Why are so many folks afraid of the pine barrens at night?

[LongIslandPiney]

I know in New Jersey there's the possibility of the "Jersey Devil", but here on Long Island, out in the pine barrens, it seems people have a similar aversion to even merely driving through the pine barrens at night. While I've never seen anything abnormal while I've been in the pine barrens (here on LI) there seems to be a presence in the pines I cannot explain. Perhaps a "spirit" of the land if you will. People, esp city folk who come out here to shop or go to the Hamptons, are often spooked out by this feeling. Perhaps it's the expanse of forests that have the same trees that grow at the same height, or that the trees don't move at all. Even on a windy day, the stiff, rigid pitch pine forests can have a real eerie calmness about them.
As the sun sets, even during the peak holiday shopping season, the major outlets in Riverhead (Tanger) empty out. It's amazing to see. One minute it's disgusting traffic gridlock, but by dark it's empty. I've spoken to people who openly admit they are afraid to drive down the LIE, Sunrise highway, or route 51 at night. Is there some secret I am missing? Could the Jersey Devil vacation out here in LI's pines? I can't disprove it, that's for sure.

 

[uuglypher]

...here on Long Island, out in the pine barrens, ...Is there some secret I am missing?

I don't think you're missing it; I know exactly what you mean, and you experience it well and deeply. I've learned to revel in it. Originally a city kid, I was "uneasy" /"lacking in self confidence" / "uncertain of what was present outside my immediate, known location" /"fearful of the unknown" whenever I was in solitude. I felt it in my bed alone at night, or when I chased a calf out in the "back 40" of my cousin's farm and suddenly found myself alone. I think that may be a city-folk thing, but I'm not sure.

I did, however, as the result of a number of childhood interests, find myself more and more often alone "in the woods" and apart from friends, neighbors, and family. Happily, my folks , though they admitted much later that they feared I might be becoming antisocial, never restricted my forays into the woods to catch frogs, find the hawk's nest, hunt squirrels, collect ground pine, watch peepers at night with a carbide headlamp, (and to meet the neighbor girl to play doctor). In all but the last-mentioned activity I functioned, and became more and more comfortable, alone.

But the feeling of something - a spirit? - "out there" never abated, and in this seventh decade of life is with me still on my hikes in local woods and wetlands, and on my solo camping trips. The big difference from my awareness of it in early childhood and now is that sometime, quite early on, I recognized it as a friend, not a fearsome thing - a companion I looked forward to rejoining when I "...got away from it all".

The literature of most religions and societies and the folklore of the few remaining hunter-gatherer groups all seem to directly or indirectly acknowledge awareness of what you feel and describe. Do we feel our awareness of it thru some inherent remnant of a mode of sense that we, in our present state of evolution, have almost completely lost?

I wish I knew, and I'm sure I don't know, but fervently, I hope I never lose that sense, and with it that awareness. Without it I fear I would never again experience that almost spiritual wonder and paradoxical companionship I feel out there ... that feeling of experiencing wilderness ... experiencing solitude ... experiencing my own existance in the most full and complete way I've ever been able to.

I DO know exactly what you're talking about.

Dave

 

[Badfish740]

Everyone up north is afraid of bumping into Tony Soprano burying a dead wiseguy. I'm sure it has happened and still happens from time to time because lets face it, it's a pretty convenient place to commit such a dirty deed. However, I think it just has to do with the pines being an especially stark contrast to the rest of the state. Let's say you're the average Joe living in Bloomfield, NJ (anywhere between 148 and 151 on the Parkway) and you take the family down the shore for the day. Once you get to exit 63 (Rt. 72/LBI) you're in an entirely different world in a matter of an hour and fifteen minutes and about 85 miles. You're surrounded by trees, not house in site, no cell phone reception (makes you wonder what people did before them ), and the only signs of civilization are the occasional car or State Trooper. When you spend your whole life living in house that's so close to the one next door you can reach out your window and touch it you just have a different idea about "wilderness" I guess.

Most of my friends up here consider Central Park to be about as "wild" as they can stand. They need a sort of sanitized "wilderness" that allows them to see trees, ducks on a pond, and the occasional squirrel. Of course there are still benches, water fountains, well lit paved paths, and plenty of signal strength. I'm not trying to be condescending or to fault anyone here, it's just my take on things. My own Mother is a perfect example, born and raised in a rowhome in Chambersburg, Trenton. Of course my father's family is all from South Jersey and the rural environs of Mercer County so that's where I get my appreciation for the pines from.

Of course it's also just a basic fear of the unknown. Even to the colonists the pines were a foreboding landscape, because they had likely never seen anything like it before. The Northern parts of the state as well as New York and Connecticut were analagous to many parts of Europe, but the scrub pines, sugar sand, and cedar bogs must have seemed downright odd to someone arriving from the old world. Likewise only the hardiest and most adventurous chose to settle there, not unlike the Scotch-Irish who settled the Appalachians. Of course even they chose that area, harsh as it was, because it mimicked the landscape of the Scottish Highlands. The pines were an enigma to most, just as they are today.

In any event, I think its fun to raise the eyebrows of northern folk by talking about camping in the pines or whatever and hearing the incredulous "aren't you afriad!?"

 

[NJSnakeMan]

I like being alone in the woods, to be honest, i hate the city or any heavily populated place. People are jerks. Besides that, you should read "the tracker".. it's a good book.

 

[LARGO]

You have to give it a chance & be realistic.

Yes, it can be unnerving if you let some wierd sounds & such get to you.
But stop,listen,look. It's fantastic beyond compare. Unpolluted with
Man's sound & Presence.On a very cold night when even most
woodsy things are dormant, I find myself in awe of the presence
that quiet really has.
There are few things in the dark that aren't there in the day.
No boogeymen, no beasties.
That's why I normally won't post on a forum regarding such.
You'll meet some bad people, I have. Which brings me to this:

When my children ask me if monsters are real, I have to say yes,
And then think how do I explain to them that their names are :
Dahmer, Gacy, Berkowitz, Manson, Heidnik, Hitler, Bin Laden, so on & so on.
You want the latest update?
Turn on your news every night.

The Pines.......... I think we'll be o.k. there.

George.

 

[LongIslandPiney]

I like being alone in the woods, to be honest, i hate the city or any heavily populated place. People are jerks. Besides that, you should read "the tracker".. it's a good book.

Yeah man I totally agree. I can't stand crowded places and feel safer and more comfortable being alone in the piney woods.

 

[uuglypher]

On a very cold night when even most
woodsy things are dormant, I find myself in awe of the presence
that quiet really has.

George.

Exquisite!

Dave

 

[NanticokePiney]

When I was a kid in Chatsworth many of my most staunch hunting friends (who were also members of "old Piney families") would be afraid to camp out. They would come out to hang with my brother and I but never actually spend the night. We thought it funny.

Lapi'che

 

[virginiapiney]

strange place

There is no place like the pines.I have been in alot of places,but even after coming back from Alaska the pines just have this feel to them. I love the place.

 

[piker56]

There is no place like the pines.

I've done some hiking other places (the Smokies, Appalachian trail in Virginia, Florida Everglades, etc..) all beautiful places. In the pines, though, I feel like I'm home. As far as being out in the pines at night, that's about as good as it gets.

 

[tom m]

Fear in the pines

I agree piker56, the pines are like home ,there's something about being out there that stirs the spirit within, a longing of sorts to not leave ,but to blend in and become an integral part of it,although i have experienced strange occurances out there, i have always returned. I have my own stories to tell about the pines,all true and all witnessed.But what i love most about the pines is the quiet and sloitude one finds even being alone out there,if you listen real close the forest talks to you.My one older brother said once that when he stayed in camp alone he felt like he was being watched, thats the pines. ....Tom m

 

[Furball1]

Speaking Trees

I once had a tree talk to me about his dreams, so he "boughed" his "crown", "uprooted" himself from his homeplace, and "branched" out seeking new endeavors, thinking drama or opera would be his forte, all he could do was "bark" out orders, which insulted many humans, so he drove his Forrester (or was it a woody?) and "transplanted" himself back from whence he came, only to yawn and quake and ask me to make like a tree and leave. Ahhh, the beauty of the forest...I sure do miss the pines.

 

[tom m]

Talking Trees?

what kind of tree was it ? A sassylass or a weeping willow if it was barking out orders it must have been a dog wood.igfly:

 

[bobpbx]

I once had a tree talk to me about his dreams, so he "boughed" his "crown", "uprooted" himself from his homeplace, and "branched" out seeking new endeavors, thinking drama or opera would be his forte, all he could do was "bark" out orders, which insulted many humans, so he drove his Forrester (or was it a woody?) and "transplanted" himself back from whence he came, only to yawn and quake and ask me to make like a tree and leave. Ahhh, the beauty of the forest...I sure do miss the pines.

I "wooden" touch this "post" with a ten foot "pole".

 

[Furball1]

Talkin' of Trees who Talk

Naaaah silly, it was a Cedar. Cedar all later!

 

[popeofthepines]

I agree with everyone who says that the Pines offer seclusion from the general populous. I know I go out there as a therapy to unwind and relax and get away. It can be very awe inspiring when you are in complete darkness on a moonless night. I have been out there at times and heard nothing around but we all know what that means lol and some people do get freaked out by complete darkness and not being able to see what is around them. I know nothing out there at night really wants to be bothering me (other than the bugs) and I do not wish to bother it. I have been out there many times at nice and find it to be so peaceful. And the other night it was nice and there was a chill in the air but you could still hear the nocturnal songs of the animals (no dogs).
It also has the ability to stimulate your mind into thinking "what did it look like back in 1800' or 'how many troops marched through this area', 'How much has gone undicovered for whatever reason' etc..
I have seen TeeGate's before and now pictures and some have changed very little and it is interesting to see how time does and does not effect certain areas.
Sometimes I wish i was exposed to the Pine Barrens earlier in life so I had more carnal knowledge now and experiences.

 

[woodjin]

Sometimes I wish i was exposed to the Pine Barrens earlier in life so I had more carnal knowledge now and experiences.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this? A very curious comment. Can you explain more on why you feel this way or that that would be the case?

 

[woodjin]

Is it the seculsion that leads you to say that?

 

[popeofthepines]

I was saying I wish I had known of the vast places and things in the Pine Barrens years ago. 4th grade field trips to what I want to believe is Pasadena and a boy scout camoing trip in 7th grade did not generate enough at the time. I really do enjoy history and being able to think about the history that the Pine Barrens have seen over the many years is something to think about in awe. I enjoy the seclusion piece as well to get away from all the annoyance of a day or week of work.
Basically I wish I was further ahead of the curve in my knowledge of the pines.

 

[WAMBA]

I was saying I wish I had known of the vast places and things in the Pine Barrens years ago. 4th grade field trips to what I want to believe is Pasadena and a boy scout camoing trip in 7th grade did not generate enough at the time. I really do enjoy history and being able to think about the history that the Pine Barrens have seen over the many years is something to think about in awe. I enjoy the seclusion piece as well to get away from all the annoyance of a day or week of work.
Basically I wish I was further ahead of the curve in my knowledge of the pines.

i went to school in cherry hill, and one of the best things about that district is that all the sixth graders there get to go to the camp at mt misery for a week with their teachers. it was an awesome experience and i actually seem to have retained a lot of the knowledge about the pine barrens that i learned there. i think just about every year that almost gets cut from the cherry hill budget and parents complain enough to save it.