West Mill Road: 1st Outing of the New Year

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,057
3,328
Pestletown, N.J.
Not being a sports fan and finding parade watching to be a certain cause of suicide for normal males, I headed out in the rain this afternoon to take the muzzleloader for a walk.
I headed down West Mill Road from 206 with my buddy Jack.
Jack is a lifelong hunter and woodsman and his dad was a local fox and coon hunter.
He learned most of the roads in the pines as a boy in the dark (the hard way) while trailing hounds and he forgot more roads in the pines than I will ever know.
The woods were dark and quiet today except for the rainfall.
We jumped a few deer down closer to Pleasant Mills but never got another glimpse.
One of the few things in the woods he hasn't seen is the Swamp Monster so we took a soaking hike out to that around 2:30 in a steady downpour.
Jack still can't believe that we made it across the Great Swamp on the Shiver me Timbers gig. I showed him Behr's map and he just kept shaking his head.
On the way out we stopped and picked up an entire 30 pack of Girls Light empties from one of the dirt intersections and threw them in my truck.
No more deer to be seen and we hit 206 around 4:45 near dark.
Drying out now and enjoying the new year already.

Scott
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,057
3,328
Pestletown, N.J.
Steve
He is the guy that I used to duck hunt Wescoat Bogs with further upstream and he and I both had tried to get across the Sleeper in that area years ago with no success.
But nowadays, with the benefit of GoogleEarth, I can see why we never made it. The spot you picked with the blowdowns was absolutely perfect. Wescoat is a quagmire long before you get to the Sleeper.
Scott
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,957
8,704
I may be in that area next week hiking with Rob from work. I am hoping to check it out for a PBX hike. There are some area's that we have not explored in the middle of all of our other adventures.

He now has a Subaru which can get through sand much better than mine. The only problem may be the water we are having. We will have to come in from Batsto and not Atsion which will add much more time.

Guy
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,344
332
Near Mt. Misery
I was in the great swamp area twice this past week and after the last rain (not this one today) it was very wet...over the door jams to my bronco! No problem getting traction with the mud tires though. Two days after the rain stopped the depth in the puddles/mud holes dropped at least a foot. Water levels in pines flucuate so quickly...

I remember being in the wescoat bogs a few years back and the water was up to my stomach in chest waders! At a different time of the year I could walk in in hiking boots.

Jeff
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,057
3,328
Pestletown, N.J.
I may be in that area next week hiking with Rob from work. I am hoping to check it out for a PBX hike. There are some area's that we have not explored in the middle of all of our other adventures.

He now has a Subaru which can get through sand much better than mine. The only problem may be the water we are having. We will have to come in from Batsto and not Atsion which will add much more time.

Guy

Guy
West Mill was wetter than hell today but it usually is, even without the rain.
I used 4wd in most of the holes. 15 years ago it was real bad.
I haven't been on Constable Bridge road near Wescoat since the summer and I don't no how that is right now.
There used to be a deep hole about a quarter mile west of Wescoat but in general, they are all hard bottomed holes.
I would excersise a little caution with a Subaru because they ride pretty low and could wet out.
Coming in from Batsto is a wet run but I don't remember many deep holes in that stretch leading to Wescoat.
Scott
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,957
8,704
When it is drier I could make it there from Batsto in my car if it was not for the sand. I have been stuck there before :(

Guy
 

Badfish740

Explorer
Feb 19, 2005
589
44
Copperhead Road
Not being a sports fan and finding parade watching to be a certain cause of suicide for normal males, I headed out in the rain this afternoon to take the muzzleloader for a walk.

C'mon Scott, you mean you didn't lament the Mummers being postponed to next Saturday? :dance: I was actually looking forward to seeing it in person. I treated the GF to dinner, the fireworks over the Delaware, and a room at the Downtown Marriott on Market Street. I gave up on trying to explain to a North Jersey girl what the Mummers parade was, so I decided I would just let her see for herself... Sounds like you guys had a good day though. My new year's resolution is to walk off some Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's pounds in the pines!
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,057
3,328
Pestletown, N.J.
C'mon Scott, you mean you didn't lament the Mummers being postponed to next Saturday? :dance:

The Mummers are tolerable if you are there in person and if you have 1/2 to 3/4's of a load on.
Just like the Mummers themselves used to be. :D
Now they appear to be a little too sober and under control.
Scott
 
The Mummers are tolerable if you are there in person and if you have 1/2 to 3/4's of a load on.
Just like the Mummers themselves used to be. :D
Now they appear to be a little too sober and under control.
Scott

Na, they just are getting better at acting. Every year I'm shocked that the comic clubs can tell which way the sky is, let alone which way they need to walk down Broad...
 
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