Hike #174; Frenchtown to Lambertville

 Hike #174

The group on the old Bel Del north of Lambertville

6/5/5

Bel Del Railroad; Frenchtown-Lambertville with Gerry Martiniak, Beverly Auvil, Tom Olsen, Jude Shabrach, Barbara Bish, Ira Rubenstein, Beth Senay

 

The original journal for this one was lost to the fire as well.

Me at Bull's Island lock area D&R Canal

Bulls Island lock site on the Delaware and Raritan Canal

At Bulls Island lock

Old railroad shelter along the Bel Del right of way in Prallsville

Former rail spur bridge near Stockton

Abandoned passenger car in Lambertville

Abandoned passenger car in Lambertville

Former Bel Del Railroad in Lambertville

Along the D&R Canal in Lambertville

Delaware River from the canal and rail bed in Lambertville

Apartments in New Hope PA from the rail bed and canal towpath near Fireman's Eddy

Apartments in New Hope PA from D&R canal

This was another hike I'd done before, but I was trying to re-do my old hikes to familiarize new AMC people with what I'd been doing the past so many years. For this one we met just south of Lambertville, Fireman's Eddy, and shuttled as few cars as we could north to Frenchtown's 12th street access to the rail trail, which was part of Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park (this section was just rail bed, and most of it along the Delaware Follows more closely the rail bed than the canal. The canal actually had it's northern terminus at Bull's Island.).

We spotted a car for Gerry's wife Beverly I think at Bull's Island. I think Tom Olsen may have cut out early as well.

I remember the group finding this more difficult than a lot of the more uneven terrain hikes. Sometimes the flat crushed stone surface is tedious and can be more painful than the rough terrain which makes you use different muscles.

Nearing Lambertville the trail splits where you can follow either the rail bed or the canal, and so I stuck to the rail bed which surprised everyone because with AMC trips they always kept with the canal. The rail bed led by an abandoned passenger car that I liked though.

The last stretch to Fireman's Eddy was always toughest, but good views across the river.