I love swamps, but I often don't get many chances to explore them. Some, like the Great Swamp, are very intimidating, and others, like the swap out in Colliers Mills that I was in not too long ago, are not.
I was thumbing through Jersey Genesis the other day when I came across a picture of Henry Beck going through the Mordecai Swamp. I figured, well if he can do it in his 1930's style suit, I can do it too. So I poured over USAPhotoMaps and found some interesting stuff to see.
I parked near the fire tower at Batsto and jumped into the woods. It wasn't long until I came across a cleared out area, with some tree stumps. None of the growth was terribly old, so I think the area may have been used for a sawmill at one point in time. I found an old road, deeply rutted, that hadn't been used in years. I followed that into the woods, but it petered out after a while.
One thing that struck me was a straight line through the swamp. (http://www.terraservice.net/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=18&X=2656&Y=21942&W=1&qs=|batsto|nj|) It didn't appear as clear on Google Maps, but you could tell that something had cut through. I set some waypoints before I left, and using them I navigated to the beginning of the cut line.
I had hoped that it might have been a road or trail cut through the swamp, and I was in luck. It was not just a road, but an old corduroy road. This is, I think, the first real one that I have come across (unless you count the small trail that leads to the Swamp Monster.) This road hasn't been used in decades, and while it's still somewhat clear, there are plenty of blowdowns crossing it.
The beginning of the road.
I followed this road through the swamp. It ends in a T intersection. If you go right, the trail winds down along a curve and ends in a small clearing. If you go left, the trail eventually turns into what my maps call "Mordecai Swamp Road", which eventually will spit you onto a blacktop road, which intersects where Batsto Rd. stops being a paved road. You can't drive back to the corduroy road because of a pretty big tree that blocks Mordecai Swamp Rd.
I have a feeling all of those roads back there were used for logging at one point in time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to locate a sawmill base or any other types of ruins. The area was pretty garbage free, too, which was very nice. I don't think many (if any) people get back there. It's pretty out of the way.
If you look a bit further South you can see what might be another corduroy road (http://www.terraservice.net/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=18&X=2656&Y=21941&W=1&qs=|batsto|nj|). I think I may end up checking that out soon.
I ended my day with a nice drive up to Washington, Mount, and Quaker Bridge, ending the trip at Atsion. I have pics of the mansion restoration -- I'll try to get them uploaded later.
I was thumbing through Jersey Genesis the other day when I came across a picture of Henry Beck going through the Mordecai Swamp. I figured, well if he can do it in his 1930's style suit, I can do it too. So I poured over USAPhotoMaps and found some interesting stuff to see.
I parked near the fire tower at Batsto and jumped into the woods. It wasn't long until I came across a cleared out area, with some tree stumps. None of the growth was terribly old, so I think the area may have been used for a sawmill at one point in time. I found an old road, deeply rutted, that hadn't been used in years. I followed that into the woods, but it petered out after a while.
One thing that struck me was a straight line through the swamp. (http://www.terraservice.net/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=18&X=2656&Y=21942&W=1&qs=|batsto|nj|) It didn't appear as clear on Google Maps, but you could tell that something had cut through. I set some waypoints before I left, and using them I navigated to the beginning of the cut line.
I had hoped that it might have been a road or trail cut through the swamp, and I was in luck. It was not just a road, but an old corduroy road. This is, I think, the first real one that I have come across (unless you count the small trail that leads to the Swamp Monster.) This road hasn't been used in decades, and while it's still somewhat clear, there are plenty of blowdowns crossing it.
The beginning of the road.
I followed this road through the swamp. It ends in a T intersection. If you go right, the trail winds down along a curve and ends in a small clearing. If you go left, the trail eventually turns into what my maps call "Mordecai Swamp Road", which eventually will spit you onto a blacktop road, which intersects where Batsto Rd. stops being a paved road. You can't drive back to the corduroy road because of a pretty big tree that blocks Mordecai Swamp Rd.
I have a feeling all of those roads back there were used for logging at one point in time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to locate a sawmill base or any other types of ruins. The area was pretty garbage free, too, which was very nice. I don't think many (if any) people get back there. It's pretty out of the way.
If you look a bit further South you can see what might be another corduroy road (http://www.terraservice.net/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=18&X=2656&Y=21941&W=1&qs=|batsto|nj|). I think I may end up checking that out soon.
I ended my day with a nice drive up to Washington, Mount, and Quaker Bridge, ending the trip at Atsion. I have pics of the mansion restoration -- I'll try to get them uploaded later.
