Exploring Sandy Ridge to Pine Crest Backwards

J

JeffD

Guest
Yesterday, Dolly (dog) and I explored part of the 6.5 mile Sandy Ridge to Pine Crest hike that was listed on the file that recently magically appeared after having downloaded it several months ago.

Sometime after I set my car's trip odometer when I passed by the Carranza Memorial I discovered it wasn't working. The regular odometer changing tipped me off, and I guestimated the distance and looked for a bridge. I passed a small bridge, then a little further towards Friendship I passed a bridge over a bog, which must have been used recently for growing cranberries. Just up ahead, towards Friendship, were some foundations we had explored on our group outing.

I walked a little towards Friendship and turned left and came upon a broad path, which became just wide enough to walk through. It led past bogs but after awhile became impassible.

Not far from the broad path near the point I entered there was a trashed out area. There was broken wood that made me think it was some kind of shanty, as well as broken bottles, old, rusty spray cans.etc. It looked like a fire may have occured there. Maybe it was a meth lab!

Shortly before I reached the impass, where it was too wet to continue, I saw the work of beavers on trees. For while, I thought it was the route we took on our first outing. At some point I came to a home-made bridge of old boards, which were mainly in the water. I walked back to the car and followed a very wide sand road, then returned to the unpaved Carranza Road. I walked a little towards the memorial and found a path a little narrower than Carranza, carpeted with needles, and we were enveloped by trees, mainly pitch pine, I think. I reached the edge of the water of a bog, then continued walking the route backwards in the general direction of the railroad tracks.

I soon walked along the edge of Atlantic white cedars, bordering the bog. I could hear water running at one point. Some of the areas had alot of undergrowth and understory of hardwoods. The NJ Forest Service said that this is the sort of thing that is keeping the Atlantic White Cedar from regenerating. This tree needs alot of sunlight, and an understory of shade tolerant trees can put stress on an Atlantic White Cedar stand, which generally grows as pure, even-aged stands.

I unintentionally got off the trail, which got less and less defined. Occasionally, there were clearings in the woods. For awhile, I thought I was lost, and was concerned that I get out of the woods before it got dark. Somehow we managed to find the trail. On the way back, I noticed a blaze on a tree with the number 7 on it On the guide I downloaded, 7 corresponds to the Atlantic White Cedar Area. This is where I may have taken a wrong turn. I returned to the edge of the water and followed a narrow path to where the water gushed from the open bog into a stream. I about-faced and found my way back to the car.
 
B

bach2yoga

Guest
>Yesterday, Dolly (dog) and I explored part of the 6.5 mile Sandy Ridge to Pine Crest hike that was listed on the file that recently magically appeared after having downloaded it several months ago.

>Sometime after I set my car's trip odometer when I passed by the Carranza Memorial I discovered it wasn't working.

The Carranza Memorial wasn't working? :wink:


>I walked a little towards Friendship and turned left and came upon a broad path, which became just wide enough to walk through. It led past bogs but after awhile became impassible.

Did you bushwack through?that's the most fun way... :bounce:

Seriously, it sounds like it was a great hike...
Renee
 
J

JeffD

Guest
"Did you bushwack through?that's the most fun way... "

At that point, it would have been more like trudging through the water and getting bogged down. When I must have gotten off the trail and tried to get back to it, I would have needed a machete to get through most places, as the brush was so thick. :shock: For awhile, I was afraid I'd be stuck in the woods for the night.

>Sometime after I set my car's trip odometer when I passed by the Carranza Memorial I discovered it wasn't working.

The Carranza Memorial wasn't working?

Opps! I may have dangled my modifier again. I haven't done that for a long time. Correction, I discovered my trip odometer wasn't working sometime after I passed the Carranza Memorial. As for the Memorial working, I guess it was working as hard as a memorial can when it is stoned. 8)

It was a fun hike. I may try it again sometime, only starting earlier in the day. And maybe I'll print out the directions and map instead of just jotting down a few general notes. :)
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,180
Jeff,

I was at the same place at Friendship Bogs yesterday. The girls and I came out through the woods at the S curve in the Cedar Swamp near the marker, and walke the road back towards Friendship to the first bog.What time were you there. I was fairly early and we left the area at about 12:15.

Guy
 
J

JeffD

Guest
I didn't get there until about 2 p.m, Guy.

There seems to be quite a few bogs in that area, or perhaps there are different routes that zigzag around. There was water and a bog on both sides of the bridge where I parked. By the bridge was a sign that read "4 ton limit" and nearby was a sign about some kind of cooperative conservation between the NJ Environmental and Energy Department and some federal agency that came under the Department of the Interior, I think it was. Or was it agricuture.

I didn't want to get such a late start. I was up a little before 6 am for work the day before and got to sleep late that night. I also got doing things yesterday morning, including studying the route and map.
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,180
Jeff,

I probably just drove by that area, so the time difference did not matter anyway. The chances of us meeting were slim.

BTW, I keep meaning to mention that a while back I told you that that along the tracks by Atsion you would find that bridge with the stone marker in it. Well, since then I have found it, and it is not where I told you it was. So your trek in the woods that day was futile because of my poor memory.

Guy
 
J

JeffD

Guest
My walk in the woods wasn't futile that day, Guy, just because I didn't find the bridge with the marker. I had a good time. I found a bridge and the water was deep enough to cool off in. It's good to know that at least I wasn't following directions poorly. :) 8)

While I'm thinking about it, maybe, after I find that the construction at the state museum in Trenton is finished, we could have a group get together at the museum in the morning to check out the Pine Barrens room, where a big background picture of the Martha Bog is. Just outside of this room, there's a (I forget the word for it) map that shows the different areas, such as mountain, coastal plain, and piedmont. There's also a population density map. I remember that the population density is the lowest in the mountains of northwest New Jersey, with the area near the Delaware River in the northwest coming in a close second or third.

We could either get a quick bite in the cafeteria in the museum or eat on the road (packed lunch) and head down route 206 to visit the Sandy Ridge/ Pine Crest area. That would be the direction most folks would take to go home (not I). But the museum is about a 15 minute drive from where I live. Leaving the museum, we'd just have to get on route 29, go south and continue where it becomes I195 and take the 206 south exit (Bordentown). It's trickier getting to the museum, especially if you take 206 to where it becomes Broad Street (very confusing). It's probably easier to get on route 29 north from 206 and exit, I believe, at Willow Street. The exit from 29 for the government center, where the museum is, is fairly well marked. It's sort of like an Acropolis, with the state library, museum and government offices up on a hill overlooking the Delaware River. But I'll deal with directions in detail later, if and when we decide to arrange an outing there.

Parking in the state garage is free -- you just have to show your ID to the guard at the entrance to the garage -- as is admission. The only charge is for planetarium shows. And, of course, the cafeteria and the store.
 
Top