Playing Catch-up

[Teegate]

All,

While I was on vacation for the last week and a half, Al (manumuskin) has been out stone searching and being quite prolific. So today was catch-up day for the most part for me as he again visited them to show me his finds. Our fist stop is an interesting stone that most likely is now on the inside of a larger tract. This means that the stone most likely is not on the edges of a current property and will not be visited by surveyors and property owners unless they find it themselves. A very nice find! Al calls this stone the B3 stone, and so it shall be.

From there we did some more serious bushwhacking and visited this stone he also found. He calls it the WDPNCRNR stone, and so it shall be. Another excellent find!

The day became even more interesting when we traveled to another location and stumbled on this snake fence that the DEP has erected in the woods. This is no ordinary snake fence in my opinion, it is almost exactly 1056 feet long ( .2 miles ) snaking (pardon the pun) through the woods. At various intervals a trap box is located where the snake might want to go thinking he is getting through the fence.

We then traveled to another location that we had not been to before, and found this stone that obviously has been visited by surveyors. Looking at 1995 aerials this stone was as remote as one could be, but today it is out in the open.

Then off to another stone Al found last week. He calls it Ridgeway and so it shall be. It is hard to get good photo’s of stones in the sun. We have to go back on a cloudy day and take more.

The we visited a remote grave in the woods. There are most likely 5 stones with one prominent. Photo’s can at times bring out the lettering, and I believe the first and last letter are he same. They are both an “A.” The link below the photo shows it larger.

http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/07132008/IMG_1098_.jpg

What is the date???

Then to the DL stone that Al found a while back.

Guy

 

[ChrisNJ]

Wow you guys are madmen traipsing through the woods in this weather, but I love the stones and the snake trap, I just hope poachers dont get any of the snakes. Is that graveyard far off the beaten path ? I love those old family plots and still occasionally visit when I can some I have come to discover over the years.

 

[manumuskin]

yes it was a good day.not too hot and still stones to search for.The pics turned out real good even with the contrast.
What do we do when we find the last stone?I wonder if all the eastern states have these real old stones lurking in their woods?Come winter I think the stones in hiding because of incomplete survey data will be at our mercy.
By the way all the snake traps were empty but their were two five line skinks,one on top of a trap and the other climbing the fence.The trail made laying the snake fence came in real handy getting from point A to point B.I sure was not ready for more bushwacking immediately after beating to wdbnpncrnr and I knew we had more to go.It's ashame the surveyors defaced the one stone with orange spray paint.Come on guys!it was a large stone out in the open!You can't find that without paint?By the time the forest regrows to hide the stone the paint will be long gone.
Al

 

[manumuskin]

Chris,
Their are no trails to the graves and their is no man sign,plants or otherwise that people ever lived there.Their only shown on one map that i know of and that map isn't detailed enough to really be a help.I found them through a friend who found them hunting.The one stone with the letters on it appears to have the date 1790 on it with the 790 being prominent and the 1 fairly invisible.The other four stones are blank.
Al

 

[Teegate]

It sure looks like 1790 as you said. I am really surprised that is still there.

Guy

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Great stuff, fellas. 1790 was my guess as well.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Nice finds! I was going to go out in the woods today, but James stories of bad pine flies kept me indoors.

 

[james ungehajer]

Great finds Guys, those stones are really big, from the first impression of the dated stone i also thought 1790.

Jim

 

[manumuskin]

Ben,
Actually the flies were non existent today,no skeeters either.The ticks are bad if you forget your permethrin but both of us were walking chemical factories.The ticks and chiggers get on you,then start a drunken stagger,then fall off.Peremethrin is bad stuff.
Al

 

[pinelandpaddler]

I like the new signature, Al. You have a good taste for Bible verses.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Are the chiggers out yet?

 

[manumuskin]

Ben,
Yes the chiggers are out but it's hard to tell in what force because were all doped up.Occasionally one gets thru my defenses and leave a bite or two on my ankles.I'm afraid to go out unprotected to be a guinea pig to give a good report.
Paddler,
I was in church the other day and they used that chapter in the sermon.I immediately latched onto that verse though i don't believe Solomon was actually talking about old survey stones it still should be a warning to anyone that would mess with our stones
Al

 

[Ben Ruset]

Heh, I was actually planning on going out in shorts since all I had to worry about was ticks.

Good thing I stayed at home.

 

[manumuskin]

Ben,
have you ever taken a hot epsom salt bath to get rid of chiggers?Fill the tub with water as hot as you can possibly stand it.then pour in a gallon of epsom salts and stir it in,maybe even pour it while the tub is still filling to disolve it.then get in.the hot water will make the bites itch like mad,thats ok.scratch like theirs no tomorrow.the salt will dry up the bites.it works faster if you dont rinse after the bath.you may need to do this two days in a row and the chigger bites should no longer itch.The ecstasy of scratching the bites in hot water is almost worth getting chiggers in the first place.The same effect can be had from swimming in the ocean.This technique works very well for poison ivy also.you can also do a bath in TIDE but you shouldn't rinse for it to work and this will leave you slimy,i like the salts better.
Al

 

[grendel]

Ben,
Yes the chiggers are out but it's hard to tell in what force because were all doped up.Occasionally one gets thru my defenses and leave a bite or two on my ankles.I'm afraid to go out unprotected to be a guinea pig to give a good report.
Paddler,
I was in church the other day and they used that chapter in the sermon.I immediately latched onto that verse though i don't believe Solomon was actually talking about old survey stones it still should be a warning to anyone that would mess with our stones
Al

try these
Hosea 5
10 Judah's leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.
I will pour out my wrath on them
like a flood of water.


Job 24
1 "Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

2 Men move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.

3 They drive away the orphan's donkey
and take the widow's ox in pledge.

 

[manumuskin]

Grendel.
Apparently moving survey stones is a grievous sin so let this be a warning to those with such inclinations.You may think,who will see?I'm in the middle of the woods and am unobserved but let me tell you this that he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.Luke 19:40 so you see the stones themselves can rat you out.
Al

 

[woodjin]

That grave is very interesting, and the fact that it is so isolated adds a certain meloncholy. It makes you wonder who is rested there. Sure beats a crowded cemetary though. I have often thought it would be nice to be buried in pine barrens. Of course, the being dead part makes it a little tougher to appreciate.

Jeff