Camera anomaly, and iron rails.

[Teegate]

All,

Bob, Jeff(Woodjin), Jessica, and I started our morning exploring the large hill along Carranza road at the beginning of the Wharton Forest. This is located right near the sign you see on Carranza road notifying you of your entrance into the Wharton Forest when you come in from Tabernacle. Don"t look for that sign anymore because someone has taken it out with their car. All that remains are pieces of wood sticking out of the ground. It must have occurred recently because the snow around where the sign was is only melted in a two foot area around where the sign was. The heat from the sun heated up the wood and melted the snow it appears.

We proceeded to climb the hill and after exploring the top, the stories I had heard about it were true. The largest sandstone rocks I have ever viewed are there. They are I believe larger than the one's we had found at La-ha-way on a recent visit there with Ben. I speculated that this hill may have been where the sandstone markers around the pines were excavated. A must visit!

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/91-1/IMG_5107.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/94-1/IMG_5108.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/103-1/IMG_5111.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/106-1/IMG_5112.jpg

There also is a incline that is unrivaled in the pines in my opinion. Look this photo over closely and compare the top of it to the bottom. Quite a drop!

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/100-1/IMG_5110.jpg

From there we continued on our search for the "iron rails" that I had information were along the Wharton border. We arrived at the first intended point and it was not there, or so I thought. Bob did some poking in the leaves and came up with it. There was still the thick yellow paint on it that is so indicative of the paint that I have found was used in the mid 50's when the Wharton property was surveyed. It is a very resistant paint.

This view shows the top of the rail. It had been embedded in the ground at an unknown depth, but it is obvious it is deep. It does not move at all. It looks almost like a small gage train track, but I am uncertain what it really is. More importantly, I am uncertain why it is there. Notice the small drill hole in the top of it. That is where the surveyor for the Wharton property placed their equipment to get an accurate reading on it's location. Basically the same hole as there is in the Geodetic Survey markers.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/74-1/IMG_5093.jpg


We then moved on 95.88 feet to the second rail. The adjacent property owner has recently had the property surveyed, and since this rail is sticking out of the ground it was easily found and spray painted blue. The surveyor never found the first rail obviously.


http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/view/2_12_2005/IMG_5097.jpg?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/82-1/IMG_5098.jpg

At this point Bob needed a rest, so he sat down in his chair to overlook his kingdom.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/85-1/IMG_5105.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/view/2_12_2005/IMG_5106.jpg

We then traveled over to the area that was mentioned in the "anomaly" post, and explored there until Jessica hurt her leg. The anomaly was exactly that, an anomaly.

Some savanahs.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/view/2_12_2005/IMG_5113.jpg?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/view/2_12_2005/IMG_5116.jpg?g2_imageViewsIndex=1
Guy

 

[BEHR655]

Great report Guy. You all certainly had a good day and I'm sorry I missed it.

Steve

 

[bobpbx]

All, They are I believe larger than the one's we had found at La-ha-way on a recent visit there with Ben. I speculated that this hill may have been where the sandstone markers around the pines were excavated. A must visit!

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/91-1/IMG_5107.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/94-1/IMG_5108.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/103-1/IMG_5111.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/106-1/IMG_5112.jpg

Guy and Jeff, I read up on this ironstone. Here's the take on what happened according to geologists. About 5M years ago, there was an ancient Hudson River that terminated in a delta in the northern reaches of the pines. It deposited coarse grained quartz sand, quartzite, and fossil bearing chert. They call it Beacon Hill Gravel for a high spot in Monmouth County that is covered with it. It has hardened due to weathering over time. The neat thing is that it is mainly on the high spots like at Lahaway and the hill we were on because over the past 5M years the surrounding land has eroded away, exposing the Cohansey Sand, down by the riversides, which is even older.

Fancy that!

 

[Teegate]

Guy and Jeff, I read up on this ironstone. Here's the take on what happened according to geologists. About 5M years ago, there was an ancient Hudson River that terminated in a delta in the northern reaches of the pines. It deposited coarse grained quartz sand, quartzite, and fossil bearing chert. They call it Beacon Hill Gravel for a high spot in Monmouth County that is covered with it. It has hardened due to weathering over time. The neat thing is that it is mainly on the high spots like at Lahaway and the hill we were on because over the past 5M years the surrounding land has eroded away, exposing the Cohansey Sand, down by the riversides, which is even older.

Fancy that!

Thanks Bob. So the high spots are there because the land around them is eroding. Good to know.

Guy