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Tom's Wilderness Site

Here's my wilderness site, please read everything carefully before you head out in the wilderness.

You must bring the things I have listed below to the wilderness or you might as well stay home.

FISH NET
A great survival item to bring is a small fish net. It's ridiculously easy to catch fish with a net. It's illegal almost everywhere so only use it in case of an emergency.

MOSQUITO PROTECTION
It's a good idea to bring some bug protection, mosquito candles are the best but mosquito coils are lighter.

STRING
Plain old string is one of those items that you always find a good use for, most of the time it just makes your trip more enjoyable and convenient, but once in a while it can save your life.

DUCT TAPE
I love duct tape, I think it's one of the greatest achievements of our civilization. Just imagine where we would be without duct tape.

TOOL
It's a good idea to have two multipurpose tools, one small one with the bare essentials that you always carry in your pocket and one larger one with more features that you carry in your pack.

BACKPACKING STOVE
There's only one word you need to know when it comes to camp stoves and that is: "Trailstove" or is that two words? Either way the Stratus Trailstove is the best choice by far. It may sound weird these days but the Trailstove burns wood, not compressed gas or liquid fuel. It is quite light, about a pound (a little below I think), sells for 20 dollars (quite a bargain). The thing I like most about my Trailstove is its reliability, you will never have any trouble with this stove ever, and you never ever run out of fuel.

Locate water

The general rule is that water is always down in the bottom of the valley.

Even if you can't see water you can see the signs of water such as greener than usual vegetation, or a string of uniform vegetation, or a flock of birds.

If you need get to where the signs of water are but don't see any water you may decide to dig down, if you do always dig by the largest piece of vegetation, that's where there is most water.

New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve

New Lisbon, NJ

The Pinelands National Reserve includes portions of seven southern New Jersey counties, and encompasses over one-million acres of farms, forests and wetlands. It contains 56 communities, from hamlets to suburbs, with over 700,000 permanent residents. In 1978 it was established by Congress as the country’s first National Reserve -- a Reserve being an area of nationally significant resources that are protected through a program of local land use management supported by federal financial and technical assistance.

In the Pinelands, specific areas have been designated for environmental protection, forestry and agriculture, with growth being directed and encouraged in and around areas capable of accomodating further development. As a United States Biosphere Reserve, the Pinelands also serves as a laboratory for fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and their environment through a program of research that integrates the social, physical and biological sciences.

The Pinelands is truly a special place. Its people are distinguished by a unique relationship with their environment, and the environment is distinguished by being habitat for over a thousand species of plants and animals--almost 100 of which are threatened or endangered.

CONTACTS

Email - info@njpines.state.nj.us

Write to
National Park Service
200 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

- or -
New Jersey Pinelands Commission
15 Springfield Road (P.O. Box 7)
New Lisbon, NJ 08064

Phone
Headquarters - (215) 597-1903
Visitor Information - (609) 894-7300
Visitor Information - (856) 447-0103

TRAVEL BASICS

Operating Hours, Seasons
The Reserve is served by public roads that are open year-round. However, public and private tourism and recreation facilities maintain varying seasonal and daily operational hours.

FEES/PERMITS

Entrance Fee

Free!
There are no entrance fees to the Reserve and, with the exception of the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway, roadways are toll-free. Entrance and user fees are charged for many public and private recreation and tourism services.

CAMPING

New Jersey State Parks & Forests
Camping/overnight accomodations available at Bass River, Belleplain, Lebanon and Wharton Forests. Facilities include wilderness sites, family campsites, group campsites, lean-tos, and cabins.
For More Information on this campground please call 800-843-6420/609-984-0370

LODGING

privately owned accomodations
Open All Year
Listing of motels, inns, b&b's and campgrounds within the Shore, Delaware River, Greater Atlantic City and Southern Shore Regions of the Pinelands National Reserve.
For More Information on this lodging please call 609-292-2470

Some content donated by Hikercentral.com and the National Park Service

FISH NET	A great survival item to bring is a small fish net. It's ridiculously easy to catch fish with a net. It's illegal almost everywhere so only use it in case of an emergency.
MOSQUITO PROTECTION	It's a good idea to bring some bug protection, mosquito candles are the best but mosquito coils are lighter.
STRING	Plain old string is one of those items that you always find a good use for, most of the time it just makes your trip more enjoyable and convenient, but once in a while it can save your life.
DUCT TAPE	I love duct tape, I think it's one of the greatest achievements of our civilization. Just imagine where we would be without duct tape.
TOOL	It's a good idea to have two multipurpose tools, one small one with the bare essentials that you always carry in your pocket and one larger one with more features that you carry in your pack.
BACKPACKING STOVE	There's only one word you need to know when it comes to camp stoves and that is: "Trailstove" or is that two words? Either way the Stratus Trailstove is the best choice by far. It may sound weird these days but the Trailstove burns wood, not compressed gas or liquid fuel. It is quite light, about a pound (a little below I think), sells for 20 dollars (quite a bargain). The thing I like most about my Trailstove is its reliability, you will never have any trouble with this stove ever, and you never ever run out of fuel.