Intro

[Swamp Thing]

Hi,
I"m an old pine barren explorer thats been canoeing,kayaking,hiking and otherwise backcountry bushwacking the barens since the late 70"s.I just became internet friendly in the past few months and cam across this site a week ago and been reading the articles and posts.Seems like a well put together site and very informative.I"ve also been exploring the ruins of the barrens for a few decades and didnt realize their was such a large interest in these places.I know the main places like washington and harrisville are well known but you guys seem to many of the little known places I"ve found over the years through Becks books and others.
I should"ve gotten the internet years ago.I"ve been missing you guys in the woods all these years but now i see theirs really other people that deem it a privelege to get lost in the pines like myself instead of an irrational fear when they loose sound of the highway
Bryant

 

[Ben Ruset]

Welcome to the site! We're here to help!

 

[Boyd]

Welcome Bryant! I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences in the pines over the last 30 years!

 

[Teegate]

Bryant,

You are about the same age as me, and we have been exploring the pines about the same amount of time. Maybe we have passed by each other one or twice If you have any info on any of the posts, jump right in here and join in.

Exploring the pines will never be the same once you have the internet. There is so much to learn.

Guy

 

[RednekF350]

"The internet?
Is that thing still around?"
Homer J. Simpson

Welcome.
Scott

 

[LARGO]

Bryant,
Welcome. Read, interact, & enjoy. This is a great group of folks and many of the regulars are well, let's just say "seasoned" like yourself.
It's O.K. guys, keep telling yourself life begins after 40, or is it 50 now?


g.

 

[BEHR655]

Welcome aboard Bryant

Steve

 

[james ungehajer]

Welcome to the site.

Jim

 

[woodjin]

Welcome to the site.

Jeff

 

[MarkBNJ]

Welcome aboard, and happy New Year .

 

[Swamp Thing]

Thanks folks,
Not 50 yet but closing in on it.
Sounds like theirs some hard core bushwackers out there.Thats one thing I' into is maps,gps and swamps with remote little islands tucked away in them.Some of them the hunters haven't even found yet though I believe their googling too because their are stands popping up on even the most remote islands now and no blazed trails like their used to be.Must have gps's too
Just broke my hip waders a couple weeks ago doing a swamp walk south along the west side of Great Swamp through all the pretty strip meadows to crane and back up the road.It ook about 4.5 hours.Them meadows give you a work out.Then went and located another island up Sleeper Creek.The island was stand free but their was a portable next to the creek 50 yaeds away with fresh bait and a cleared rifle shot of 120 yards.must be muzzleloading out there.Hard core hunter this one must be.Killed me just getting myself back there and he's going to have to carry out a deer.
Bryant

 

[Swamp Thing]

I don't seem to be able to post.Is their a problem on site or at my end?

 

[Swamp Thing]

Ok.I lost my last post a couple hours ago but it seems ok now.Thanks for the welcome guys.Last post I lost I was saying that I went out a couple weeks ago and did a 4.5 mi loop through the meadows on the west side of sleeper swamp and it took about 4 hours.Beautiful meadows and then I went upstream and found an island with a deer stand in the meadow along the creek about 50 yards from the island with a fresh bait pile and trees cut to facilitate a shot from the stand about 120 yards away.Must be a muzzleloader.
Bryant

 

[Teegate]

The Sleeper is a great area to hike for sure. It appears you had a good time.

Guy

 

[Ben Ruset]

Ok.I lost my last post a couple hours ago but it seems ok now.

The site will sometimes trap posts made by new members if it thinks it might be spam. I have to manually approve those posts.

Keeps the Viagra, Cialis, etc. spam off the site.

 

[woodjin]

The great swamp has a bunch of islands. So to speak. If you are referring to one in the sleeper then you are talking about a true island and that is very cool and not likely to become home to hunters. However, there are alot of cedar "islands" within the savannas out there that are very interesting as well. It was one naturalists theory that these cedar islands were harboring an onclave of mountian lions in the great swamp. A very unlikely theory of course but is testiment to the remoteness of the area.

Jeff

 

[Swamp Thing]

Yes it is a real island but it isn't technically in great swamp.It's upstream about a mile between the swamp and the big old resevoir upstream.Your correct that most of those islands in the meadows themselves are not dry but their are two both just south of the biggest meadow that are high.One I call C camp because theirs a pine on it warped into the shape of a C.The other island is just a small clearing in scrub oaks but both are high and dry.I have crossed the great swamp on one occasion and poked into it on several others and now that I have internet I have a program called topofusion and I"ve scanned the area pretty good and see nothing that looks like an island down in the swamp.Their are some real nice islands in upper tulpehocken swamp that are a workout to get too and a very beautiful one east of chatworth that will work you over if you don't go in the right way.A whole lot of nice islands along the lower wading and down in the forks area too.I love islands I can't help it.Oh yeah a couple of beauties out to makepeace too.
Bryant