A guided hike will take place on Saturday, June 6th on the Patriots Path white blaze trail segment that runs between Furnace Road and Tanners’ Brook Road, in Chester, NJ.  Participants should park in the parking lot at the corner of Furnace Road and Tanners Brook Road (which is marked with a ‘Hunter’s Parking’ sign).   The hike will begin in the parking lot at 9:00 am, and will be about a mile and a half in total length over generally pleasant terrain.  Hikers should wear sturdy shoes since several stretches of the trail have exposed rocks and pass over piles of sharp-edged slag from the furnace operation.   Bug spray would also be helpful, given several nearby stretches of swampy ground.

The trail walk will go alongside of the site of the historic Chester Furnace, a state-of-the-art facility from the late 1800’s that processed ore from local mines into rectangular ingots of high-carbon ‘pig iron’.  In addition to pointing out the surviving artifacts from the Furnace operation, the hike will also pass by the site of the ill-fated Lake Takene resort community and train station.  At a leisurely pace, the walk+talk should last about 90 minutes or less.

Leader: Bruce Clark. Call to sign up (862) 812-7668 or email him at bruce.randolph.clark@gmail.com.