I had a friend ask an interesting question the other day, what is your favorite place in the Pine Barrens?
I offer it up for discussion.
I offer it up for discussion.
Favorite place in the Pine Barrens
- Thread starter MikeBickerson
- Start date
My favorite place to be in the pines, this past sweltering holiday weekend, was sitting in cedar water cooling off waiting for the temperatures to drop again so we could go back out again on our adventures. A stone or sand bottom is preferred but any will do when the ground temps get over a hundred. Hot-Diggity-Dog was a close second.
Can't say or it wouldn't be my favorite place anymore, 
Where there is nobody within miles and I found something interesting by myself or with Jessica.
There is a certain selection of wonderful cedar bogs in the northern Pine Barrens up here in Ocean County that are my cup of tea. All of them have a clear stream running through at a fast enough clip to keep the water clean, cold, and refreshing. This year, in particular, the sphagnum moss is saturated to 100% double plus. I am seeing swift running little streams that are normally sluggish and limpid. This is due of course to the wettest June ever (I think).
I don't know if it's the wettest ever, but it must be way up there. You can look at the data going back to 2005 here:
http://water.weather.gov/precip/ind...imeframe=current&product=observed&loc=stateNJ
The map below shows the percentage of variation from normal. You can see that most of the state has gotten between 2x and 3x the normal amount of rain (dark blue). There are a couple pockets in the middle of the pines (purple) that have had 3x to 4x as much as normal. There are a few light blue areas (including where I live) where it hasn't rained as much, but still 1.5x to 2x normal.
Wettest June on record, going back to 1895 when they began keeping track, according to this article. But we all know how accurate the press is.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20130629/NJNEWS/306290010/June-makes-waves-soggiest-record-NJ
My favorite is usually one of the spots most recently discovered. I like change.
A tie between Parker Preserve and Whitesbog.
Note that the purple area in the precipitation map looks to be right around Chatsworth. Our one botany test area on Parker has more water than after Sep 2012 deluge. Many plants under water and I wonder if we'll get to see them bloom/seed.
Note that the purple area in the precipitation map looks to be right around Chatsworth. Our one botany test area on Parker has more water than after Sep 2012 deluge. Many plants under water and I wonder if we'll get to see them bloom/seed.
Prospertown Lake, for sentimental reasons. My father and I used to canoe and fish there when I was a kid. My friends and I swam there. When I was only 7 or 8 I would crawl around the bog checking out frogs, turtles, snakes, carnivorous plants, etc. I walked that area in dreams when I was a kid. I remember like it was yesterday, sitting on the dock on a warm evening, smelling the pine, cedars and murky water, watching the moon rise over the ferris wheel at Great Adventure, with the silhouette of the cedars around the lake, listening to the calling of the carpenter, bull and green frogs, all wrapped up into a serenity that couldn't have made me happier.
I was shown by Bob one of his fast little streams and it is a gorgeous stream at that.Many streams up that way unfortunately it is quite the haul for me to make just for the day so I frequent Wharton much more because it is closer.I'd have to say in general the Tulpehocken/Friendship area would be my favorite area.I have special spots all over that area,namely islands and of course the creek itself.Second place would be the Plains along 539 on Sunday when the bombers aren't out also Spring hill though those plains seem to be getting taller and may be ready for a burn soon.Also the Wading is just as beautiful as the tulp but you have to go on a weekday in winter to lose the crowds.The wading has every conceivable habitat in the barrens except Pine Plains.
This is probably a better map if you want to see how much it rained in June. The other one shows deviation from the norm, this one just shows how much rain fell in June. 2013. Sure looks wet. I am really enjoying it here, after recent dry years. The woods are prettier that I've seen in a long time, lots of thick underbrush. The laurels are coming back strong after nearly dying out from previous early freezes. The ferns just keep getting taller and thicker. And the sphagnum moss is beautiful down by the creek. It reminds me of the movie "The Blob", slowly swallowing up whatever branches are lying on the ground.
I don't have any one place that I like more than any other, but I tend to enjoy the highlands and rivers more than the wetlands.
My buddy works for the Forest Service out at New Lisbon. He was doing research, June was the wettest June on record and the wettest month on record since records were kept. And that was with a few days left in June, which (of course) it rained during.
I've thought this one over hard and I think my favorite spot is Goshen Pond. It's not the prettiest area, but it's the first place in the pines I have memories of camping at that I can still go to (the only one before that was private land off the Wading). I have lots of memories of sloshing around in those bogs, checking out the beaver dam/lodge, and roaring fires in cold Novembers. My second favorite has to be Buzbys.
I've thought this one over hard and I think my favorite spot is Goshen Pond. It's not the prettiest area, but it's the first place in the pines I have memories of camping at that I can still go to (the only one before that was private land off the Wading). I have lots of memories of sloshing around in those bogs, checking out the beaver dam/lodge, and roaring fires in cold Novembers. My second favorite has to be Buzbys.
