll turn you onto one more.Their are three areas of plains,spring hill is the most remote and does have one small area of very small trees on the southern flank with an awesome view to the east and south of bear swamp hill and papoose swamp.the upper plains by coyle field are the largest and in my opinion the wildest but the trees tend to be taller the going rougher and the views harder to find though there be a few especially just south of coyle field.The other and in my opinion the most beautiful are called the lower plains south of warren grove on both sides of 539.these plains are made of very small trees and were burnt a couple years ago which had temporarily uglified them but opened the view even more.the downfall to this area is that a bombing range exists in the west side of it and is visible from nearly all of it and mon thru sat you are exposed to bombers that can scare your digestive contents right out of you.some are fascinated by this but i hate it.go on sunday if you want a peaceful walk,the views are awesome and the silence is total except for the wind.ignore the few manmade towers in the distance and seek out the ridges and hilltops and you"ll be rewarded for your efforts and black from head to toe from soot
Al

 

[manumuskin]

Justin,
if you send me your email i can send you map files of some outstanding views.i recognize the ones teegate sent you and it appears he"s having the same trouble i do with topozone in that the red x won"t show up exctly where you want it to.i can send you maps with the views marked right on them.my email is manumuskin@aol.com some views have to be bushwacked to but others have roads right to them.
Al

 

[Teegate]

Al,

That topozone is now very frustrating! The target symbol as you say is odd, the GPS coordinates don't work, and it still will not work with my Camino browser. I wrote them and the reply was that they can't have it work with every browser, but it was working fine until they recently changed it. I believe they are trying to stop what I have done for years, and that is download their maps in sections and piece them together. They have altered their site to thwart people from doing that.

Justin...Al gave some great suggestions.

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Teegate,
your right it used to work fine but as to why they changed it i had no clue.I always like terraservers style better anyway but you couldn"t place a target symbol with terraserver.
Did you create a map from multiple maps using software or are you printing them and taping them together?
Al

 

[Teegate]

Al,

I spent many hours off and on over the last year adding to my maps by downloading the complete web page of sections of the pines and piecing them together. I have a program that allows me to import the maps I made and by inputting the GPS coordinates of three know locations I can use these maps to pinpoint the coordinates of any place on them. I can even add to the map on the right or bottom without having to input the three location again. Since topozone has eliminated the option to located coordinates on the map, this program has allowed me to continue to do this. One of my maps is 225MB and displays from near exit 7A of the turnpike down to route 9 near Atlantic City and the program I use opens it in about 10 second. It really work great. Unfortunately for most members it is for my Mac but there are programs for PC's that do this also. I would give you my maps but the download time or I should say the upload time is quite long and would not be convenient. I have copies of them on CD and if we ever meet I will give you a copy of some of them. The one problem is and Ben can confirm that Mac's are far superior in displaying large image files quickly. I gave them to Ben who has a computer 4x as fast as mine and it takes forever for XP to display the map. So they may not be beneficial to you.

Here is a 17% photo of the aerial map I made from terraserver. It can be zoomed up to 100% without loss of quality.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/aerial.jpg

Here is a 10% topo map I made from topozone. They have recently altered their site to stop me or anyone else from doing this. You can see I have added to the right side somewhat.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/topo.jpg

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Teegate,
I have maptech terrain navigator topo cd"s of the whole mid atlantic region and can send you files of any topo you want.their tif files and if you can figure out a way to use them to complete your barrens coverage your welcome to em.their zoomable and ifyou have the software downloaded you can make them go 3D.I keep them on one screec and use the coords to work terraserver with the other screen.terraserver is awesome and I can"t believe it"s free.
Al

 

[NewSchoolPiney]

Al,

Thanks for the maps. As soon as exams are over, I'll start figuring out where I'd like to go.

Does anyone here know if these areas (Spring Hill, Bear Swamp Hill, Coyle Field) have any close proximity to the Batona Trail? I'd like to check these areas out then continue inland on the Batona Trail.

Peace,
Justin

 

[manumuskin]

no unfortunately the batona trail does not pass within about 5 miles at closest to the plains.I always thought they should run it thru the lower plains but then again that would mean more people.I"m torn between sharing the woods and wanting them to myself but I"ve realized as long as the people i meet there appreciate them as much as I do I like running into them.then again I"ve met people out there I had rather of not
Al

 

[manumuskin]

no unfortunately the batona trail does not pass within about 5 miles at closest to the plains.I always thought they should run it thru the lower plains but then again that would mean more people.I"m torn between sharing the woods and wanting them to myself but I"ve realized as long as the people i meet there appreciate them as much as I do I like running into them.then again I"ve met people out there I had rather of not
Al