Hike #1381; Easton Area Loop

 

Hike #1381: 12/23/20 Easton Area Loop with Dr. Michael Krejsa, Joe Tag, Jennifer Tull, Tina Chen, Cupcake (Chris Kroschinski), Professor John DiFiore, Daniel Trump, and Karen Ezzo.

This next hike would be another loop night hike in Easton PA area.
I never get sick of the area. There is an infinite amount of stuff to do around there.

This time, we would do a variation of stuff I'd done many times before, but never get tired of.

From the boat launch area in Phillipsburg, just north of the Northampton Street free bridge in Phillipsburg, we met to start the hike.
Joe Tag showed up and gifted me an antique New World Atlas and Gazetteer he'd had for a long while to add to my map collection.
We started the hike by walking across the free bridge, and then turning right along the greenway along the Delaware River as I recall. We made our way to Bushkill Drive, and I think we might have tried to go up steps that we don't usually try, but couldn't get through.

We then made our way up the regular Lafayette College steps up into the campus.
This time, we headed through a different way than we usually do to the north. 
We walked by some nice huge trees, and then down through a campus building into an odd parking lot. I just kind of wanted to wander through the campus on a route I had never done before.
We then headed up I think Broadhead, Wayne, Kemmerer, Parker, and Shawnee Ave.
It got dark really quickly, but we still pushed through, and then descended on an abandoned set of steps from Shawnee down to the old trolley right of way up to where the Paxinosa Inn used to stand.

The trolley bed is really a fantastic route. It was already dark by the time we got to it, but it was still really pretty great. We could see the lights of the bridges over the Delaware, and on both sides of the river.

I pointed out to the right, across the river, how brightly the new Phillipsburg high school looks. It's kind of a pollution from that vantage point compared to what it was.

We made it to the very top, where the trolley made a hairpin turn below the hotel that has long since burned down in 1931 and was never rebuilt.
From there, we took a side trip on the foot path out to the end of Weygadt Gap, which looks up the Delaware.
I would normally go a bit further down, but it was so dark and so icy that I opted not to go much further. The spine of the little ridge gets narrow, and a fall would be the end of any of us, so I erred on the side of caution with this one.
We continued back to the trolley bed in Gollub Park, and headed to the west, to where it joins Paxinosa Avenue. We passed the private homes quietly and made our way onto the paved street, which was also the route taken historically by the trolley.

We came out to Sullivan Trail, and turned right (Sullivan Trail is a highway). We continued a short bit and then reached a grassy field area on the left with a high slope. I led everyone up onto that, and then across a field to the rear of the Forks Childcare Center, and then cut out to Knox Avenue.

We followed Knox to Old Mill Road and then cut to the right behind some more retail buildings into the big parking lot for the Giant supermarket where we took a break.
Here, at least Cupcake and I got some foot at Picasso II Pizza I think it was. It's hard to turn down pizza. 
When we were done there, to the right side of the parking lot is where the Forks Trail system connects to the Giant lot.
We turned onto that, and walked out behind the supermarket and parallel with a Forks Community Park access road, then crossed Marigold Drive. We continued west on the south side of the park skirting residences.

At the end of the wide park fields, the trail forks north and west. We continued west in a narrower swath between homes.
This led us out across Wagon Wheel Drive, behind more homes, and then across Hedgerow Court. We skirted a retention pond on the north and Heather Lane on the south, then crossed Mitman Road.
This spot was the first time I came up with "recycling bin fences".
The plastic fences with removable tops are supposed to get glued, but when they're not, I've put my beer bottles inside. They'll be found in fifty or so years when someone goes to replace the fence. Maybe sooner if there's an accident. I added to the collection this time as well.
 The trail then goes along Fox Run Road like a sidewalk and ends at Willow Drive.

From there, we went straight to the end of the road and cut to the right in back of the last house, along the edge of a farm field.
Through the line of trees at the end, we emerged at the rear parking lot of the Jahova's Witness place off of Lieb Road.
We headed down from behind there, turned left, and then right onto Hill Rd.
We turned right at the bottom on Northwood Ave, then left into Penn Pump Park on the old Easton and Northern Railroad bed, now paved trail.
We continued south over the Bushkill Creek on a girder bridge, then passed behind some homes before crossing Bushkill Park Road. We then crossed Bushkill Creek again.

This section brought us out behind the old Binney and Smith place, through the parking lot. Some rails are still visible there on that little stretch.
I pointed out how the industrial building was once a much older mill on the creek, and that it was built upon to create the large complex there today. The old mill wall on the south side is still visible.

We continued through from here, and I believe we turned right uphill into Upper Hackett Park. I think since it was Christmas time, it was the one where I planned to walk more of the length of Northampton Street completely. I'd always wanted to do it, and I know we ended up back in the Easton Circle before the end, but I didn't quite remember which route we chose to take to get there. We might hve done Sterner Arts Trail, but I just don't quite remember.
Once we got to the Easton Circle, it was just a short couple of blocks back to Northampton Street free bridge to get back over to Phillipsburg. It ended up being a pretty great last night hike for the year 2020.