Photo by Jeff Johnson Jr.By Jeff Johnson Jr.
Hacklebarney State Park is one of those places the uninformed would assume couldn't possibly exist in New Jersey.
In Summer 2006, when we visited Hackelbarney, just off of U.S. Route 206 near Long Valley, NJ, we were actually only looking to salvage what had been a disappointing Sunday outing.
We had originally set out that day for High Point, New Jersey's very creatively named highest peak near the Delaware Water Gap in the northwestern part of the state. Upon arriving, we discovered that, first of all, we had forgotten the bag containing our lunch and diapers for the then-toddler pictured, and worst off all, a gypsy moth infestation had eaten away most of the foliage that provided shade on the hiking trails. (Apparently, we weren't the only ones who experienced this that summer.)
After finding some sandwiches and store-brand diapers at a nearby grocery, we returned to High Point State Park and attempted one unpleasant hike under a stinging sun and the skeletons of decimated trees. After just 15 minutes of that, we headed back down U.S. 206 and stopped spontaneously at Hacklebarney. We were not disappointed.
Hacklebarney provided the refreshing breeze, shade trees, and relaxing hike that we had hoped to find that day. The soundtrack of the Black River, rushing through water falls in some places, trickling under bridges in others, was something we would have expected to hear in the remote heart of the Appalachian Mountains—not in the nation's most metropolitan state.
I took no notes that day. These images have stayed in memory more than two years. The family joke since then has been that "High Point was the low point of the day." (Sorry, High Point.)
Photo by Jeff Johnson Jr.
According to the state of New Jersey's Division of Parks and Forestry, the Black River gorge was once a major iron ore mining site.
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