Headwaters of the Tulpehocken Creek, Ore Spung and Featherbed Branch

By Ken Relentless

01 Jan 2019

New Years Day 2019. It was close to 60 degrees, a far cry from one year ago when it was 18 degrees in Chatsworth and Friendship Bogs was frozen with thick ice. With a long rainy pattern stretching from the summer, fall and now into winter I had to be careful where I was taking my old Ford F150 in the Pine Barrens. With so many back roads flooded, I was limited in what to explore. Even trails that I wanted to walk were known to be flooded. I chose a location that was sure to not be flooded. From satellite maps and other websites, I chose to drive out to the Carranza Memorial on Carranza Road. It was warm enough that several cars and at least five horse trailers were parked there. Parking my truck I took my camera and headed to the CNJ railroad tracks. My goals for this hike were to locate where the Tulpehocken Creek, Ore Spung and Featherbed Branch crossed under the tracks.

I walked in on the south access road and it was not long before I knew that had been the right decision. Not far in I saw the extensive flooding in the woods on the north side of the tracks. This meant the north access road was completely under water and for quite some distance. The same thing happened on the south access road, but not as extensive. I moved to the footpath alongside the tracks where the ground was higher. Eventually I got past the flooded area and got back on the south road. It was along this path where I searched for and located savannahs for the Tulpehocken Creek, Ore Spung and Featherbed Branch.

I used the Ultra GPS Logger app on my Android phone to measure the distance I walked and mark off the main points of interest, as can be seen on the Google Earth map. Photos were taken of where water flowed through pipes under the railroad tracks. Some other interesting things were captured during this two hour walk.

Map #1: Overview of the hike along the CNJ railroad tracks

Map #2: Points of interest along the tracks

Map #3: Points of interest along Carranza Road