The "Bog Slog", a PBX Hike

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,984
8,737
All,

Just 10 days ago we were notified by Scott and Bob that there was another hike imminent. Here is the “edited” announcement Bob passed on to all members that he received from Scott who had designed it.


Our next trip will be led by that purveyor of steamed roadkill, the moonshiner and jerky-maker extraordinaire, the man with the deadpan, the geeter with the heater, our own Scott the Pestletown Piney! The below handbill announcing this trip was announced by said dread-Scott hisself.



On Saturday November 22, 2008 (November 23, 2008 rain date) we will meet at Batsto at 8:45 a.m.

We will explore an area that I have been fascinated with ever since the advent of Google Earth. It is a system of bogs south and east of Wescoat that appear to have been abandoned as far back as 1930. They are large and are fed by several branches associated with the Mullica watershed. I have loved Wescoat ever since I started duck hunting there in the 80's and this area will be uncharted territory for me.

I would like to follow the berms, more or less, to appreciate the work that was done by some very industrious people without the assistance of modern machinery. We will also touch into a beaver pond that pops in and out of existence according to historic aerials. The pond looks as if it served as the main reservoir for the bog system.

The hike looks like it will be wet and I think I will opt for hip boots as opposed to knee highs.

Track length is 2.5 miles and if everything goes too smoothly, we will add length as needed.

Well I hope everyone can make it............Scott



So as the announcement said we started our journey at 8:45 by walking across Constable Bridge and entering one of the most remote places in NJ. On this trip we had Jeff, Tom, Gabe, Scott, Bob, Me, and our friends Mickey and Paul who are not members of this site. Few people ever go here so sit back and enjoy the ride. Others will be posting photo’s so I will skip many of mine and let the other post theirs.



Early on we came upon this cedar swamp that we had to cross. Many of them were blown down or had fallen making the crossing quite exhausting.

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Mickey told me to take this shot and I want to thank him for the idea.


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We arrived at the large lake that very few people ever see. Since I along with many other were wearing waders, I was able to walk out into the frozen edges of the lake and take these shots.


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A panoramic.

http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/11222008/a.jpg


Without beavers there would most likely be no lake.

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Bob fell and could not get up. He is as bad as Jessica :)


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Lunch time!

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Leatherleaf taking over this bog.



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Jeff admiring the sights.

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While planning the hike Scott reviewed the area using Live Maps, and found this duck blind in the middle of the swamp.


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Jeff and I had walked out into the middle of the swamp we were in, and I spotted a blind in the distance. So we headed towards it breaking the ice as we walked. Here is the view we saw as we closed in on it. We had to cross the water ahead to get to it.


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While crossing there I noticed something yellow all over under the water. A closer inspection revealed it to be corn. They had scattered the corn in hopes the ducks would feed there making them an easy target for their weapons. A view into the water.


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The back of the blind.

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The entrance on the side.

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They were a little messy, but they had almost everything. Water, canned food, a stove, and plenty of chairs.


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The expiration date was 11/09. Anyone hungry??


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A great day with great hikers who really appreciate the pines.


Guy
 

LARGO

Piney
Sep 7, 2005
1,553
134
54
Pestletown
Really nice pics Guy. Seems it was a killer walkabout. Looks like it would have been fun to be a part of.
I was educated in part today about the family associated with their bog operation. Your pictures are appreciated.

g.
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,693
4,864
Pines; Bamber area
Nice report Guy.

Cool trip Scott. I had a great time. The Sleeper Branch is deliciously wild in that area. I was most impressed with the lake created by the beavers. What a great place!

Here is Scott our Leader in the cedar swamp.

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When you get that far out there, and water is prevalent, you find these delightful hidden gems where wetland plants thrive.

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I believe this is New York Aster gone to seed.

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Look what those beaver did! I have never seen a place like this. This dam section is just a sliver of it. It extends intermittently for hundreds of yards.

BEAVER.JPG


The PBX Blues Brothers standing in a canal with water in it. Looks like they just stepped out of their convertible.

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My good exploring friend Long-a-Coming. As usual, steady as she goes mate.

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And this guy, another exploring friend that pops in every now and then. Jeff is in the background, standing in water with an ice skim on the surface.

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Jeff, beating the skim of ice so he can walk through the bog. We were just crushing it with our foot, but it had to be tough on he and Guy after walking about ¼ mile through it.

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We walked along the Mullica on the way back. Always a treat. Here are some Mullica Cedars.

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General area we were in. Essentially the Great Swamp (Gabe, check it out, we talked about this today).

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Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,984
8,737
Thanks Largo!

Bob, a very nice photo of Tom, along with the others.

Guy
 

whippoorbill

Explorer
Jul 29, 2003
675
121
66
Bridgeton
Great stuff! You guys sure picked a ... ummm ... toasty day to be out exploring the "open" (and windy, I'm sure) bogs. The photographs are wonderful; quite the photographer's dream out there, isn't it? The pines' smaller shaded streams, and their associated bogs, are treasures.

My weekends, so to speak, are the work days I schedule to take off during the week (normal weekend days always seem to have me transporting youngins to and fro). Tuesday, Al and I will be in the Sleeper/Great Swamp area as well. This thumbnail ...



... represents the exact place we will be exiting the area (not far from Rockwood) - we'll be wetly trouncing out from the gap on the right. We'll start off a few miles downstream, from a second vehicle; I don't think we'll be covering any of the boggitory you guys did, but further upstream. So, if any of you guys are up for an encore, of sorts ... :)

Bill
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,064
3,341
Pestletown, N.J.
Well, my biggest fear after getting a positive response from 7 other eager woodsmen was that my first planned hike would be too short in length.
That did not turn out to be a problem, as it took us nearly 6 hours to cover a track length of only 2.8 miles.
Much of the hike was spent tunneling through sweet pepper, viburnum and green briar and stepping on, over and around multiple blowdowns.
The water crossings toward the end were very slow going as we had to fracture about a 1" thick ice cover each time we dropped our boots to take step.

The purpose of the hike was to explore a bog system that was active around 1850 and abandoned sometime before 1930.
I have always been impressed with the amount of work that was done by industrious people trying to sctach a living out of the pines long before there were steam or diesel powered excavating equipment. It is hard to fathom the work that these people were able to accomplish.

We began the hike and within 50 yards of a well travelled road, the 160+ year old system quickly became evident. We walked along a substantial dike that was drained by a small hand dug canal. We crossed several ditches within the now wooded bog itself as we headed due west towards a small cedar swamp.

Here is Mickey hidden in the twisted mess of dead cedar.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9816

From there, we hit a long narrow pond surrounded by quaking earth. The pond was only 40' wide but was surprisingly deep.
Here is a pic of Guy and Gabe who look like they are staring through the ice at a lost wallet.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9820

We headed out and were to be following the Sleeper northwest for a ways.
Here is a view of the Sleeper that few get to see.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9818
Here is Bob on the Sleeper posing for a cover photo for his soon to be released autobiography. It will be entitled "Mein Swampf"
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9817

From there it was north to the resevoir that was originally built by men and maintained free of charge to this day by a long lineage of of toothy furbearers.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9812

We then trudged through ice covered bogs for the next hour and through possibly the most scenic areas of the hike.
The sky was my favorite for winter photography, the Simpson's Sky.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9819

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9813

Here is some piney window glass. Unfortunately a very seasonal commodity.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9815


We headed down to the Mullica for a closing shot.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/9814
The after party with some homemade wine and Bob's hot dogs right off the grill was in fact priceless.

We left the woods a little beat up and cut up which is always a good thing.
It lets you know you're still alive and that you have a short window on this earth to get out and do this kind of thing.
I plan to drop dead out there with any luck.
:)

Scott
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,358
340
Near Mt. Misery
Another fun and satisfying PBX hike with a great bunch of guys!! Here are a few shots.

Tough going at times? you bet! here is what was in front of us most of the time.
watermark.php


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water filled canals were often the path of least resistance. Here is Tom taking advantage of a clear passage.
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An upturned maple covered with raindeer lichens. My wife says it looks like Swamp Thing.
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Nature reclaiming a bog.
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a bunch of slackers
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Cold toes? We got it covered.
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The main channel exiting the bog
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Jeff
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,064
3,341
Pestletown, N.J.
The area in that last picture Jeff really spoke words as we were leaving the woods on Saturday.
I didn't say anything but I certainly took note of it.
The calm tea colored water, the quiet cathedral of cedar and the relief of some easy walking were as if the woods were saying "Enjoy this boys, you've earned it today".
Scott
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,358
340
Near Mt. Misery
The area in that last picture Jeff really spoke words as we were leaving the woods on Saturday.
I didn't say anything but I certainly took note of it.
The calm tea colored water, the quiet cathedral of cedar and the relief of some easy walking were as if the woods were saying "Enjoy this boys, you've earned it today".
Scott

We were both thinking the exact same thing. Very well stated
 
Apr 6, 2004
3,620
564
Galloway
RednekF350 said:
The area in that last picture Jeff really spoke words as we were leaving the woods on Saturday.
I didn't say anything but I certainly took note of it.
The calm tea colored water, the quiet cathedral of cedar and the relief of some easy walking were as if the woods were saying "Enjoy this boys, you've earned it today".

I think we were all on the same wavelength there.

It was a great hike, though. Thanks for getting us back there, Scott.
 

Mts83

Explorer
Oct 24, 2008
207
1
Sourland Mountains
www.wtfda.info
I find it interesting how some snow showed up in some of the pictures, especially Woodjin's which shows a classic example of a Pine Barrens microclimate. Many times in the most remote and low lying areas of the pines you'll have an environment which will besides not only radiate its heat very well at night, but will also remain relatively cool during the day vs. surrounding areas. I live in one such area myself, and always find it interesting how temperatures can vary several degrees over a matter of a few hundred feet. My immediate area is usually the last to lose its snow along with places like in the pictures.

Looks like it was a great hike.
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,358
340
Near Mt. Misery
I find it interesting how some snow showed up in some of the pictures, especially Woodjin's which shows a classic example of a Pine Barrens microclimate. Many times in the most remote and low lying areas of the pines you'll have an environment which will besides not only radiate its heat very well at night, but will also remain relatively cool during the day vs. surrounding areas. I live in one such area myself, and always find it interesting how temperatures can vary several degrees over a matter of a few hundred feet. My immediate area is usually the last to lose its snow along with places like in the pictures.

Looks like it was a great hike.

That is a great observation. We were discussing that at the onset of our hike. It is interesting that those areas with the snow still remaining were fairly protected from snow fall by way of dense vegetation. Which, equally protected it from direct sunlight.

Jeff
 

Mts83

Explorer
Oct 24, 2008
207
1
Sourland Mountains
www.wtfda.info
That is a great observation. We were discussing that at the onset of our hike. It is interesting that those areas with the snow still remaining were fairly protected from snow fall by way of dense vegetation. Which, equally protected it from direct sunlight.

Jeff


Thanks Jeff, it’s a fascinating phenomenon... besides the dense brush/vegetation there are a few other factors at play as well. First, it's a low lying area, which means that cold air will pool and drain there (the lowest points around), causing a microclimate. Combined with that dense canopy overhead it can actually form a type of insulation effect keeping some of the cold around, even during the day. The second factor, as is across much of the Pine Barrens, the sandy soil. It holds very little heat and can quickly irradiate its heat under the right conditions, such as clear skies and calm winds. All those factors combined allow those little microclimates to exist.

There are a few reporting stations which show some of the Pine Barrens microclimates, especially at night. Coyle Field, "Oswego Lake" (at one of the cranberry plants), Robert Miller Airpark, and Ft Dix all have sensors showing the deviation at night. Like I mentioned though, the cooling can occur during the day as well. The most recent daytime example I witnessed was on Oct 28th, when that rare out of season snow hit. I took a drive out to Oswego Lake and Harrisville only to see temps plummet from the low 40s to upper 30s in their immediate areas. Oswego showed the greatest fall however. One more example happened in my own backyard a few years back. There was storm with a rapid onset of precipitation immediately following a cold radiational cooling night… the result? An ice storm that only hit my immediate area, and a few other spotty areas of Laureldale and into the WMA. Another example of a microclimate.

Michael
 
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