Today was quite the day for the Pine Barrens Intensive Learning group. At the start of the day, we learned a bit about the legend of the Jersey Devil, who is said to be from the Pine Barrens. Then, we left school for Wharton State Forest. At the state forest, we broke off into small groups and were given one task: make a short film about the Jersey Devil, in any genre we chose. After filming our movies, all of us regrouped and took a walk to an old set of railroad tracks. The tracks are now out of service, but the trains that ran on them in the past connected people from Philadelphia and Camden to Atlantic City. We also saw Carranza Memorial, a monument erected in memory of Emiliano Carranza, a Mexican aviator whose flight crashed over South Jersey while he was flying a good will mission. The monument pays tribute to his efforts, and it’s amazing that, every year, so many people come to commemorate his life. We then began hiking on the Batona Trail, breaking for lunch at a rest area. At the end of lunch, we continued on the Batona Trail for roughly four miles, taking a small rest in the middle. The end of our hike revealed a spectacular sight: an old fire watchtower on Apple Pie Hill. The tower was ginormous, allowing us to see for miles around. The base of the tower was so elevated that we could see Atlantic City on the horizon. Once our tour of the tower ended, our group took the twenty minute trek to our bus and went home.
