At 9AM this morning the members of the Pine Barrens Explores (PBX) hiking club set out on our quest to go " Up the Middle, Down the South" on the Middle Branch and South Branch near Waretown.
We met at the Super WaWa on Route 9 and then proceeded to the back of an industrial park where we began our hike. From this site we had:
Bobbleton
BobM
Behr655
Ecampbell
TeeGate (Me)
Onehand
Woodjin
We visited some rare plant sites, fought our way along the North Branch, traversed a few roads, climbed a few small hills, and basically had a great time. I did not take many photo's because I was concentrating on staying on my feet; however, here are a few to view.
Group shot form left to right Steve, Jeff, Paul, Stu, BobM, Mickey, Bob, Ed, and me.
Bob holding his find deep in the wilds of Middle Branch.
It is a wild area, and parts of it are the Forsythe Wildlife Refuge which holds many rare plants such as Bog asphodel. We visited an area where BobM about 3 years ago found contained Bog asphodel and was being destroyed by off-road vehicles. Through his efforts the federal government blocked off the area and we found today that they have recovered quite nicely.
A good day with good friends.
Here is an edited portion of our notification earlier this month from Bob.
Fellow swamp stompers,
The title of our next official Pine Barren Explorers trip is entitled: Up the Middle, Down the South. We will meet at 9:00 am on Sunday, 29 January at the Lacey Industrial Park off route 9 about a half-mile north of the Oyster Creek Power Plant.
We will be on the trail for about 5.5 miles, running a course west, parallel to the Middle Branch of the Forked River, then South toward the South Branch of the Forked River. We will then follow the South Branch heading east.
This is an interesting area, truly pine barren landscape. There is a very primitive-looking area west of the parkway, and we'll be hitting a couple of low hills in the middle of the swamp. The Middle Branch area has also been identified as harboring many endangered plants. East of the Parkway we will stop at the spot where vehicles tore up a pretty little pristine stream that was harboring Bog Asphodel.
The mileage may not seem like a lot, but there are a lot of twist and turns in rugged country on this one. Bob.
Guy
We met at the Super WaWa on Route 9 and then proceeded to the back of an industrial park where we began our hike. From this site we had:
Bobbleton
BobM
Behr655
Ecampbell
TeeGate (Me)
Onehand
Woodjin
We visited some rare plant sites, fought our way along the North Branch, traversed a few roads, climbed a few small hills, and basically had a great time. I did not take many photo's because I was concentrating on staying on my feet; however, here are a few to view.
Group shot form left to right Steve, Jeff, Paul, Stu, BobM, Mickey, Bob, Ed, and me.
Bob holding his find deep in the wilds of Middle Branch.
It is a wild area, and parts of it are the Forsythe Wildlife Refuge which holds many rare plants such as Bog asphodel. We visited an area where BobM about 3 years ago found contained Bog asphodel and was being destroyed by off-road vehicles. Through his efforts the federal government blocked off the area and we found today that they have recovered quite nicely.
A good day with good friends.
Here is an edited portion of our notification earlier this month from Bob.
Fellow swamp stompers,
The title of our next official Pine Barren Explorers trip is entitled: Up the Middle, Down the South. We will meet at 9:00 am on Sunday, 29 January at the Lacey Industrial Park off route 9 about a half-mile north of the Oyster Creek Power Plant.
We will be on the trail for about 5.5 miles, running a course west, parallel to the Middle Branch of the Forked River, then South toward the South Branch of the Forked River. We will then follow the South Branch heading east.
This is an interesting area, truly pine barren landscape. There is a very primitive-looking area west of the parkway, and we'll be hitting a couple of low hills in the middle of the swamp. The Middle Branch area has also been identified as harboring many endangered plants. East of the Parkway we will stop at the spot where vehicles tore up a pretty little pristine stream that was harboring Bog Asphodel.
The mileage may not seem like a lot, but there are a lot of twist and turns in rugged country on this one. Bob.
Guy
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