On November 16, Northern New Jersey Region – PCA, with the sponsorship of Paul Miller Porsche and supported by Raritan Valley Sports Car Club (RVSCC), presented the ninth Pine Barrens Off-Road Excursion.
The trek was designed so the membership could drive their Cayenne, Macan, SUV, Jeeps, or Pickup Trucks on the “off-road trail” of the beautiful New Jersey Pine Barrens ((12)“Down the Pines” – YouTube) in a family safe venue. The Pinelands National Reserve, at 1.1 million acres, is the largest open space on the eastern seaboard between Boston, MA, and Richmond, VA.
The 1st Pine Barrens Off-Road Excursion was conducted in 2013 and used the trails and Cranberry bogs of the 38,000 acres of Brendan Byrne State Forest. This year’s trek followed that tradition by returning to those back roads and sand forest trails, including a stop at Whitesbog Village, home of the worldwide Blueberry Industry started by Elizabeth Coleman White(October 5, 1871 – November 11, 1954). Elizabeth was a New Jersey agricultural specialist who collaborated with Frederick Vernon Coville to develop and commercialize a cultivated blueberry. Elizabeth was a distant relative of Joe and Dave Darlington. Joe Darlington is the owner/operator of Joseph J. White cranberry farm and hosts our afternoon play time in their 50+ acre “Sand Storage Area.” They also join us on our trek to help keep us safe as we travel the forest roads of the State Park. Joe is a great guardian and environmentalist; as a local farmer, he keeps the land and local freshwater safe as a core resource for his business. A large part of the park and all of Whitesbog Village belonged to Joe’s family before it became a State Forest. Joe’s family and stewardship of the land go back to 1857, when Joe Darlington’s great-great-grandfather, James Fenwick, purchased a tract of land from his uncle that had been a part of Hanover Furnace (ironworks).
The state strongly recommends 4WD vehicles, though not mandatory. The state does patrol the trails, but they are prohibited from assisting individuals that are stuck but will radio for a commercial tow. The State Forest cautions individuals not to stray from the major trails/roadways and not to rely on GPS, as it is not always accurate should you get lost, which is very easy to do. Also, rely on something other than Internet maps, as some indicate roads where there are none and cell phones will only work in a small percentage of the Park. As you can imagine, funding cuts have impacted staffing, so you are not advised to travel alone because if you get stuck on a remote trail, you will either have a long wait or walk to obtain assistance.
The New Jersey Pineland is also home to the Jersey Devil, the 250-year-old mysterious figure that haunts the Barrens, not the Hockey Team. The Jersey Devil possesses the head of a horse, a kangaroo’s body, a bat’s wings, and cloven hooves. His presence has made a lasting impression on those unfortunate enough to have heard his haunting cries in the night. Born on a stormy night in 1735, he was the 13th child of Mother Leeds. Overburdened with a large family, she cursed this child to be the devil. Before the midwife’s and local women’s astonished eyes attending the event, the newly birthed child began to transform himself into a creature unseen in these parts. Upon reaching the size of a full-grown man, he flew up the chimney with an ear-piercing shriek and a huge flap of his pointed wings.
My first exposure to the Pine Barrens was back in 1977, with flat water kayaking with my brother and his wife, then followed about ten years later by working and successfully competing in brisk Time-Speed-Distance rallies in the forests of southern New Jersey. These events ended in 2011 when state funding issues and changes to Forest policies lowered the allowed speeds from a high of 40 MPH to just 20 MPH. The availability of quality sand trails became limited due to a lack of scheduled maintenance.
In 2013, Murray Kane approached Fred Cochran of Raritan Valley Sports Car Club (RVSCC), who was the Rallymaster for ten of the twenty years of rallies conducted in the Pine Barrens. He requested his assistance in creating the first Paul Miller’s Pine Barrens Off-Road Excursion.
During that 2013 event, twenty-three teams participated in the Trek using limited written instructions and maps and posted pie-plate signs to follow the route. There are no street signs in the forest. Murray and Akemi Kane drove the Lead Car with Fred. My wife, Joanne Schneider, and I ran sweep, picking up the pie plates and helping ensure people who went off-course did not get hopelessly lost.
The 2022 event was created using a route initially laid out by Fred Cochran in 2014 and expanded on by Bob Shore of RVSCC and myself over the summer. The Trek utilized well-maintained sand trails in the State Forest and the Sand Pits of Joseph J White Farm.
The fifty-four AWD teams and one two-wheel-drive “off-road equipped” 944 were supplied with a bound set of route instructions and turn-by-turn route instructions for the 70-mile course. The instructions utilized Pro-rally “Tulip” drawings, which are a graphic representation of each intersection. You see simplistic forms of Tulip drawings when you encounter black-on-yellow road signs. Tulip drawings are more descriptive, showing details like railroad tracks, bridges, and referenced signs.
In addition to the Tulip drawings, the 105 route instructions provided overall mileage to the hundredths, delta mileage (distance between instructions), notification of the official speed limits, and a written description of the Tulip to make sure everyone stayed on-course and not wander off and get lost in the forest.
Several pre-checks were needed to select the trails and finalize the route. NNJR-PCA utilized online registration and payment to limit pre-event paperwork; on-site registration was conducted at the Brown Mill’s Community Center at 9 am, breakfast was provided, and after signing the insurance waivers and distributing the route books and goodie bags, a Driver’s meeting was conducted to go over the route and make sure everyone understood the format of the instructions and what to expect.
A course-open car left the start about 30 minutes before the main group to ensure that roads were open and clear of any obstructions. On our pre-check a couple of days before the event, we encountered a sizeable tree downed across the road; luckily, my wife’s SUV could drive over it, as it was too large for us to move. Knowing the road was the main thoroughfare, I was sure the tree would be cleared before the event, and sure enough, when our lead vehicle arrived at that location, someone had dragged it to the side of the road.
”At 10 am, under sunny but cold skies, we headed out to the Cranberry Bogs of Whitesbog Village. Even with mileage to every turn and detailed Tulip instructions, a large percentage of the vehicles made a wrong turn and ended up on a narrow causeway that terminated at a trench between two Bogs, Joe Darlington dug the trench to allow water flow to the Cranberry fields several years ago. After some thought, the group could back up to a safe turnaround and proceed to the Village for a short break and listen to the music of the Accidental Jug Band. The Accidental Jug Band has been part of our event for the last five years and is the “house band” of the New Jersey Blueberry Festival, held every summer at Whitesbog Village.
After some photos at the Village, the teams headed out for the “Back Roads and Waterhole” of the State Forest. About 30 miles later, we visited a local sand pit in the park, where the 944 and at least one AWD Porsche SUV got stuck in the deep soft “sugar sand,” but both were dug out and able to continue with the route.
During lunch, the club conducted a free raffle, and each team had a chance to pick out some great gifts supplied by Nitto Tires, which included Duffle Bags, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and an assortment of hats. This was in addition to the ‘goodie’ bag provided at the start, which included Cranberry and Blueberry products from Joe Darlington’s Pine Barren Native Fruits and a bottle of Pine Barrens’ own Valenzano’s wine, plus themed T-Shirts designed by Id Signs of Hackensack, NJ. The goodie bags were provided by the generosity of Paul Miller Porsche, the event sponsor, and the boxed lunch and breakfast were provided as part of the event fee.
After lunch, we had a short drive past the cranberry bogs of Joseph J. White Farm to their Sand Pits. The Region, via connections with RVSCC, gained access to Joe Darlington’s “Sand Storage Area.” About the size of six football fields, the Sand Pit contains both flat stretches to do donuts and steep sides. During the 60 minutes we were there, people had a chance to play with their 4-wheel drive. Everybody enjoyed the experience and would have stories to tell when they returned to work on Monday.
Since the Sand Pit was freestyle format, some took a short spin and headed home, while others stayed until we waived them out of the Pit, so they could head home before it got dark. Work is currently underway for the tenth annual Pine Barrens Off-Road Excursion. Mark your calendars for the first half of November 2023, and we hope to see you there.
Thank you to Bob Shore, Mike Feno, and Dom Miliano for providing the phots.
