Wharton & Northern Railroad

Wharton & Northern RR, Pequannock Watershed (6/16/2012)

We climbed Copperas Mountain in early January of this year. At that time we did a lollipop hike which visited the amazing vista atop the mountain, then headed north on an unmaintained trail eventually descending steeply to the abandonded bed of the Wharton and Northern Railroad, which we took just a bit west to a woods road which headed SW along a lower ridge of the mountain.

Today we did a longer lollipop starting from the same pull-off on Green Pond Road (just where the Four Birds Trail crosses the road). We took the white-blazed Four Birds Trail east, climbing the mountain to the spectacular view over Charlotteburg Reservoir, and then continued SW along the ridge. After descending to where the red-blazed Marty Donofrio trail begins on the right, we made a left on a woods road, then another left at a T-intersection, eventually reaching the abandoned railway bed near the southern tip of the reservoir. Here we headed north and WOW was this part flooded! We managed to find enough room on the sides of the road to get through, watching dozens of frogs leap into the water from the banks like synchronized Olympic swimmers as we made our way north. At the northern tip of the reservoir the bed curved left heading west, and we turned left on the same woods road from January. Our final turn was a right onto the Four Birds trail which put us back on the lollipop stick which we took back to the car.

Total distance hiked today was 7 miles in just over 3.5 hours. A permit is required for hiking in this area, which can be purchased at the office on Echo Lake Road. The permits are good for the calendar year.

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