All,
I had some stone searching to do along the Sleeper and asked Al (manumuskin) to come along to help me with that endeavor. I will get to that later and skip to our second agenda for the day. Recently, I received a private message from a member of this site, who relayed some info on a large stone that was hidden in a remote section of the woods on the Medford/Shamong Township line. Obviously, my curiosity was peaked, and subsequent contact also revealed that he knew of the remains of an old hunting cabin nearby the location of the stone. The cabin was owned by Carleton Taylor who was the Section Forest Fire Warden in the 1940’s.
Our correspondence revealed the general location of the stone, and I started looking over my survey and other maps here to narrow down the exact location of the stone. Soon it became apparent that I had info on the stone but just did not realize that it could be as large a stone as I was being told. If I had known that, I would have put more effort into visiting it since Rob from work and I were 500 feet from it 2 years ago on one of our explorations of this area. So after our Sleeper explorations Al and I drove as far as we could to these locations and set out on foot to first find the remains of the cabin. After a little confusion with my GPS coordinates we finally arrived at the cabin remains.
This shows one of cinderblock foundations at the location. This seems too small to be the actual cabin.
There were numerous large holes in the ground making it hard for us to decide which one was the one. Also, there were what might have been the remains of appliances from inside the place.
This was a very small building with a pipe in the ground. This could have been an outhouse of some sort.
Roaming around revealed various other interesting things. In the middle of an open area a short distance away.
Two plastic buckets buried in the ground near each other. What it was for I am not certain; however, it could have been for watering plants or capturing snakes. And obviously, it is much more recent.
This one was covered with a fake Christmas Tree.
Then on to the stone. Usually, when the stone is large, the survey maps will mention that. I always look for them first, and save the stones that seem mundane for a time when I pass through. Rob and I were following that rule when we passed through a few years before; however, we were not aware that we were skipping one of the best stones I have visited in a while when we visited another one 400 feet away. We should have visited this one. I want to thank the person who brought the size of this to my attention.
It is thick.
In the email I also was informed of “Piney Island.” Located nearby, we walked there to look for a sandstone foundation he said was on the SW corner at that location. The island is basically a hill surrounded by swamp, an oasis of sand and dirt with a large tree in the center.
We never did find the foundation, but there are sandstone and bricks that have been used in what appears to be an old fire pit. The sandstone has mortar so there was a foundation of some sort there at one time. We were just not able to find it.
We did find what I am certain is a property stone there. This thing is solid in the ground and not near any of the other stones on the island. It’s appearance is almost unmistakable to me and I wish I knew what property it was for.
Now to the first part of our day. It has become quite apparent to Al and I that beavers rule the Sleeper. The complete river in the Rockwood area is wood. Under the clear flowing water is millions of logs and sticks that they have strategically placed along it’s length to have the river at their control. The locations where we looked for stones were 3 and 4 feet underwater from their relentless changes of the flow. Al and I waded directly through and across the river for almost 3 hours with almost zero results. All we found was wood and more wood, and a state monument on higher ground.
The monument.
These videos show Al at home in his environment, wading through swamps like they are a bathtub. We were up to our waist in smelly muck stomping our feet looking for stones. This first video shows Al on his knees trying to move forward when his feet just were not doing the job. A classic! If you want to be a serious stone hunter, you must learn to endure this
These are about 13MB each so give them time to load.
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/07182009/Al_1.mov
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/07182009/Al_2.mov
And finally, Common Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia).
Again, thanks to my informant, and to Al for a great day!
Guy
I had some stone searching to do along the Sleeper and asked Al (manumuskin) to come along to help me with that endeavor. I will get to that later and skip to our second agenda for the day. Recently, I received a private message from a member of this site, who relayed some info on a large stone that was hidden in a remote section of the woods on the Medford/Shamong Township line. Obviously, my curiosity was peaked, and subsequent contact also revealed that he knew of the remains of an old hunting cabin nearby the location of the stone. The cabin was owned by Carleton Taylor who was the Section Forest Fire Warden in the 1940’s.
Our correspondence revealed the general location of the stone, and I started looking over my survey and other maps here to narrow down the exact location of the stone. Soon it became apparent that I had info on the stone but just did not realize that it could be as large a stone as I was being told. If I had known that, I would have put more effort into visiting it since Rob from work and I were 500 feet from it 2 years ago on one of our explorations of this area. So after our Sleeper explorations Al and I drove as far as we could to these locations and set out on foot to first find the remains of the cabin. After a little confusion with my GPS coordinates we finally arrived at the cabin remains.
This shows one of cinderblock foundations at the location. This seems too small to be the actual cabin.
There were numerous large holes in the ground making it hard for us to decide which one was the one. Also, there were what might have been the remains of appliances from inside the place.
This was a very small building with a pipe in the ground. This could have been an outhouse of some sort.
Roaming around revealed various other interesting things. In the middle of an open area a short distance away.
Two plastic buckets buried in the ground near each other. What it was for I am not certain; however, it could have been for watering plants or capturing snakes. And obviously, it is much more recent.
This one was covered with a fake Christmas Tree.
Then on to the stone. Usually, when the stone is large, the survey maps will mention that. I always look for them first, and save the stones that seem mundane for a time when I pass through. Rob and I were following that rule when we passed through a few years before; however, we were not aware that we were skipping one of the best stones I have visited in a while when we visited another one 400 feet away. We should have visited this one. I want to thank the person who brought the size of this to my attention.
It is thick.
In the email I also was informed of “Piney Island.” Located nearby, we walked there to look for a sandstone foundation he said was on the SW corner at that location. The island is basically a hill surrounded by swamp, an oasis of sand and dirt with a large tree in the center.
We never did find the foundation, but there are sandstone and bricks that have been used in what appears to be an old fire pit. The sandstone has mortar so there was a foundation of some sort there at one time. We were just not able to find it.
We did find what I am certain is a property stone there. This thing is solid in the ground and not near any of the other stones on the island. It’s appearance is almost unmistakable to me and I wish I knew what property it was for.
Now to the first part of our day. It has become quite apparent to Al and I that beavers rule the Sleeper. The complete river in the Rockwood area is wood. Under the clear flowing water is millions of logs and sticks that they have strategically placed along it’s length to have the river at their control. The locations where we looked for stones were 3 and 4 feet underwater from their relentless changes of the flow. Al and I waded directly through and across the river for almost 3 hours with almost zero results. All we found was wood and more wood, and a state monument on higher ground.
The monument.
These videos show Al at home in his environment, wading through swamps like they are a bathtub. We were up to our waist in smelly muck stomping our feet looking for stones. This first video shows Al on his knees trying to move forward when his feet just were not doing the job. A classic! If you want to be a serious stone hunter, you must learn to endure this
These are about 13MB each so give them time to load.
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/07182009/Al_1.mov
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/07182009/Al_2.mov
And finally, Common Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia).
Again, thanks to my informant, and to Al for a great day!
Guy
