Exploring The Plains Branch

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
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millville nj
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Stop patting yourself on the back, you'd be surprised. I think Guy may know what I'm referring to.
That "secret" area you refer to is really not so secret at all.
Does anyone know who and why a large front end loader went down Hallman rd, up part of the county line with it's bucket up, flattened the trees which appear to have sprung back and exit on that un-named whooped out sand road that goes back to Red rd? This was about 2 years ago.

May not be of any importance for what your looking for as far as property corner stones, but there is a monument at the NW corner of Hallman rd and the county cut.

BTW, thanks for the investigation into the boy scout sign. I noticed it about mid October, had to stop, back up and stare at it scratching my head. Even then the sand around the poles looked "old", but one good rain can do that.

I have yet to run into you on any nasty bushwack.Until I do I'll keep patting myself on the back because you'll obviously be nowhere near that kind of bush to do it for me.
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
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I know that both of you are good people who are very good at exploring the pines in tough area's. Let all think of it in that way.

Guy
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
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I really don't know what went on there? I don't know the Jersey Devil and personally have always doubted his existence and here I am being attacked by him? I don't know his bushwacking abilities but flying in doesn't count. I think to classify as a top notch bushwacker you have to have crossed some of south jerseys noted swamps amongst them would be Great,Timber Beaver,Bear and then to top it all off you have to waller across 100 ft of tidal flat at low tide,swim the crik and waller on across the other side.This really can be done but it's not pretty at all.Also a couple miles cross country in ten foot high pine plains would suffice for a crossing of most swamps.
 

1Jerseydevil

Explorer
Feb 14, 2009
567
214
I forgot about this thread, thus the reason for my late reply.
My comment was not meant to belittle or infuriate anyone, I may not have composed it properly to convey my actual intent.
I was jokingly commenting on your quote [q]manumuskin said: Who else would beat through crap like that but a PBX member?[/q]
You indeed are not the only one to traverse the area in discussion. That's all that was meant.
True we never met, so why would I have anything against you? I never met Guy either but we have been talking and trading info by email for over 2 years. A misunderstanding and poor communication on my part. Guy did come upon one of us deep in that area once, so no you don't have to be on a PBX hike to be in the "rough" stuff.
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
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millville nj
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okay I took the "don't pat your self on the back" comment to be a we bit patronizing.Please except my apology and lets start over.I guess I came off like we are the baddest of the bad when I should have thought that out a bit.I have actually met at least two totally bad dudes that had no clue of the pbx.One was walking barefoot in july in 100 degree weather from Fred Millers bogs toward constable bridge and i was driving by and he asked me how far to mullica river camp and I told by road via constable bridge he was looking at probably eight miles but I said jokingly if you cut across the mullica (and i gave directions) you could get there in say four miles.He also had shorts and no shirt one.he said he was camping the night near there and was walking straight though to somehwere near chatsworth and was going in as straight a line as possible.I said Dude your crazy,he smiled.I went back by later and followed his tracks down the sand roads to the crossing by the burlington line monument at sleepy branch junction and he did cross the river and there were no cars on his back trail.He was carrying a bottle of water and said he was drinking from creeks he passed.he had no food.bad ass! Then I ran into a vietnam vet when I was in my 20's.he was 37,to me an old dude at the time.He was into survival and showed me how to make a better sweat lodge.he lived in a tipi on a friends property in the woods and kept black widow spider and babies in his tipi with him,he was always barefoot,swam in the winter which is what i was doing when i met him and was skinny and muscled and brown like an indian with crazy blue eyes,said he got a government check because nam made him crazy.I once referred to him as an old man (I was in prime shape back then) He challenged me to a two kile race in summer,hot as hell down a sand road riddled with greenbriar(Not the nasty catbriar but the smaller species).the race ended at a sand wash where we would go swimming when we got there.He said go and we were off.The briars tore my feet up because i worked for a living and had to where boots all day,makes soft feet.I kept ahead of him all the way,he would lag back maybe two hundred yards then put on a burst and almost catch me then lag back,he did this all the way..when we hit the desert surrounding the wash we had about 300 yards to the blue hole.I was 1 50 yards ahead when we hit the desert.He put on a burst and I saw him coming.I hit tenth gear myself.He caught me anyway and beat me by 30 ft and dove off the cliff and came up laughing and told me to kiss his wrinkly old,well you can guess the rest.So if you say your one tough dude I will not argue,especially seeing I'm not as tough as i used to be.I was actually doing pbx style trips by myself or with Whipoorbill since I was quitey young but now that I'm older it's nice to have some guys along to haul me out when I finally bite off more then I can chew:)
 

1Jerseydevil

Explorer
Feb 14, 2009
567
214
I'm not sure if those guys were tough or needed professional help. The Vet sounds similar to Tom Brown's younger life story, someone I've encountered a few times. We all did things when we were young and stupid, thought we were tough, now I look back and think just how stupid I was, what did it prove, where did it get me? I guess there is the thing about showing off to impress and who's testosterone levels are higher. LOL
I know you generally do your hikes not to prove how tough you are but to find some piece of history in the Pines or to see nature undisturbed such as in the cedar swamps. If it's tough to get there, that's the way it is and you do what you have to. I don't think your doing it just to prove how tough you are. I believe that if the terrain was easier getting to where you want to be you would enjoy just as much if not more.
While in that area I was on a "mission" with a friend. The area wasn't chosen because of it's difficulty but that's exactly why it was avoided by "normal" people. I have to admit it felt good to show the young guns that it could be done by 2 old farts. Yep, we showed them, but that wasn't the purpose at all. Amazing what you find in the middle of "nowhere". I'm always stumbling on things unintentionally, thus my conversations with Guy. I guess even today, older and wiser [?] we still find the need to test ourselves. LOL
Maybe someday we will meet, maybe you were with Guy that one winter day when the 3 walked right by me and came upon my friend? That day the threesome was wisely taking the easy way. LOL
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
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That day the threesome was wisely taking the easy way. LOL


We were taking the easy way because we, and especially Bob, were determined to find out who was cutting the trail. What better way to do that than walk the trail.

Be honest, what did realboys say to you about us? The encounter was interesting, weird, tense, strange, somewhat scary, but in the end funny and one we don't regret and glad it happened.

Guy
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,953
3,107
Pestletown, N.J.
I was the third tough guy in the pines that day.
I will never forget that outing because I lost one of my favorite mittens in the pygmies and I was very distraught.
;)
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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I had to help him look for the mitten and we had to walk back past the mean realboys. We were afraid we would not make it out of the woods alive :D
 

dogg57

Piney
Jan 22, 2007
2,912
375
Southern NJ
southjerseyphotos.com
Photo_021407_007.jpg

I found this Mitten
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,555
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millville nj
www.youtube.com
I'm not sure if those guys were tough or needed professional help. The Vet sounds similar to Tom Brown's younger life story, someone I've encountered a few times. We all did things when we were young and stupid, thought we were tough, now I look back and think just how stupid I was, what did it prove, where did it get me? I guess there is the thing about showing off to impress and who's testosterone levels are higher. LOL
I know you generally do your hikes not to prove how tough you are but to find some piece of history in the Pines or to see nature undisturbed such as in the cedar swamps. If it's tough to get there, that's the way it is and you do what you have to. I don't think your doing it just to prove how tough you are. I believe that if the terrain was easier getting to where you want to be you would enjoy just as much if not more.
While in that area I was on a "mission" with a friend. The area wasn't chosen because of it's difficulty but that's exactly why it was avoided by "normal" people. I have to admit it felt good to show the young guns that it could be done by 2 old farts. Yep, we showed them, but that wasn't the purpose at all. Amazing what you find in the middle of "nowhere". I'm always stumbling on things unintentionally, thus my conversations with Guy. I guess even today, older and wiser [?] we still find the need to test ourselves. LOL
Maybe someday we will meet, maybe you were with Guy that one winter day when the 3 walked right by me and came upon my friend? That day the threesome was wisely taking the easy way. LOL
I don't know what day that was or the trip,if there was an old fat man in camo with Guy it was me and your right about the fact I no longer try to prove how tough I am because I'm not as tough as i used to be and even then I only tried to prove how tough I was when showing off for girls and there is always a shortage of them in the woods at least ones without their men with em.I do like islands that are real tough to get to because I know I can always camp there and be left alone but with the advent of internet aerials and gps I find that even the toughest spots are usually the residence of bait piles and portable stands,it appears some hunters may even be as tough as I am.Tougher if they ever really drag deer out of such places.I'd just camp there and eat the deer on the spot,might take a week or so but I'd carry it out in my belly and wear the hide.Lets see the toughest places I'vce been would probably be crossing the Great swamp twice in one day or a recent hike to roaring plains but that was due to being out of shape for mountain hiking.
 

1Jerseydevil

Explorer
Feb 14, 2009
567
214
Glad all is well and any misunderstanding is cleared up and that we're all now joking about it. The mitten story is funny and the picture of it caps it. LOL
I was out of hearing range, but after you fellows went by me, not knowing who you were or your intentions I did stalk you at a distance and watched to see if I needed to take action. I did hear some arguing but fortunately all ended well and you guys went on your way. Reelboys just said you scared the crap out of him and the argument was about the location and that one of you didn't know how to read his gps. He said one fellow [Guy] was very nice and understanding, seen no harm and extinguished the "hot heads". BTW, the trail was never used except for some play riding but one guy did lose his heart monitor, looks like a wrist watch, so it's possibly laying alongside the lost mitten. LOL Did you ever finish the trail to the end? There's an old abandoned hunters hole with a shelter shack built over it and a chair inside, now on the roof. There's one area where you get a nice view of the surrounding terrain. That spung bog was a nice unintentional find but honestly some hunter found his way a long time ago as we found a few rotten 2 x 4's which was all that was left of his tree stand. There was a trail in there previously and studying Historical Aerials I see that there were actually a multitude of trails and survey/boundary lines, none of which we ever found. Oh, we did find some "homemade" property boundary pipe markers.
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,341
327
Near Mt. Misery
There's an old abandoned hunters hole with a shelter shack built over it and a chair inside, now on the roof. .

Is this it JD? I thought I found this on the north side of route 72 though. there was no trail at that time (this would have been before you guys built the trail). When I found this I scared up a coyote who must have been feeding on rodents attracted to the old corn cobs set out as bait. I think the coyote figured he could hide from me and when I got too close he bolted. FAST!! there was a chair inside.

Jeff

Westplains_12-03-06_022.jpg
 
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