The "Mutha" of all cedars.

BEHR655 · Dec 28, 2005

No need to travel Down Jersey to find the "Mutha" of all cedars. BobM had suggested a couple of days ago that we try to find a "really big cedar" that is somewhere in the area of the Tuckahoe. This cedar is reported to be "7' 7.5" circumference at breast height thus making it the largest cedar in New Jersey." After doing some research we determined that it may be somewhere near the headwaters of the Nixon Branch. In the mean time Jeff (woodjin) mentioned that he had come across a huge cedar just a couple of months ago. Not knowing exactly where to start looking for the big cedar that Bob had mentioned we decided to look for Jeff's.
Jeff, Bob, Stu (onehand), Ed (ecampbell) and I met at Mt. Misery Rd. & Rt.70 at 9:00 this morning. Jeff said his cedar was in the area of Mt. Misery Brook and would take about a half hour to hike to. After only 2 hours of bushwhacking through some pretty thick briers we finally found it. As you can see in the photo someone had hung some tire chains on it and there were empty flower pots around it.

After cleaning up the area a bit we got a good measurement.

The cedar measured 116.75" or 9' 8.75" at 4' up from the base. This out sizes the other cedar by quite a bit and would make it the largest cedar in New Jersey.

A few more shots.

Jeff with his find

Bob resting up after the bushwhack

All of us

Looking up the tree

Steve

Edit: After reviewing furball's post regarding the cedar on Nixon's Branch, I see that it is listed as being 9' 6" in circumference. Jeff's find is still larger though.

bobpbx · Dec 28, 2005

Thanks for the post Bear. What a behemoth, unbelievable to stand next to. That is a great shot of Jeff next to his find. Remember the trees that threw apples at the Scarecrow and Dorothy? That's what it looks like in that photo.

I could be wrong, but I now think Burlington County holds the record with this Mutha.

It was mentioned on the other site that a tree this size is estimated to be 300 years old, making it a sapling in early 1700, perhaps even late 1600's. That is astounding.

Wouldn't it be neat to transpose back in time like Star-Trek to the site of the cedar when it was one year old, and then to be able to walk away from it and try and figure out what time period you were in? I'd head for Pemberton first.

Teegate · Dec 28, 2005

Very nice find Jeff! Wish I could have been there.

Guy

bobpbx · Dec 28, 2005

By the way, Jeff. Help me look for something I found in Cedar creek about 8 years ago. I was walking in the water just upstream from the canoe landing, and I felt a very large cedar on the bottom with my foot. I straddled it with my legs, but could not open my legs wide enough to touch sand on either side. We'll have to check that out this July...

Ben Ruset · Dec 28, 2005

Doesn't anybody work???

I took a walk through Manhattan today. Walked through Washington Square, where George Washington said goodbye to his army. There were a few trees there, but I doubt any of them were more than 50 years old.

It's such a shame - the entire place is covered in blacktop. I imagine that back in the day it must have been a really nice field.

I saw a 20x20 square of grass somewhere in SoHo walking back to my office. It's just so awful how little green Manhattan is.

Furball1 · Dec 28, 2005

Holy Smokes! The "Godzilla" of cedardom!!!! Awesome find!

Teegate · Dec 28, 2005

bruset said:
Doesn't anybody work???

I

You and I kept the economy stable today Ben.

Guy

LARGO · Dec 28, 2005

Been following the "other" Cedar forum & this one. By far the cedars are my favorites, the tall the small etc. In the wood or the swamp or sand all the same to me. I have a distinctly crusty model in my back yard among some others that I call the old man.
They just speak "old" to me, really old and that's cool.Think about the real forests, the big old ones, not these "young" forests we see today long after the olds have been cut down.In a book I have about shore towns, a passage from an article by Charles Abbott written in the 1890's about the many "woods" in Wildwood describes a "Cedar of almost twelve feet in circumference and speculates that it be near 1,000 years old"
Frequently they were used around cemetaries for reasons of their longevity.Not many of the Cedars' neighboring trees have that kind of slow growth & stay power going for them.

Badfish740 · Dec 29, 2005

bruset said:
I took a walk through Manhattan today. Walked through Washington Square, where George Washington said goodbye to his army. There were a few trees there, but I doubt any of them were more than 50 years old.

It's such a shame - the entire place is covered in blacktop. I imagine that back in the day it must have been a really nice field.

I saw a 20x20 square of grass somewhere in SoHo walking back to my office. It's just so awful how little green Manhattan is.

Ben do you work near Washington Square Park? I used to hang out around there a lot because a friend of mine went to NYU and lived in the Palladium on 14th street. I hadn't been in a while and went back a few months ago to find my favorite bar had closed-Macdougal Ale House...They had PBR on tap!!! :guinness:

By the way that tree is immense but it definitely looks haunted...lol
:jd:

Ben Ruset · Dec 29, 2005

Badfish740 said:
Ben do you work near Washington Square Park?

Not really. The building I work in is located on 5th and 20th. Probably about a mile or so North.

Today I think I am going to walk either East or West to the water.

Edit: I love PBR. Finnigans on 70 in Lakewood has it on tap!

woodjin · Dec 29, 2005

BEHR655 said:
Jeff said his cedar was in the area of Mt. Misery Brook and would take about a half hour to hike to. After only 2 hours of bushwhacking through some pretty thick briers we finally found it.

In my defense I stated that I narrowed it down to an area within a 1/2 Mile stretch. I never said we would find it within a 1/2 hour. Though I never anticipated it would take as long as it did. I grossly underestimated the dense undergrowth along the river. After 1 hour and 45min of abuse I looked behind me and saw bloody faces from brier cuts and I thought we better find this tree or these guys are gonna kill me. LOL. When Bob measured a cedar along the way at approx 3' circumference, judging its size relative to the cedar I had found, I knew the Mutha was going to be a serious contender for the record.

Estimating its' age at over 300 years old, it is amazing it has survived this long in the pine barrens. Forest fires, floods, logging, vandalism, lightening. I don't know about haunted but I can't imagine any tree lasting that long in the pine barrens without some kind of super natural attributes.

Jeff

BTW; Good shots Steve!

ecampbell · Dec 29, 2005

ecampbell · Dec 29, 2005

Jeff, is Mutha the official name?

Ed

onehand · Dec 29, 2005

my neck and legs will heal in about a week, LOL

i purchased a new watch today (same as one lost) it was a victum of the search for BFtree, it had 8 years left on the 10 year battery and water resistant to 30 meters so it will die a slow death, LOL

the sight of "Mutha" was worth it

sure would have been nice to see Bob climb to the top, maybe next time

BEHR655 · Dec 29, 2005

Who is Jeff's friend?

This cedar would have been not much more than a sapling when this man roamed the earth.

Steve

Teegate · Dec 29, 2005

Ed,

I like the interesting perspective photo....it makes it look larger also.

Steve...nice addition to the photo.

Guy

onehand · Dec 29, 2005

a long lost relitive maybe ? there seems to be some resemblance there

Teegate · Dec 29, 2005

Thats a "Then And Now" photo

Guy

bobpbx · Dec 29, 2005

That is smooth Steve, really smooth.....ain't life fun?

:cool:

gagliarchives · Jan 4, 2006

wow

Great shots. Cedars are my favorite. Never thought I see one THAT big.

The "Mutha" of all cedars.

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