Another Cold Hike In The Pine Barrens At The Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area In New Jersey.

It was another cold Winter morning when I awoke Saturday at the Hotel LBI on Long Beach Island in New Jersey last weekend. I  came down to the Jersey shore to see, and photograph harlequin ducks. I accomplished my mission and saw and photographed a flock of these beautiful ducks on Friday. You can see more photos if you click on the highlighted  words above or in my previous blog post.

It wasn’t as windy on Saturday  morning as it was  the previous  two  days, but it was still cold.   Temperatures were  in the mid 20s.  After a cup of coffee I  took the 1/2 mile walk down to the beach. Once again, I was the only one watching the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean . The skies were mostly clear, but some clouds obscured the rising sun on the horizon.

A  common loon swam on  the cold ocean near the shore. I  enjoyed the solitude of the desolate beach and imagined how crowded it would look on a warm summer day.  I also wondered  where  the  loon would spend it’s Summer. Some where on a northern lake  where they breed, and  where their haunting  calls will fill the forest. Hearing  a loon on a lake on a Summer evening is one of my favorite sounds.

There was a little traffic on the streets  as I walked  back to the hotel. After exploring the pine barons the previous day, I decided to return to the pine barrens.

Ths time  I decided to hike in the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area before driving back to Northeastern Pennsylvania later in the morning. Located about 15 miles from the hotel this 12,000 acre wildlife preserve includes pine/oak woodlands, with a pygmy pine forest and some  lakes that were once commercial  cranberry bogs. Fishing, hunting and hiking  are permitted in the management area run by the  New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish & Wildlife,  and the Wildlife Management Area System

I walked along one of the lakes, a former cranberry bog. Unfortunately, the lake was frozen. I believe there would be a lot of ducks geese and other water fowl  on these lakes in warmer weather

I waked past large pine trees,

as I followed rutted road along the shore of the lake.  The road must be heavily used by motor vehicles, and I am guessing it is very muddy in warmer weather  because of the many  ruts in the  road. The ground was frozen solid on this cold January morning.

There were more large pine trees along the scenic lake and

I would love to be here on a warm Summer evening

The rutted road took me to  a wider more  and better maintained road that too me through tall stands of pitch pine trees.

Along the road I came to narrow ATV side trail  he pitch pine forest which again took me to the edge of the lake. The ground was still snow covered from a snow squall that arrived just before I did on New Year’s day.

It looked like some of the local folks camped here  and I’m sure some of the local teenagers had  underage drinking parties in these pine woods over the years.  I hadn’t seen any  wildlife so far on my hike but,  on the way back to the main trail I saw a few brown creepers climbing down the pine trees,

and a red bellied woodpecker in tree tops.

As I walked under the tall pine trees I again observed the unusual  sight, for me, of pine comes on the ground with  pine needles, snow and sand. The trails here were also sandy as they were on my hike in the pine barrens the previous day.

I walked back to the main trail and followed a trail on my AllTrails App that took me back to the lake.

There was some open water here and heard the wings of some type of ducks flapping as they fled as I approached the lake.My AllTrail App showed the trail crossing the lake but I could see the trail was flooded and impassable. 

I followed another trail along  a lake and wetland that took me into a mixed oak/pine/holly woodland.

Ancient oak trees,

towered over the smaller American holly trees here.

I also found this painted fallen oak tree along the trail.

It looked like this was a popular hang out or camping area. I  followed another  trail down to another lake.  My  AllTrails app again showed a trail across the lake. I wanted to  follow it across the lake and hike back to my Jeep on the other side.  However this   trail was  flooded too. .

I walked along the wetlands along the lake.

I was out about 1 1/ 2 miles and had a long drive home so I I began my hike back to my Jeep.

I walked back to the wide main trail, and encountered another nasty root, which caused me to fall and damage my iPhone, camera and finger. I hit the ground hard and was spitting out sand. It is a week later and is still not completely healed. But it could have been a lot worse.

I conitnued on my hike back on the main where I found this interesting sight on a pine tree. The $100 dollar bill, unfortunately, wasn’t real.

The sun broke through the clouds and I saw some more bird activity along the trail, a flock of tufted titmice were foraging  in the shrubs along the trail, while,

a hairy woodpecker and

red bellied woodpecker were in the tree tops.

A flock of American crows flew overhead.  I wish I could have stayed  but I wanted to finish my hike and head back to Pennsylvania.

As I was  fisnishing  my hike and getting near my Jeep I saw a few folks walking their  dogs and about a1/2 dozen vehicles were driving outt on the road into the pine barrens. I  think this area iswell used by the local folks.

I finished my hike, returned to the hotel and was on the road by 10 a.m. I know it will not be my last visit to theocean at  Jersey shore and am already planning more visits to the pine barrens. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website  with some more photographs from my  hike. Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area New Jersey January 3 2026

“The vernacular language of the pines is splendidly metaphorical.”  John McPhee The Pine Barrens 

“There’s no crime rate at all in the pines. They’re loners in there. They don’t bother you. You don’t bother them. They take care of most of their troubles by themselves.” John McPhee The Pine Barrens 

“They seem to be headed slowly toward extinction. In retrospect, people may one day look back upon the final stages of the development of the great unbroken Eastern city and be able to say at what moment all remaining undeveloped land should have been considered no longer a potential asset to individuals but an asset of the society at large—perhaps a social necessity.”  John McPhee The Pine Barrens