The "March of Ives" a PBX Hike

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
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All,

It just so happens that all the talk about the Ives Branch recently coincides with bobpbx making plans for a PBX hike of that very same area. Here is an edited version of the invitation all the PBX members received.


Fellow hikers, wayfarers, explorer's, and those just plain lost in the wilderness. The title of our next exploring trip is "March of Ives". At 8:45 AM, on Saturday, Feb 2nd, we will meet where Stage Road joins with the Chatsworth Road. We, my friends, are going to explore the Ives Branch of the Wading River. I hope to get into some lonely areas on the Eastern Side, and it will be neat to poke around the stream on the West side


So this morning we started at Stage Road and Chatsworth Road and walked the short distance to the Bass River Forest border, where we headed off on our adventure. After finding old marijuana buckets, we stopped at a small pond. Attending today was rednekf350, pinelandpaddler, bobpbx, me (teegate), Jessica, and a non member of this site.

The small pond.

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Crossing one of the wet area’s we found this cedar road that most likely was built for logging.


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If you don’t explore deep into the woods along the Ives, you would never know that much of it is owned by the Nature Conservatory. They have signs all along many of the small branches in that area.


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Those of you who have visited the lake with the wooden boat in it may have missed a few ruins that are nearby. There are foundations of a building with a cesspool not far away right off the Batona Trail.


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And within 100 yards of that there is an odd barbed wire fenced in area that must have been to keep in horses. And right next to it hidden under the brush are foundation of a small building right along that lake that is hard to see.


The fence.

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You can see where the building was.

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The foundations hidden under the brush

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Paul at the lake with the wooden boat behind him.

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Lunch in the field near the lake.

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My lunch

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A multi family tree.

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Along the Ives Branch.

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Our fearless leader bobpbx on a beaver lodge.

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Gabe (pinelandpaddler) pondering a beaver dam nearby.

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And three images merged of the lodge.

http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/02022008/merged

Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
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Sep 17, 2002
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Real nice pics Guy, looks like you all had a great day. How is your ear ?

Jim

Somewhat better. It makes noises when I turn my head which it did all day today as I walked, and my hearing is still slightly muffled. I do not have any pain. I wore my hat most of the day today to keep it protected.

I still hear my pulse which is really strange.

Thanks for asking jim.

Guy
 
Oct 25, 2006
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Somewhat better. It makes noises when I turn my head which it did all day today as I walked, and my hearing is still slightly muffled. I do not have any pain. I wore my hat most of the day today to keep it protected.

I still hear my pulse which is really strange.

Thanks for asking jim.

Guy

Just concerned. It's a good thing to hear your pulse.:)

Jim
 

Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Nice report. I've been to that lake many years ago and was fascinated by it. Great photos too - especially the beaver dam panorama! It was a spectacular February day today.
 

Teegate

Administrator
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Sep 17, 2002
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For those of you who may want to visit the site of the foundations with the cesspool, here it the location.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.65...pn=0.003221,0.006555&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr&om=0

And the fenced in area with the outline of a building with foundations hidden under the brush.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.65...pn=0.006443,0.013111&t=h&z=17&iwloc=addr&om=0

And here are our tracks. It is about 6.5 miles. I reset my GPS in the area where the track is broken so it may have even been longer.

tracks.jpg


BTW, if you go to 004 you will find a Bass River Monument.

Guy
 
Oct 25, 2006
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For those of you who may want to visit the site of the foundations with the cesspool, here it the location.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.65...pn=0.003221,0.006555&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr&om=0

And the fenced in area with the outline of a building with foundations hidden under the brush.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.65...pn=0.006443,0.013111&t=h&z=17&iwloc=addr&om=0

And here are our tracks. It is about 6.5 miles. I reset my GPS in the area where the track is broken so it may have even been longer.


BTW, if you go to 004 you will find a Bass River Monument.

Guy

Guy

Is Prince Pl. Road carable ?

Also how about the Batona Trail ? Can you drive on it in that section ?

Jim
 

Teegate

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Guy

Is Prince Pl. Road carable ?

Also how about the Batona Trail ? Can you drive on it in that section ?

Jim

I did not go down Prince Place Road so I can't really say. It looks like there may be sections where you may have a problem, especially after all the rain we had. As for the Batona Trail in that area, the portion that is on the road you can drive on. They have the sections that are off the road blocked off with wooden barriers.

Guy
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
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Pines; Bamber area
Nice day for an outing in early February, that's for sure. Thanks Guy, Scott, Gabe, Jess, and Paul. This area was nicer than I thought it would be. We gave the trip an 8.25 out of 10.

Looking ahead to the way foward, consulting the maps:

watermark.php


Guy takes his break:

watermark.php


A pleasant land in the distance:

watermark.php


Many open areas deep into the woods in this area along the Ives:

watermark.php


Really room to spread out in certain places:

watermark.php


Guy at the ford:

watermark.php


Back of the Lake:

watermark.php


$100 Crossing:

watermark.php


Guy risks his neck again:

watermark.php


The Ives, a tributary of the Wading:

watermark.php


House on the Lake. We all have seen this before from a different angle. For Sale:

watermark.php
 

MarkBNJ

Piney
Jun 17, 2007
1,875
73
Long Valley, NJ
www.markbetz.net
Wow, great hike and great pictures, guys. I'm sorry to have missed it.

For James: I was up Prince Pl. Rd. a couple of weeks ago in the Toyota, and I don't recall anything too bad, but it was a lot colder. The other route up to the head of the branch is Tub Mill Rd., and that is most definitely not car-able, pretty much not truck-able, and a=only barely walk-able :). So if you want to head up there Prince Place is the best shot.
 

GermanG

Piney
Apr 2, 2005
1,147
491
Little Egg Harbor
I saw your vehicles on Stage Road today while driving on my way to the Parker Preserve with my wife and lab for a more casual walk/ dog training session. I wasn't aware of your outing, but I had a gut feeling that might be you guys! We stopped at Buzby's first to chat with Marilyn. It was nice to learn that she's bringing back the cafe in a few months. I imagine I'll have quite a few meals there.

The walk at the preserve was shorter than I would have liked, as we had other chores today, but we saw two eagles, a bunch of waterfowl, and the dog had a great time, although she never did quite learn that she wasn't ever going to successfully retrieve the cedar stumps from the reservoirs.

I'm good friends with the folks that own that house by-the-way. We were just there in December for a Christmas party. They are certified kayak instructors and volunteer on most of the county trips and instructional clinics. They are trying to relocate out of state but they aren't getting any takers for the house. They've dropped the price but it's still a hunk of change. Most folks looking to spend that much are shopping on LBI, not out in the pines. Maybe I should start playing the lottery!
 

whippoorbill

Explorer
Jul 29, 2003
675
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Bridgeton

Who won the javelin competition? :)

Lovely reports and photos, Bob and Guy. I remember passing this area during the first section of my Batona Trail hike last winter, and it's been calling me back since. I'm thinking about doing some field recording thereabouts this spring; that's if it's out of shouting distance from the nearby roads.

Bill
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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I'm good friends with the folks that own that house by-the-way. We were just there in December for a Christmas party. They are certified kayak instructors and volunteer on most of the county trips and instructional clinics.

German,

The next time you talk to them ask them what they know about Don Bragg. He is the man who originally owned that house. He was an gold metal olympic pole vaulter in 1960, owned the Paradise Lake camp ground, and grew up in Penns Grove NJ. He even played Tarzan in a movie. Here is a link about him. Check out the two photo's.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/02/SP24.DTL

Guy
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Bob,

Glad I combed my hair for the photo "in the ford." Nice one!

Guy
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Very nice trip and report, Gentlemen! Had you planned this excursion prior to the Ives Branch discussion or did that discourse provide the impetus for your exploration? Either way, you could not have had a better day for it!!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

Bob has been planning this for a while, and it was on January 16th we received the email about it. Read post number 2 and 7 in the this thread for clues.

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/showthread.php?t=4893

Guy
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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I didn't see any. I would guess it would have been easier to see something if it had not rained so much. Much of the area was flooded and we may not have been able to get to those area's.

Guy
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,693
4,864
Pines; Bamber area
Sorry, Guy--I forgot that I had read that information previously.

It is amazing that our serendipitous discussion of the mill operations occurred in such a timely fashion! Did you observe any remnants of milling on the Ives Branch?

Best regards,
Jerseyman

That would have been far downstream at route 542, right Jerseyman? I'd like to poke around there someday. We stopped at 679, by Timberland Lake Resort.
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,358
340
Near Mt. Misery
Real nice report. Would have liked to have been on this one. Sure had great weather. It is amazing how many hidden cordoroy roads are out there isn't it? Even more amazing is how the cedar underlay has lasted so long. What a resilant wood.

See any turtles under the ice? Gabe and I saw a bunch on the sleeper.
I looked into that house on the lake as it has been on the market. Took the virtual tour online also. What a place!! Perfect, except of course for the huge price.

I remember camping at Timberline campground around '85 with some older friends. We had met a couple pineys (teenagers) in the woods that day and they came (somewhat uninvited) to party with us that evening at the camp. I remember they had a cassette player with them that had Led Zep's "hearbreaker" on it. The only problem was that that was the only song they had on the tape...looped over and over again.:confused:

Nice report!

Jeff
 
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