if you ever find yourself around the philadelphia area, jersey, delaware, whereever in the tristate area, check out Wharton State Forest and Brenden T. Byrne State Forest in South Jersey. This area is known as the Pine Barrens, and is one of the largest and most unique forests on the entire eastern seaboard. An individual ecosystem of it's own, it is veeeerry reminiscent of the pine forests of northern Florida. It is dominated by pitch pines, shortleaf pine, various species of oak, Atlantic white cedar, swamp magnolia, sour gum, just to name a few. The understory is blueberry bushes as far as the eye can see, so if you visit late June to the end of July, the gettin' is goooood to say the least. Furthermore, there are many species of edible plants, including bearberries, spotted wintergreen, teaberries, huckleberries, bayberries, blackberries, cranberries blueberries and strawberries. The amount of fauna in the Pine Barrens far excedes that of the surrounding areas, with over 39 species of mammal including white tailed deer, red fox, opossum, black bear, bobcat, just to name a few. There is a staggering 300+ species of bird, and is a recent migratory pitstop for the tundra swan, whose 65-77" wingspan is quite a sight in the late fall months as they flock in the hundreds to take advantage of the vast tracks of wetlands. Bald eagles are making a great comeback to the area and can be found around the many wetlands, fishing for the 59+ species of fish. There are 49 recorded endangered residents of the Pinelands, including timber rattlesnakes, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, osprey, peregrine falcons, wood turtles, northern pine snakes, and the Pine Barrens tree frog, an indiginous species whose bright veridian skin with a prominent black band descending down the body from the eyes make an easily indentifiable, yet hard to find species.
There is maaany miles of hiking trails including the Batona trail, a roughly 50 mile hike through forest filled with creeks, lakes, bogs, and other types of wetland, and traversing through the highest point of the Pinelands, Apple Pie Hill, an easy 209 ft. above sea level. The guard tower atop the hill add another 50 ft. up and over the trees, with a greeeat view of the vast ocean of green stretching for miiles around you, and you can view Philadelphia and Atlantic City in the distance.
There are a great number of ghost towns in the Pines, all left over from the great industries that made the Pinelands an industrial powerhouse from before the Revolutionary War til just before the Civil war. The many bogs and creeks of the area are laden with bog iron, giving the water the hue of black tea (dont worry, its clean), and giving the settlers vast amounts of iron for smelting into weapons and ammunition for the Revolution, and the sheer volume of sand in all areas gave fruition to many glass factories around the same time. Batsto was a center for glass and iron production, and peppered through the forest are many other towns, iron plants, paper mills, and both glass and iron furnaces all crumbling and abandoned, with the forest slowly reclaming. The local forest service does a beautiful job preserving these structures, allowing the natural decay and reclamation by the forest of these sites to continue unhindered for the most part. There are great swimming, canoeing and kayaking oppurtunities. Wading river is great because the vast majority of the water system is knee high at most, allowing great "amphibious" hiking, and the Batsto and Mulicca rivers are a good 4-8 hour canoe/kayak trip, all without a single modern structure on the way.
And beware the Jersey Devil, a monster that has wandered the pines sincethe mid 1700's. The Leed family in 1735 had 12 children, and the mother swore if she were to have another, it would be a demon,. Sure enough that year she gave birth to her thirteenth child, and it was a monster. she through it in the river hoping to kill it, but it survived and has been killing people for the past 275 years. It is said the stand 7-10 feet tall, with a horses head, bipedal goat legs, and enormous bat wings...fucking metal as hell...
So yea, long story short, come check out the Pine Barrens. I call them my home, I have been coast to coast in all the ecosystems this great country has to offer, and i still am awestruck by the sheer individuality and beauty of the region. I know the post sounds like its from a travel brochure, and i apologize for that, but I FUCKING LOVE the Pinelands. No matter where i end up, they will always be my home. They are 40 mins to an hour east of philly down NJ's rt 70 (right over the ben franklin bridge) and they extend straight to the shore. Beautiful Forests, rivers, fuckin chill locals, you will be miles from civilization, and you are IN NEW JERSEY(never thought that was possible, huh?) oh yea, beware the jersey devil, seriously....
ary
There is maaany miles of hiking trails including the Batona trail, a roughly 50 mile hike through forest filled with creeks, lakes, bogs, and other types of wetland, and traversing through the highest point of the Pinelands, Apple Pie Hill, an easy 209 ft. above sea level. The guard tower atop the hill add another 50 ft. up and over the trees, with a greeeat view of the vast ocean of green stretching for miiles around you, and you can view Philadelphia and Atlantic City in the distance.
There are a great number of ghost towns in the Pines, all left over from the great industries that made the Pinelands an industrial powerhouse from before the Revolutionary War til just before the Civil war. The many bogs and creeks of the area are laden with bog iron, giving the water the hue of black tea (dont worry, its clean), and giving the settlers vast amounts of iron for smelting into weapons and ammunition for the Revolution, and the sheer volume of sand in all areas gave fruition to many glass factories around the same time. Batsto was a center for glass and iron production, and peppered through the forest are many other towns, iron plants, paper mills, and both glass and iron furnaces all crumbling and abandoned, with the forest slowly reclaming. The local forest service does a beautiful job preserving these structures, allowing the natural decay and reclamation by the forest of these sites to continue unhindered for the most part. There are great swimming, canoeing and kayaking oppurtunities. Wading river is great because the vast majority of the water system is knee high at most, allowing great "amphibious" hiking, and the Batsto and Mulicca rivers are a good 4-8 hour canoe/kayak trip, all without a single modern structure on the way.
And beware the Jersey Devil, a monster that has wandered the pines sincethe mid 1700's. The Leed family in 1735 had 12 children, and the mother swore if she were to have another, it would be a demon,. Sure enough that year she gave birth to her thirteenth child, and it was a monster. she through it in the river hoping to kill it, but it survived and has been killing people for the past 275 years. It is said the stand 7-10 feet tall, with a horses head, bipedal goat legs, and enormous bat wings...fucking metal as hell...
So yea, long story short, come check out the Pine Barrens. I call them my home, I have been coast to coast in all the ecosystems this great country has to offer, and i still am awestruck by the sheer individuality and beauty of the region. I know the post sounds like its from a travel brochure, and i apologize for that, but I FUCKING LOVE the Pinelands. No matter where i end up, they will always be my home. They are 40 mins to an hour east of philly down NJ's rt 70 (right over the ben franklin bridge) and they extend straight to the shore. Beautiful Forests, rivers, fuckin chill locals, you will be miles from civilization, and you are IN NEW JERSEY(never thought that was possible, huh?) oh yea, beware the jersey devil, seriously....
ary