I spent the day in Wharton checking out various sights. I arrived just before sunrise and actually had to wait a few minutes before my morning hike. I did a couple miles on the Batona before meeting Ken at the visitor center. The rain, which had been a downpour all the way up, had subsided.
We began our exploration at New Pond Dam.
After that, we walked up to the bridge at the Yellow Trail. The bridge has had damage. It's been a while since I've been here, so I am not certain how long the bridge has been like this. We crossed over. The end is very steep; careful footing was necessary.
We poked around a bit along the Mullica. We noticed a lot of trash. That was a theme present all day. I am used to seeing cans and bottles when out, but today, everywhere we went, we saw chip bags, cups, and other trash.
We did find a couple pull tabs from old beer/soda cans on top of the fallen pine needles. It seems odd that some 25 years after they ceased being used, they would be sitting right in full view.
We then crossed back over the bridge. We followed the old channel that once connected the Mullica with the Nescohague. There appears to have been a mill once at the Nescohague. There's a mound there and we found a brick there.
We re-positioned from there to the bridge at the end of Old Elwood Batsto Road. This is a neat area. I've been here previously, but know nothing about it. When was it used and when was it dismantled? I noticed the house on Pleasant Mills is for sale. We also checked out the abandoned boat in the swamp nearby.
We then headed up to Washington. Ken showed me a foundation I had not noticed before across from Washington Tavern.
Afterwards we went to Al Brandt's and ate lunch there. There was a lot of aircraft flying over as we were there. After lunch we headed up Martha Road. We noticed that the road has been cleared. Access was no issue whatsoever. We made many stops along the way. We even saw some kayakers making pretty good time on the Oswego.
I have wanted to check out Shamong Road coming down from the north off of Martha so we drove up and around. We made it down to the fork and decided to retreat. Both forks narrowed and we chose not to force things. Long ago I recall asking about how far north one could drive on Martha. Well, we tested that out today. We made it to Andrews, but there isn't much one can do as both ends have guardrails up.
Back down Martha we went to Nash's Cabin. The old beaver lodge is still there. We noted the felled cedar and another nearby that is being worked on. We poked around for a bit. There's another lodge a little north of the cabin.
We then stopped by the pumping station on our way back out.
Today was a beautiful day in the Pines. It was warm and the rain stayed away.
We began our exploration at New Pond Dam.
After that, we walked up to the bridge at the Yellow Trail. The bridge has had damage. It's been a while since I've been here, so I am not certain how long the bridge has been like this. We crossed over. The end is very steep; careful footing was necessary.
We poked around a bit along the Mullica. We noticed a lot of trash. That was a theme present all day. I am used to seeing cans and bottles when out, but today, everywhere we went, we saw chip bags, cups, and other trash.
We did find a couple pull tabs from old beer/soda cans on top of the fallen pine needles. It seems odd that some 25 years after they ceased being used, they would be sitting right in full view.
We then crossed back over the bridge. We followed the old channel that once connected the Mullica with the Nescohague. There appears to have been a mill once at the Nescohague. There's a mound there and we found a brick there.
We re-positioned from there to the bridge at the end of Old Elwood Batsto Road. This is a neat area. I've been here previously, but know nothing about it. When was it used and when was it dismantled? I noticed the house on Pleasant Mills is for sale. We also checked out the abandoned boat in the swamp nearby.
We then headed up to Washington. Ken showed me a foundation I had not noticed before across from Washington Tavern.
Afterwards we went to Al Brandt's and ate lunch there. There was a lot of aircraft flying over as we were there. After lunch we headed up Martha Road. We noticed that the road has been cleared. Access was no issue whatsoever. We made many stops along the way. We even saw some kayakers making pretty good time on the Oswego.
I have wanted to check out Shamong Road coming down from the north off of Martha so we drove up and around. We made it down to the fork and decided to retreat. Both forks narrowed and we chose not to force things. Long ago I recall asking about how far north one could drive on Martha. Well, we tested that out today. We made it to Andrews, but there isn't much one can do as both ends have guardrails up.
Back down Martha we went to Nash's Cabin. The old beaver lodge is still there. We noted the felled cedar and another nearby that is being worked on. We poked around for a bit. There's another lodge a little north of the cabin.
We then stopped by the pumping station on our way back out.
Today was a beautiful day in the Pines. It was warm and the rain stayed away.
