Stone Searching

[Teegate]

All,

I have been thinking that just like Whipoorbill does with his "Tuesdays With Alfie," I should not constantly make a new thread in the "Get Togethers, Events, and Trip Reports" forum each week when I stone search. I am not sure how many are interested in this so from now on I will just add to this one thread and those that want to view them can.

Jessica and I visited the very edge of Wharton in Shamong this morning looking for quite a few stones in that area. Our first find shows what must be deterioration by water and ice over the years. Notice the little hole in the top that a surveyor has used to get his coordinates.

This next one shows some of the fence that followed much of the property in this area. Many years ago it may have been a farm but as far back as 1931 the aerials do not show that.

This one was a surprise. Much like the other one it has some sort of odd deterioration to it.

Another old one.

This one was knocked over and buried.

A fuzzy one.

This appears to be much like the first few.

Moss on this one.

We came upon an old road and after pushing through the woods most of the morning we made life easier on ourself by using this. I will go back one day and see where it goes.

Forward.

Backward

And the last one we visited. There was another one but after stepping in the water quite a few times in regular boots our feet were getting cold and we used our new found road to take us back rather easily.

Guy

 

[c1nj]

Can you give a better location of where you were?

 

[Teegate]

It was off of Forked Neck Road.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

I am sorry I did not go into more detail. To get to this area by going across state land is impossible from the Forked Neck Road area, so anyone who tries would be trespassing. I don't tell the locations for various reasons, with one reason being I can see someone trying and getting caught for tresspassing. It is a pretty long haul to get there from the closest place where one has access to it from a road, and that is one reason I have not been there until now. I am working my way around Wharton and finding how to get there legally and easily is the hardest part. I learned recently from a reliable source that my beliefs are true that the state does not require land owners to post no tresspassing signs on their property, it is our responsibility to know where we are at. I have been trying recently to update my info on recent purchases so I am more aware of ways to get to where I want to go.


Guy

 

[manumuskin]

well you have one highly interested stone fan here several on them are right nice ones.one thing about the barrens,when you find a stone it does tend to stick out,most of our stones are ground down to less then a millimeter in diameter
Al

 

[Teegate]

There is a big one that Bob and Gabe found near where you and Bill were at on Tuesday. I have the cords around here somewhere and will get them to you. I have not been there yet.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

Found the photo but not the cords.


Taken by Bob

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

thanks! We'll probably be back in that area next tuesday.
Al

 

[46er]

There is a big one that Bob and Gabe found near where you and Bill were at on Tuesday. I have the cords around here somewhere and will get them to you. I have not been there yet.

Guy

Never went looking for them, but have a question. Any idea where the natural stones originated? Not many, if any, locations close to the pines. Back in the time they were placed, it would not have been an easy task to obtain them and then place them.

 

[Teegate]

Never went looking for them, but have a question. Any idea where the natural stones originated? Not many, if any, locations close to the pines. Back in the time they were placed, it would not have been an easy task to obtain them and then place them.

Many of the stones came right from the pinesI believe. One location had to have been the big hill on Carranza Road where Wharton starts on the curve. Some of the stones there are massive and there is evidence of digging. There is at least one hill in Medford that I visited that appears to have been dug for the sandstone there, and occasionally we run into others.

Guy

 

[46er]

Has anyone identified the type of stone? That might give some idea of the origin.

 

[Teegate]

Has anyone identified the type of stone? That might give some idea of the origin.

I don't know stones, only how to find them. :cry:


Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Has anyone identified the type of stone? That might give some idea of the origin.

most of the stones I have either found alone or with Guy are of native NJ sandstone which is pretty distinguishable by it's color and texture.some of them have been of quartz which is also native and generally located a little deeper and usually only found in or aROUND QUARRIES. I do know of other stones that are slate and several that appear to be marble and one I believe was granite.There is no igneous rock exposed in south jeresy and while quartz is metamorphic and is made from sandstone I don't know if it is made from ours or was made elsewhere.The stones that are made from foreign material are often larger then the native stones and I believe were probably bought by wealthyier people or perhaps brought in from travels which were usually the wealthier.Our sandstone is easily broken which may be why many are so small,they were broken to get more stones or nature broke them through cleavage and erosion.
every stone i see here looks like jersey sandstone except for the one that is flat on top and looks like a weird shaped stump.I'd have to get a better look at that one but it is definitely odd for native rock.
Al

 

[Teegate]

All,

Jessica is sick so I headed out on my own today to look for two Friendship Bogs monuments that have frustrated me for a while. These were one of the last few that I have not found after quite a few attempts looking for them. Today, I was successful with these two.

This one is right near Eagle Tavern surrounded by brier. Well, if you come in the way I did it was all brier, but once I found it I could see I came in the wrong way. The story of my life when it comes to brier It was placed there in 1983 when the state purchased this portion of the Friendship Bogs tract.

Next, about 500 feet away was another monument or so I thought. I found a stone.

It has been a long project and since I am so close to finding them all I will be making a long basic report for my records and will add it to this post when I am done. Photo's of everything I have found and tidbits of info on each one. If you like Friendship Bogs you may enjoy it when it is done.


Guy

 

[manumuskin]

Guy
the surprise stone you found,did it haver a monument with it? did the stone have any of that purty yeller paint on it that is so prevalent in the friendship area? I don't notice any in the pic.
Al

 

[Teegate]

It did not have a monument but I have info that shows one there. But, it was penciled in so it was not original info. It does have yellow paint as did three trees all around it.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

All,

Jessica, Al, and I headed out this morning to search for quite a few stones in the Great Swamp. Our best access to where we wanted to go was across 'Bloody Bridge" where you may remember the video of us crossing on a recent PBX hike. So at 9AM we met at the Pleasant Mills Church and then drove the 20 minutes to the bridge through the woods. Upon arriving we were quite disappointed to see that the recent flooding had taken the wooden planks out.

With no other coordinates in my GPS, and limited coordinates in Al's GPS, we had to drive until I was able to get a cell phone signal and call my daughter at my mother-in-laws house and ask her to run up the street and fire up my GPS and pass me along the coordinates I needed to keep the day from being a bust. With her help we were on our way to Martha Furnace where we headed across the bridge and walked north too search out two stones we had wanted to visit for some time. On the way we did some searching at the sawmill Jeff found a few years back, and Jessica took a nap on it while Al and I roamed around.

Then off to the first stone not far away.

We spent much of our time there in cedar swamps.

The second stone was somewhat of a let-down. Watch the video on youtube.

Then the trouble began for me. On the way back a tree branch went into my eye through the side of my glasses causing me quite a bit of pain. I have had that happen previously but this was different. I managed to walk back to the car with my head down most of the way because it felt much better when doing so. Each time I blinked it was irritating, and after arriving home and washing my eye in the shower for ten minutes it was not getting any better. After some pushing from my family I went to my eye doctors and was told I had some minor damage to it. To subdue the pain he inserted a contact lens which I have to say has made my life so much better. He told me to get to bed early and I have to be back there tomorrow to have the lens removed.

Guy

 

[woodjin]

Hope your eye gets better quick Guy. Gee, those branches really have it out for you huh? It wasn't long ago you got that branch in your ear.

Jeff

 

[manumuskin]

us to be a medicated contac lens,thats a new one to me.I have had the same thing happen to me on several occasions and it is not a good experience,had to walk out of the woods once with one eye and a shower will make it hurt worse.Feels like you have something in your eye but it's probably a scratched cornea.Did the doc say exactly what the damage was?I hope you feel better tomorrow Guy,what a stick in the ear,one in the eye and you almost got swallered by the varve monster and fossilized on the last pbx hike.I hope the Barrens God has not put you in his sights:-(



Al

 

[bobpbx]

I'm sorry to see you had an injury Guy! Hope it turns out to be a temporary problem.

I remember on Scott's hike I jumped that canal and a stick on a branch on the other side went into my eye. It bothered me for 24 hours, then went quickly away.