In memoriam

If you happen to pass through Lenape Park in Union, you might notice a tree wearing a white hat.

If you look a little closer, your amusement might turn to sadness.

Although the hat alone tells you pretty much all you need to know, Segundo Padilla was smoothing the path here when his roller toppled off the edge of a shallow embankment (presumably the one near this memorial).

The ink on the hat is fresh, and it’s my guess that the hat was just recently nailed here in memory of the one-year anniversary of his death.

It’s a tragedy, any way you slice it.

It’s art!

At first I thought this teepee-looking thing in the South Mountain Reservation might be an educational Native American exhibit, something like the the Lenape hut in the Great Swamp. But after seeing a few more of these trees with sticks propped around them, and hearing chatter about local artists who come out here to play in the woods… I think it’s art.

It’s about 5 feet tall, and it’s got an entrance, so you can even go sit inside, if you like!

Bridging the gap

I went on a group hike through the South Mountain Reservation this past weekend!

It started off about as you’d expect— a moderately slow tromp through the woods, with occasional stops to point out cool plants or conservation efforts or what-have-you— but as the day drew on, our guide (Lou) started getting creative with our route, and we ended up (among other places) crossing this barely-a-bridge built of concrete medians and a wobbly wooden board.

 

This barely-a-bridge was apparently constructed in 1991 as part of an Eagle Scout project.

 

It was a lot of fun! I wholeheartedly recommend.

These hikes are organized by the South Mountain Conservation [link, including future scheduled hikes] (which is not affiliated with the Essex County Park Commission) (but is still pretty cool).

Sappy

Who doesn’t love sap? (Rhetorical question, probably a lot of people. But it’s so sparkly!)

Outcrop

This rock I’m sitting on was worn smooth from all the non-rule-abiding hikers (like me) who ventured off-path to enjoy the view afforded by this little outcrop in the South Mountain Reservation. I’ll bet the scene is even lovelier once everything fully turns green.

Marilyn?

Tasteful stenciling in the Watchung Reservation, around Lake Surprise.

Lake house

When Union County purchased the land for Hidden Valley Park, apparently there were some residents living there. Union County probably said, “Hey, we’re trying to build a park here, why don’t we buy your land from you, that’d be great” and the residents said, “WTF? Hell no!”

So there is a resident-shaped hole in Hidden Valley Park, with all kinds of “NO TRESPASSING” “PRIVATE PROPERTY” “NO FISHING” signs all over the place, presumably to dissuade curious hikers (like me) from skulking about and investigating this mysterious house on the lake.

The abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad: Part 3

You may or may not remember that I went hunting for the Rahway Valley Railroad a few weeks ago (as I mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 of this saga).

To recap, the Rahway Valley Railroad was a short set of tracks that shuttled between the modern-day Morris & Essex line and Raritan Valley line. It was formed in 1904 and closed in 1992 after a long decline.

Morris & Essex in green; Raritan Valley in orange; Rahway Valley (defunct) in pink

 

When I explored a few weeks ago, I did not succeed in finding the tracks.

But this week, I took a roundabout route, all the way through the long Hidden Valley Park (which lies adjacent to the area of interest, and it is an official Union County Park and therefore legal for me to traverse. Look, they publish a PDF map and everything, it’s got to be okay).

Success!

Incidentally, now that I’ve traveled the path, if I were to do it again, I’d start behind the Knights of Columbus; there’s a sort of a trail head behind their parking lot, which is much closer to the tracks. I’d also bring a friend; I got a really creepy vibe from those woods. (No human remains [that I saw], don’t worry.)

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(This is part 3 in a series of posts on the Rahway Valley Railroad. Click here for Part 1, or click here for Part 2.

Sweater in a tree

In the South Mountain Reservation, there’s a tree with a small dog sweater fastened to it, about 12-15 feet above the ground. (It’s got doggie bones knitted all over it.)

I think the condition of the sweater is too good for it to have been fastened there when the tree was much shorter, so someone must’ve put a lot of effort into nailing this sweater to this tree.

Maybe it’s a memorial of some kind? Maybe a small dog got lost here in the park, or maybe killed by a coyote, or maybe drowned in the nearby Rahway River? Maybe the dog just loved to come here when it was alive? Maybe a couple drunk kids found a sweater and thought that nailing it really high on a tree would be a hilarious prank?

Or maybe the spectacle goblins are stealing dog sweaters now. Maybe this is the work of SWEATER GOBLINS, much more closely related to Sock Goblins.

Looking out

Lookout points are pretty spiffy, even if I need to go a little off-trail to get to them.

…weeeeeell, maybe more than a little off-trail. (*cough*)