Overview:

In May of 2002, Boy Scout Troop 49 of Oakland took a canoe and camping trip through the Pine Barrens of southern NJ. It was a great trip despite the wet start. We camped in Wharton State Forest on the banks of the Wading River. We rented canoes from Pine Barrens Canoe who were fantastic and very flexible. They helped us estimate the duration of the trip and transported us to the start of the trip and picked us up exactly when they predicted we would arrive. The river is challenging, more challenging than the Delaware. The greatest danger is reckless strangers on the river who don't give you enough space in tough situations. This is not for first time canoeists! Practice and review water rescue procedures as we used them quite often.

Scoutmaster
Trip Notes:

My wife has a saying she repeats often when the unexpected occurs, "Just go with the flow". This weekend we went with the flow. Despite the rains on Saturday, we had camp setup at a beautiful campsite in the Pine Barrens by 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. The ground was sandy which drained away the rain and made it real easy to pitch tents and sleep. Some scouts went looking for rocks for a camp fire ring and could not find a rock bigger than a golf ball in the entire camp! WOW what a difference from northern NJ.

The Pine Barrens contain very different plants and animals as we discovered. The pine trees were so dense that you could not see 300 feet into the woods in some places. We even spotted a few Northern Pitcher plants which are carnivorous like a Venus Fly Trap. The sky cleared on Saturday night and millions of stars came out for a grand show. Some of us stood on the bridge watching the planets and a few passing satellites. The animals of the Pine Barrens introduced themselves to us. At night it sounded like a million tree frogs were calling each other. One particular bird kept calling most of the night which kept a few of us awake.

We awoke to a cool crisp morning and were packed up by 8:45 AM and on our way to the boats. By the time the boats were delivered to camp and in the water it was 9:45 AM We had a flotilla of two double kayaks, seven single kayaks and six canoes with either two or three riders.

The river was very swift in places moving at 1.5 miles per hour. We were going with the flow! The river presented a fantastic opportunity to work on our strokes. This was no lake canoeing. I believe the longest straight stretch of water could not have been 500 feet. It was in one turn around another curve into yet another turn. Some of us had a difficult time keeping the water out of the boats or the boats out of the river. This gave us an opportunity to see who packed dry clothes and who tied their gear to their boats (most did). I can say that within a few short hours scouts who had never done any serious kayaking or canoeing were ready for the merit badge tests having used every stroke there is in the battle to keep afloat. One observation I made to a few scouts is that this river forced us to make split second decisions that were the difference of being wet or dry. We had no time to stop and think about it. One scout shouted out a few times "stop! stop!" as he was not ready to enter the turn. He quickly learned that you can not easily stop a moving canoe in the river. You have to go with the flow and make quick decisions. By 3:04 PM we were out of the boats and most were back home by 6:30 PM.

Regards, Martin Treich,
Assistant Scoutmaster

Logistics:

Pine Barrens Canoe Rental - 1-800-732-0793 or 1-609-726-1515
3260 Route 563 (Jenkins), Chatsworth, NJ
http://www.pinebarrenscanoe.com

Camping at Wharton State Forest. 609-561-0024 or 609-561-3262
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/wharton.html
New Jersey Camping Rules
Camp Reservations

Directions to Pine Barrens Canoe Rental:
1. Take the Garden state Parkway south to exit 67. (About 88 miles on Pkwy)
2. Turn right on to route 554 heading west for about 4 miles.
3. Turn on to route 72 west for about 10 miles.
4. Turn left at sigh for "Chatsworth" on route 532 for about 3 miles.
5. In Chatsworth, turn left (south) on Route 563 for 7 miles.
6. Pine Barrens Canoe Rental #3260 Route 563 Note Total distance from Oakland about 120 miles.

Cost:

Canoe rental $30-$32 per day second or third day $24 per day (1-2 per canoe) (3rd $3.00)
Kayak rental $25 (Single) - $35 (Double)
Supply tax exempt number to avoid paying NJ Sales Tax for tax exempt organizations
See the rate page for current cost http://www.pinebarrenscanoe.com/rates.htm

Wharton State Forest Camping:
Campsites range from $0.75 per camper per night to $10.00 per night.
Cabins are available Four People: $28 per night. Cabin, Six People: $42 per night. Cabin, Eight People: $56 per night.
Connect to http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/feeschedule.htm for current fee

On the water

Particulars:

Permission Slip for the trip and the Scout Information page provided in pdf format for cross browser compatibility. For a text copy Contact Web Master.

For a more personal perspective contact: martintreich@hotmail.com

Thanks