Hike #124
Hike 124
Along the abandoned Saylorsburg Branch of the Lehigh and New England Railroad
2/22/4
For my next hike, I was looking forward to scouting another new section of trails and
railroads out near Wind Gap PA. For this one, I was joined by Tea Biscuit and Joe
Millionaire.
Former LNE railroad in Wind Gap PA
Former LNE railroad, Wind Gap PA
View from the LNE Saylorsburg Branch, Wind Gap PA
This is where Rt 33 severed the former LNE Saylorsburg Branch in Wind Gap PA
LNE Saylorsburg Branch, Wind Gap PA
LNE Saylorsburg Branch, Wind Gap PA
"Ultimate Sobriety Test" on LNE Saylorsburg Branch just north of Wind Gap
LNE Saylorsburg Branch just north of Wind Gap
Mountain view in Saylorsburg PA
LNE Saylorsburg Branch, Saylorsburg PA
LNE branch in Saylorsburg PA
Pipe under Rt 33
As I recall, I picked up Joe Millionaire in the morning at his house, and I believe the two
of us headed up to my dad’s on Morgan Hill in Williams twp above Easton to pick up Tea
Biscuit. We headed down to a mini mart near Rt 78 and picked up some beer for the trip.
From the mini mart, it was neat that we could clearly see Wind Gap in the distance. We
hopped in the camaro, and I head the popping of cans as Tea Biscuit began drinking beer
in the back seat.
When we reached Wind Gap, we parked at the AT parking lot, then walked down the
road to the right of way of the Lehigh and New England Railroad and headed southwest.
The last portion of this railroad I had walked was on hike #110 on 10/5/3 when Tea
Biscuit and I followed it from Pen Argly east.
For this hike, I decided to wear my full camos, as I was certain we’d be trespassing for at
least some of it.
We followed the right of way across a few back yards, and then onto a part where it was
being used as a driveway to a few homes, though still unpaved. We kept our eyes peeled
to the right, or north, for the former junction with the Saylorsburg Branch, a short line
which went through Wind Gap to Saylorsburg and what was probably an ice house on
Saylors Lake. We soon found this right of way and began following it on it’s gradual
ascent toward Wind Gap. I had a beer or two here since we were now in the woods. I
believe we had all of the beer gone by the time we reached Rt 33, which had obliterated
part of the right of way. It did however afford us a nice view to the southeast. Some snow
on the ground made it a bit slippery, but we were able to climb down to Rt 33 shortly. It
was visible where the right of way continued on the other side of 33, but it was somewhat
inaccessable so we followed the highway until it made it’s way back.
Soon, the right of way made it’s way back to the east side of 33 after a section where the
highway was built over the railbed. We bagan following it with some ease, and came
across a bridge with only I-Beams remaining. As we carefully crossed, Tea Biscuit joked
that this was the “Ultimate Sobriety Test”, a term that we would use from this point on!
Continueing on the railbed, we soon had to cross the busy Rt 33. Tea Biscuit was being
silly and decided to lay down in the highway before getting to the other side. The right of
way led us along fields and through the woods. We continued following the railbed as best
we could, and eventually came out in people’s back yards and some sort of driveway in
the south part of Saylorsburg. We entered a cut before coming out along a road, with a
nice view of a mountain to the northwest. We could see the railroad grade in a couple
yards, and then we were able to walk it again just beyond on a high fill and shelf above the
road. We continued until it got really overgrown, and we descended to the road. The right
of way apparently crossed back to the other side of 33, where Saylors Lake is located. We
opted not to walk under the high way to the lake, and instead check out a weird little
consignment shop of some sort just off the highway.
Inside, there were all sorts of interesting litte knick-knacks, and I don’t remember exactly
all I bought, but I certainly remember finding Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Video Album,
Volume 2! I was able to stuff it into my camera bag and we were off, back the route we
came on the railroad bed.
On the way, we stopped in a bar along the railbed, and they gave Tea Biscuit and Joe
Millionaire a bit of a hard time for being there without ID, but I had a Molson Ice at the
bar while the two of them played a game of pool.
When we reached the spot where we had to cross Rt 33 again, we opted to crawl through
a pipe under the highway rather than try to cross again, making yet another interesting
little tidbit to add to this hike.
One of the pipes we had to crawl through beneath Rt 33 to continue.
In a pipe under PA Rt 33
Blue Mountain Water Company Road east of Wind Gap
Pen Argyl Trail on Blue Mountain
Pen Argyl Trail on Blue Mountain
Spring along the Pen Argyl Trail
Pen Argyl PA
LNE right of way, Pen Argyl PA
LNE right of way, Pen Argyl PA
LNE right of way, Wind Gap PA
Before we reached the center of Wind Gap again, we headed up to the Blue Mountain
Water Company Road, which makes it’s way across the ridge and the AT. We followed it
uphill, then took the AT northbound to the Pen Argyl Trail we had seen in the past. A
metal sign on a tree read “Lost? Pen Argyl” with an arrow pointing to the trail. The trail
was spuratically blazed with black or yellow blazes along the way, and the pathway was
narrow. On the route, two more metal signs were on trees pointing to Pen Argyl.
Soon, the trail made it’s way back to the Blue Mountain Water Company Road, and a
blue blazed trail continued straight across and downhill rather steeply. We continued, soon
following a tributary to a large above ground resevoir. I suspect this may have been the
source for some of the local Deer Park bottled water, as the source locations noted on the
bottle locally were East Stroudsburg, New Tripoli, and Bangor PA. Joe Millionaire, being
the rebel he is, decided to urinate in the spring. Yuck!
Making our way down beyond the buildings we were on the streets of Pen Argyl. We
continued down hill to the LNE right of way where Tea Biscuit and I had last walked it,
and walked yet another new section west to Wind Gap to fill in the unwalked gap. Along
the way, we tried to figure out a mailbox which was apparently placed on the street for
aesthetics, as I had some junk mail to order for a friend.
Most of the right of way on the way to Wind Gap was clear, and the appeared to be wide
rights of way which must have been several tracks, and a flat area above us was probably
some sort of rail yard. I would learn later that a roundhouse still existed in the area, but it
was endangered by a proposed Wal Mart.
After this hike, we were tired but happy. I think we went to my dad’s house and had a
couple beers with him before heading home.
No comments:
Post a Comment