Originally Posted by
natureboy68
Ok, I'll go; I'm showered and de-programmed!
I would need a thesaurus to find more adjectives to describe how incredible the hang was and how friendly other HF users were…first and foremost, as it was my first group hang, it was great to put faces to user names!
John4 and I left Long Island Friday the 13th (:0) at 3:30PM, planning to make a quick stop in Brooklyn to drop off a buddy’s dog I was dog sitting, got a little turned around looking for the entrance to the Verrazano bridge, and then the traffic began, bumper to bumper all the way to the Cheesequake service center on the Garden State Parkway, got there at 7pm, still 2 hours away! Mind you my plan for dinner was a cheesesteak at Nixons Deli which closes at 9PM, so just in case a Royale with cheese was in order…
Found the turnoff for Batona Camp at a little after 9pm, dark, foggy, and a little spooky in the middle of the NJ Pine Barrens, for those not familiar with the PB, I suggest finding and watching “Sopranos” season 3, episode 11 “pine barrens” having never been to Batona Camp, I was not sure where to go, as there were no signs and trails going every which way, the line from Bruce Springsteen’s “Rosalita” kept playing in my head “out stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey” (this will become important later on!) after a few circles and going back and forth, I finally found the campsite, pulled in and was immediately welcomed by members already there, Silentorpheus, Ratdog, Silentsurfr, Wilson, Pillsburythrowboy12, Jerzeybears, Lauriemedis and some LEO gents who happened to be randomly camping too! (others will have their story I am sure). We did so much chatting it took forever to set up! I was in such a hurry; I ended up putting the mambajama up inside out! As I was gimpy for this trip, no hiking for me, but that didn’t stop some from a night hike! (again, others will tell THAT story) a campfire was started and stoked, Silversurfr told some (!) stories, and I turned in at 3AM.
The next day, was beautiful weather, great lunch from Nixon’s, tinkered with some gear, meet more great HF members: P47chowhound, Aircoder, Treefrog (and son) Perrito, Chris and his lovely wife, and NJredneck and family who, started all this with just one post! Some went to do a little service work paddling (others will tell that) others just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful day and the great company.
Dinner was started and the gastronomic contributions rolled in! bacon sliders, bulgolgli, tamales, Broccoli di rape, kale, veggie salad, stuffed peppers, rib eye steak, chicken tandoori, sausage stuffed peppers, sausages, blueberry pie, Portuguese egg tarts, and Smacos! (ask NJredneck for that!) Blazing campfire and more good stories and camaraderie. Jshep came later and we found out why he was late, his buddy Mo lived the line from Bruce Springsteen! (Jshep can tell you that story!) Another night hike, and I went to bed fairly early around midnight…
Woke up early (8:30?) started to pack in between coffee, sausage gravy and biscuits, breakfast burritos, bacon grilled perfectly by P47chowhound, more coffee, said farewells, made plans for the blueberry hang and hit the road at 10:30, but don’t you know it, MORE TRAFFIC! Took 4.5 hours to get home…I hate traffic…
Short gear report: temps got down to 55-65* at night, the PLUQ and PLTQ worked great, no bugs, no nighttime rain!
Can’t wait for the next group hang! Great guys and gals, very friendly, lots of extra equipment if needed, a few newbies that are hooked…A good time had by all! Thanks everyone and good meeting you all! Looking forward to some more woods time with you all!
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