Camping in the NJ Pine Barrens

Over the weekend Dan, Robert, Teresita and I went camping in Wharton State Forest. I've never camped in the Pine Barrens before, so it was interesting to say the least. It was almost a two-hour drive, which was filled with bad attitudes and stress. Despite the problems, we made it to the registration office and somehow found our camp site. We were rather disappointed by how small the designated camping area was, but we didn't really have a choice.

We set up the tent and built a fire. It had been an exhausting day, so we fell asleep relatively early. I woke up early the next morning, mostly because Dexter was whimpering to be let out of the tent. I snapped a few nice pictures of the area, before we were bombarded by 20-something boy scouts and their leaders/parents. There was literally a caravan of minivans filling into our already small camping area. We waited for Teri to arrive, feeling quite bitter.

We left our camp site Saturday afternoon to hike in another, less populated area. We trudged through about five miles of the Barrens, stopping for lunch and an occasional rest. Dexter ran loose through most of the hike, and did quite well. He knows to stay close to us and his recall is getting better.

We saw a lot of pretty and unusual sights. A lot of the streams we passed were black in the deep areas, blood-red near the shallow shores. Teri explained it was cedar water, which forms "when water is allowed to stand in highly acidic soil with a high iron ore content. The iron ore discolors the water, and the acid deters the presence of microorganisms which might otherwise proliferate and clarify the water. Cedar water can also develop when trees with highly tannic leaves, such as oaks, neighbor a waterway and drop their leaves into the water, causing it to discolor with time. Lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams can all develop cedar water." (The more you know!)

We returned from our hike and gathered more wood. Rob built a fire, which Dan and I maintained. Rob and Teri made a dinner of chicken, potatoes, string beans and carrots in foil pouches. After eating, we grew tired of the listening to the boy scouts (they were now having some sort of award ceremony), and decided to pile into the tent. We enjoyed another one of nature's gifts, got silly and snacked heavily.

We slept through a chilly night and morning, which I survived quite well thanks to the 50-pound dog on my legs. Again I woke up before everyone else (except Dexter) and decided to hike a little. I walked him around our camp area and caught a glimpse of a steaming stream, with the light from dawn making everything sparkle. It was one of those awe-inspiring moments and as cheesy as it sounds, I was completely happy. I stood for a few minutes, with Dexter anxiously tugging to move on, breathing in the clean, crisp air. It made the whole trip worth it. My only regret is that I didn't have my camera on me to capture the moment. But it's OK, perfect memories can live on without photographic evidence.