Hike #12: 3/26/2K
The group in Manunka Chunk Tunnel.
3/26/2k
For my twentieth birthday, I felt the need to get back to leading my hikes, having taken a
nine month hiatus. During this time, I met Cathy Fisher, a divorced 44 year old woman
from Las Angeles, California whom I fell in love with. While our relationship was budding,
I hiked only short distances with her, occasionally jogging at night. I had moved out of my
mother’s house and moved in with my grandparents, which was a great move for me.
Unfortunitely, not hiking for so long led me to gain some weight. Now that things seemed
to be settling it was time to pursue my passion once again.
Getting ready to go at Common Sense for Animals
I began calling all the old friends, starting with Conrad and Bill Bill. In addition, Conrad
informed me his new girlfriend, Samia, would come along. Samia was from Bangla Desh,
and I was told her grandfather was the Prime Minister!
Commute to the start of the hike in my Ham Mobile
This time, for the first time, it was not necessary to have someone drop us off in Portland,
I would drive my car (this was my third car, a 1989 Chevy Corsica, and a piece of crap I
might add. I previously drove an 84 Camaro and an 88 LeBaron.). To my surprise, when I
showed up in New Village to pick up Conrad and Samia, two others were ready to go;
Samia’s friend Mobub, or as we called him, Booby, and Conrad’s cousin, Ronald Short. I
had met Ron only briefly in the past, as he had recently gotten out of jail from an incident
with his father a while back. We all stuffed into the Corsica (The Ham Mobile as I called
it) and headed to Colombia and crossed the footbridge.
Footbridge in Colombia NJ
Ron was a bit skiddish because
under the conditions of his parole he was not allowed to leave the New Jersey. Still, we
crossed the footbridge, got our choco milk, and headed south.
Portland Colombia Footbridge
Getting Lehigh Valley Farms Chocolate Milk at Port Mart
Heading south on the tracks out of Portland
Southbound on the tracks, Portland PA
Southbound on the tracks, Portland PA
Southbound on the tracks, Portland PA
Southbound on the tracks, Portland PA
Approaching Delaware trestle
Delaware Trestle
On Delaware Trestle
Delaware Trestle
Delaware Trestle
Descending to Rt 46 in Delaware
Former Blairstown Railroad cut, Delaware NJ
Smiddy's Deli, Delaware NJ
It had felt like years had past since my last walk along these tracks, and somehow it felt
like home. We climbed around as always, in the Delaware Trestle, and in the Blairstown
Railroad rock cut, and making a stop at Smiddy’s Deli in Delaware. I danced around in the
area singing “Stayin’ Alive”. Bill Bill bought a Snapple to quench his thirst here, not
realizing that it was probably several years old. As we continued on to the “Bush of
Might”, Bill Bill began feeling queazy.
The Shrub of Might
The Shrub of Might
The Shrub of Might
The Shrub of Might
Former Warren Railroad in Ramseyburg NJ
He asked me to hold his Snapple for him while he
ascended the hillside, and I drank a lot of it. Everyone made it to the top with no problem,
but after crossing the road at Ramseyburg, Bill Bill got sick. He was alright after that, but
soon I became sick as well. I had to sit down for a few minutes, but then I was alright as
well. This would be the last time I would throw up until 2005!
Me after getting sick off an old Snapple, Ramseyburg
BILL BILL
Approaching Manunka Chunk Tunnel
While we were sitting, two guys, one of them burly with a beard, went by, asking if we
had any weed. We of course did not, at which they exclaimed “Oh, okay, just thought I’d
ask, you guys look like a crazy bunch of mother fuckers!”. Indeed we must have, and the
fact that I wore my army helmet again surely did’nt help make us look more normal!
We ran into the two again, and to my surprise, the guy with the beard was Jason
Kathkart, a friend from elementary school, who I had’nt seen since! They were walking
from Stroudsburg! We chatted for a while, then moved on through the tunnel.
Jason Kathkart at Manunka Chunk Tunnel
Inside Manunka Chunk Tunnel
Inside Manunka Chunk Tunnel
In Manunka Chunk Tunnel
In Manunka Chunk Tunnel
In Manunka Chunk Tunnel
In Manunka Chunk Tunnel
In Manunka Chunk Tunnel, Ron carried Samia through.
Cleaning our shoes at the south side of the tunnel
Cut on the south side of Manunka Chunk Tunnel
Ron carried Samia across the watered portion. It was a warm enough day that instead of following the
farm road, we stayed close to the right of way.
Former Warren Railroad bed south of Manunka Chunk
Conrad successfully completes a jump over Catherine's Run, Manunka Chunk
Along Catherine's Run
Along former Warren Railroad bed, Sarepta area
Ron crossing plank bridge at old Catherine's Run bridge site
Conrad managed to jump Catherine’s Run
where necessary, and avoided getting his feet wet again! This time, two of the three planks
over Catherine’s Run where the bridge was had rotted into the creek.
Fields near Upper Sarepta Road
Also, the weeds
were too heavy and we needed to make our way to an adjacent corn field along the rail
bed.
Former Warren Railroad bed approaching the crossing at Bridgeville station
Making our way south went smoothly until the sand pit in Bridgeville, where the right
of way was completely destroyed beyond the huge piles of dirt to the north. We followed
the remains of the right of way on a knife edge of dirt to the other side.
Approaching the sand quarry in Bridgeville
Bridgeville sand quarry
Bridgeville sand quarry
Crossing Bridgeville sand quarry
Crossing sand quarry in Bridgeville
Along the Warren RR right of way near Hot Dog Johnny's
Buttsville Cemetary
We next stopped in Buttsville at the cemetary for a rest, where Conrad quizzed us in our
personal philosophies in a scenario involving bodies of water, bubbles, and other stuff
(Conrad was at the time a student at Elizebethtown College of PA, majoring in Physics
and Philosophy I believe it was).
Former Warren Railroad in Buttsville
Former Warren Railroad near Buttsville
On former Warren Railroad bed, Pequest WMA
Old farmstead in northern Oxford Twp.
We made our way south, everyone found a walking stick to soothe the pain. We made a
stop to knock siding off the house in Oxford Twp.
Old farmstead in Oxford along the rail bed
I put mine and Cathy's initials into the sand
Approaching electrified fence on the rail bed in Oxford
In Oxford, an electrical fence was erected around a horse’s pen, right on the right of way.
Bill Bill touched it to see if it was electrified, and lucky for him it was not.
Crossing Rt 31 in Oxford
After stopping for snacks in Oxford, everyone except Bill Bill and myself opted to walk
the highway while we navigated the tunnel.
Approaching north side of Oxford Tunnel
South side of Oxford Tunnel
South of Oxford Tunnel on the old Warren Railroad bed
Just south of the tunnel, Conrad spotted a tree with three sections, and placed his walking
stick in the center, stating that this should from now on be referred to as the “Tree of
Three” and everyone placed their walking sticks in the middle.
Warren RR bed in Washington Twp.
By the time we got to the boro of Washington, it was dark, and navigation became tough
until we reached where the Warren Lumber Company erected their fence over the right of
way. We decided to stop at Bill Bill’s house on Railroad Avenue, arriving at about 7:00
pm, tired but glad to be back in the hiking mode.
End of the hike, resting on Bill Bill's porch
I was now using a Kodak Sure Shot Owl, a discontinued model in the series of my earlier
WP-1, which my grandmother bought me for my birthday. I had lost my Bell & Howell
camera on a trip to New Hope with Eric Schneider and Jeff Fitzgerald.
“I remember it took Mobub about a half hour to get to the Shrub of might. He kept
sliding back down. I had this enourmous blister I had covered in like four band aids.
I recently realized that to be a Philosopher, you need to take like 10 pages to say
something simple, then reiterate what you’ve said over the next 90 pages. I’m reading
Socrates, Plato.....it’s terrible!” -Conrad {walkingcarpet@hotmail.com}
Okay. I’ll keep in mind to stay away from those....
“More people then any of the previous hikes. Made it seem like multiple hikes: differing
conversations with different individuals and groups. Evil Snapple Peach Iced Tea, almost
made it to the Bush of Might. Same predictable Portland to Washington, Oxford Tunnel:
Cold water is great for aching feet, Tree of Three, Tree of Three.” -Bill Bill
How do you think you can get away with referring to any of my hikes as “predictable”?
Silly Bill Bill, you of all should know better than that! Hahahaha!
“I ran down the sand pit every time. I {also} remember Samia saying that Conrad and I
walked like the same person.” -Ron
Ron Short gave me this comment just a few hours before his untimely death on 4/1/6.
I prepared this disc without commentary in March of 2006, then began collection
commentary from participants. We made plans to possibly get together to look at pictures
and go over memories on 4/3. Conrad informed me on the evening of 4/2, as I was on my
way home from a hike, that Ron had fallen to his death from an abandoned railroad bridge
between Phillipsburg NJ and Easton Pa. Ron was a really fun guy, and a great friend. He
and I walked hundreds of miles together, not to mention going out to eat, to parties, and
wherever. He will be sorely missed.
Here's where you can see pictures from this hike...feel free to pick them off to use on facebook if you'd like!
http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/sneezehorse/hike012/
Looking back and reading this now is so strange because my life has changed so much since this time...it's absolutely amazing.
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