Dutchtown Freestyle, a PBX Hike.

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,984
8,737
All,

At 8:40 this morning the members of PBX met at the Atsion ranger station for a hike that Bob designed and titled Dutchtown Freestyle. Here is an edited portion of the invitation we all received on November 3 from Bob.


“The title of our next PBX Trip is “Dutchtown Freestyle”. At 8:40 AM, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (Nov 24), those PBX members who are willing will meet at the Atsion Ranger Station. From there we’ll head down 206 to a parking spot in the woods behind Miller’s Bogs. This is the area that burned this summer. We will be taking a crazy 5 mile loop through the burn area, mostly sticking to savannah land and the headwaters of Sleepy Creek.”


Joining us at the meeting point and seeing us off from the start, was our injured counterpart Behr655. He gave us the lowdown on his condition, and also took a group photo of us before we set off. Hopefully, he will post it below. From this site we had bobpbx, woodjin, Jessica, me (teegate), long-a-coming, pinelandpaddler, and RednekF350. Then we were off traveling mostly savanahs in the area of the Great Swamp that burned this summer.


One of the many savannahs.

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This tree needs to come down.

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A view from one of the many deer stands we found along the route.

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Pumpkins and Corn.

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It was a long way down.


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Another location


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Bob checking out the water.

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Anyone hungry?

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Here are two video’s. I am not happy with the quality on youtube so you will need broadband to view these. The first one shows a very dead tree coming down. The second video which is longer in length and has the quality cut back somewhat, shows Bob explaining one of the rare plants that only grows after a fire in the pines. You can see the plant in all of the video. Turn up your volume to hear them properly.


Tree coming down.

http://home.comcast.net/~teegate/tree.mov


Bob explaining the plant.

http://home.comcast.net/~teegate/plant_.mov


Guy
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,693
4,864
Pines; Bamber area
That photo came out very nice Bear. Thanks for coming to see us off. Don't give up on treatment of your health issue. You'll be out there again. I wish you were there at this first photo; it shows how far these savannas stretched out. You can see two wider areas in the distance:

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This was a typical shot of some of the water areas:

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This shot of Lake Lenape was my favorite of the day:

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This photo shows the extensive ore beds to be found out there. Paul is standing on a typical level bed. We saw many out there:

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Here is Scott with the European Mount that he found. Must have fell from a Cabelas truck:

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Here is an idea of some of the big populations of Scirpus Longii

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A link to Scirpus Longii:

http://biology.mcgill.ca/undergra/c465a/biodiver/2000/longs-bulrush/longs-bulrush.htm

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/species_info/nhfacts/scirpus_longii.pdf

Jeff, we found the marker you left for us! That savanna was prettier than the first one. Sorry you had to leave early.

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Lake Katonah, hidden deep in the wild lands:

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Jeff, in his natural element. That boy is made for exploring!

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It is a good land to fall upon, and a pleasant land to see:

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Guy, thanks for being my right hand man (always).
Jess, you rock!
Gabe, you really enjoyed this one. A 9.5! You are a good man to go with.
Tom, steady as she goes. Never complains, always ready.
Jeff; point man. Loves exploring nature and wilderness as much as me.
Mickey, glad you came again. Your wisdom is keen.
Paul, always available, always game, always a good companion.
Scott, ready to go to hell and back in his tin pants. Thanks for what I hope is a new PBX tradition; the tailgate party at the end. Thanks so much for the wine, beer, cheese, and sausage. You are the MAN!

Bear, I want to do this one again, in the opposite direction, but hitting some new spots, in early September because of the plant life. You say when.
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,984
8,737
Just to let everyone know, the names of the lakes Bob mention’s are his names and not the actual names. Don't look over your maps to find them. It would be nice if we could actually name them that though!

Back to the thread .... we sure have a good group going now. I really enjoyed myself as usual. Jessica enjoyed the food. I really like that cheese and the next hike it will be on me. I will go to the store Scott bought it at and purchase it.

Jessica is really fatigued from this one. Last night she had some serious leg problems that she was able to laugh about. Today she has been sluggish all day. Went to bed before 8 tonight, even though she does have to start work slightly earlier tomorrow. I mowed the leaves today and after that and yesterday I am feeling it. I have to say riding the bike is the best thing to do in the months before a hike. I stopped after our last hike and can feel the difference.



Guy
 

long-a-coming

Explorer
Mar 28, 2005
778
14
51
Berlin Twp
Excellent adventure crew!
I was sucking wind during this one bigtime! It's a wake up call for me to get in shape. The hip waders feel like lead weights after a couple miles but I feel great today, minimal pain and discmfort, no blisters! I feel honored to have fell in with this unique crew and have the chance to see these places and learn so much!
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,064
3,341
Pestletown, N.J.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and gave it a 9 out of 10 score.
The exposed iron stone that was visible everywhere along the savannahs was the most interesting part for me.
I am familiar with the general area, having hunted ducks and deer back there since 1985 but I had never walked any of the woods or savannahs on the north side of the main road.
My gps track length was 6.45 miles for the day.
Here are a few pics:
Guy looking for planes out of a tree stand:
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6359

A long savannah:
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6361

Our fearless leader:
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6362

A little pond:
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6360

And finally a parting shot of Atsion Lake at sunset, on a rare occassion when it is dead calm:
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6358

A beautiful day with a great bunch of people.
I could have gone another couple miles but we would have missed the after-party. Could not do that now could we?
As you know, I am always glad to share the homemade crazy juice.
:guinness:
Scott
 
Apr 6, 2004
3,620
564
Galloway
A great outing with a great group of souls. Bob sure knows how to plan a good trip and Scott certainly knows how to cap off a long hike with a good party.

From a geologic perspective, this trip was fascinating. The below aerial photo depicts the area we hiked - an area laced with paleochannels that formed during the late Pleistocene:

braided channel scars

Here is the basic story. From around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago, permafrost was likely present in the Pinelands. During seasonal thawing of the frozen ground, torrents of water would have moved across the flat and impervious land, eventually carving out shallow channels. Later, from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago, permafrost was again present in the Pine Barrens, and the braided channels were revived and re-worked. It was at the end of the last ice age some 10,000 years ago when some of these ancient channels were incised much deeper to form the Nescochague, Mechescatauxin (Sleeper Branch), Mullica (Atsion Creek) and Batsto rivers.

One of the many savannahs occupying the braided paleochannels near Atsion. Jeff, Bob and Scott are leading the way:

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6409/ppuser/215

Another savannah:

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6411/ppuser/215

Like Scott, I was most impressed with the ancient ironstone underlying and lining the channels:

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6410/ppuser/215

More ironstone:

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6412/ppuser/215

All in all, this was an outstanding hike through a very unique Pinelands landscape.

One last shot for the herpers:

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6413/ppuser/215

:D
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,358
340
Near Mt. Misery
Another great hike in one of my favorite places. The great swamp has always been a tremendous attraction for me. I remember once hiking in from the wescoat bogs, across the sleeper and heading south. I stopped along the boarder of a cedar "island" within a long savannah and just felt such a rush of both isolation and warmth. There is something comforting as well as mysterious about the great swamp.

This time out I was lucky to have the company of my PBX brethern. It is very exciting to share the experience with people who appreciate it as much as myself. Here are some pics:
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Where the fire was
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Atlantic/Burlington boader
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Jeff
 
Oct 25, 2006
1,757
1
74
Another great hike in one of my favorite places. The great swamp has always been a tremendous attraction for me. I remember once hiking in from the wescoat bogs, across the sleeper and heading south. I stopped along the boarder of a cedar "island" within a long savannah and just felt such a rush of both isolation and warmth. There is something comforting as well as mysterious about the great swamp.

This time out I was lucky to have the company of my PBX brethern. It is very exciting to share the experience with people who appreciate it as much as myself.

Great pics Jeff.

Jim
 
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