I decided to do a little exploring this afternoon using the new LIDAR maps Boyd has linked to and given us. It's the wooded peninsula on Hammonton Lake (the Smith Conservancy). I know the main trails here very well but the Hillshade of South Jersey map showed features I'd never seen. "a" appears to be an abandoned road, "b" is appears to be a cellar hole, and "c" is a meandering side trail.
I first went searching for the abandoned road (a). Despite what should have been a fairly obvious start at a well-defined intersection of modern trails, I could find nothing. I headed through the bramble and tacked back and forth hoping I'd come across it. The woods opened up in a few spots but I never found the trace of any sort of road.
I turned my attention to the cellar hole (b). I opened Google Maps and used it to orient myself against the shoreline in the LIDAR image. I circled around and bushwacked through some gnarly thorns (I have the scratches and torn clothing to prove it) till I was in the general area. Because the LIDAR shows elevations so well I was able to orient myself to the hills. The lower areas were your typical lowland wall of cedar trees and seeing them in the middle distance helped with navigation. Finally I saw some laurel on a slight rise and there behind it was the cellar hole. Not very different from a hundred other South Jersey cellar holes but I was proud of myself for finding it!
Knowing just where I was on the LIDAR map, I once again looked for the abandoned road and once again didn't find it. Eventually I bushwacked my way out to an established trail.
As I came back around I thought I'd look for the meandering trail (c). Surprisingly this was relatively easy to find. There was an odd collection of undergarments about twenty feet in (ewww) but past that it was full of fallen trees and thicket and I can be pretty sure I was the first human to travel that route in awhile. But I was able to mostly follow it around back to the established trail. I guessed it averaged about nine inches below the surrounding woods, which gives you an idea just how amazing this LIDAR is—a nine inch shallow gulley shows clear as day on the LIDAR.
Anyway, it was a short exploration but fun!
ps: Interestingly, the map looks a little different in Boyd's LIDAR in the Pines 2021 (BW) map. The abandoned road (b) doesn't show up at all there. It appears as if the shadows are at a different angle perhaps?
I first went searching for the abandoned road (a). Despite what should have been a fairly obvious start at a well-defined intersection of modern trails, I could find nothing. I headed through the bramble and tacked back and forth hoping I'd come across it. The woods opened up in a few spots but I never found the trace of any sort of road.
I turned my attention to the cellar hole (b). I opened Google Maps and used it to orient myself against the shoreline in the LIDAR image. I circled around and bushwacked through some gnarly thorns (I have the scratches and torn clothing to prove it) till I was in the general area. Because the LIDAR shows elevations so well I was able to orient myself to the hills. The lower areas were your typical lowland wall of cedar trees and seeing them in the middle distance helped with navigation. Finally I saw some laurel on a slight rise and there behind it was the cellar hole. Not very different from a hundred other South Jersey cellar holes but I was proud of myself for finding it!
Knowing just where I was on the LIDAR map, I once again looked for the abandoned road and once again didn't find it. Eventually I bushwacked my way out to an established trail.
As I came back around I thought I'd look for the meandering trail (c). Surprisingly this was relatively easy to find. There was an odd collection of undergarments about twenty feet in (ewww) but past that it was full of fallen trees and thicket and I can be pretty sure I was the first human to travel that route in awhile. But I was able to mostly follow it around back to the established trail. I guessed it averaged about nine inches below the surrounding woods, which gives you an idea just how amazing this LIDAR is—a nine inch shallow gulley shows clear as day on the LIDAR.
Anyway, it was a short exploration but fun!
ps: Interestingly, the map looks a little different in Boyd's LIDAR in the Pines 2021 (BW) map. The abandoned road (b) doesn't show up at all there. It appears as if the shadows are at a different angle perhaps?
I always wondered what those shapes were.