Hike #18
Along former Warren Railroad, Ramseyburg area
6/29/2k
I had just returned from a trip out to California with Cathy, and found the place ultimately
disappointing to what I had pictured. The truth was, I am in love with northeast; I’ve
studied everything from history, geology, and botany pretaining to the area, and no other
place really does anything for me.
Manunka Chunk Tunnel
Rails in Manunka Chunk Tunnel
I knew as soon as I returned that I needed to get out on a hike again, so I tried to arrange
a walk the first day I had off work from the A&P. I called Ronald up, but he was busy
working for the Doc. Fortunitely, Tea Biscuit was willing to take a long walk, so I had my
grandmother drop us off in Ramseyburg to do the hike I had done with Ronald the
previous month.
Atop Manunka Chunk Tunnel
Cave in section of Manunka Chunk Tunnel
Delaware River behind Hoffman LaRoche
I was feeling great, and getting in better shape fast. We moved our way down the DL&W
right of way, exploring the Manunka Chunk Tunnel a bit before heading south on the Bel
Del. We did the same as the previous time, making our way into the Roche facility’s land,
along the fence, and along the river.
On a staircase along the Delaware River
View along the Delaware behind Roche
This time, I did’nt want to get lost in the series of
roads as I had previously, so we instead took the right fork and descended a bit on an old
road parallel to the river, continueing to the fenced area that Ronald and I followed to the
left. I decided this time we’d follow along the fence to the right. We made our way
through some thick brush, so heavy at times that we had to crawl on our hands and knees
to get though.
Weird walkways around tanks near Belvidere
Weird tanks and walkways near Belvidere
What we found was quite interesting; a series of large white tanks sitting
about 15 feet high, with “Flammable” warnings on them. The tanks were fitted with
walkways and railings around them, as well as a series of pipes running all over across the
ground to each tank, with some of them connected to the tanks from above, also
branching out in different directions. We made our way onto the walkways, looking for
our route. A small tributary stood between our location and the river, which we knew
would lead us to Belvidere. We decided to monkey-bar across the tributary on the pipes
running from the tanks.
Crossing a creek using a pipe
Crossing a creek using a pipe
Abandoned trailer near Belvidere
When we reached the other side, we found along abandoned building with a parking lot,
oor some sort of recieving bays. The entire rear of the building was outfitted with fire
hydrants as well. In the distance we could hear men speaking over a PA system, probably
from the near Paint Factory, which this abandoned industrial area might be a part if if not
Hercules. There was also the trailor to a large truck, looking as if it had been parked for
years. We crossed the lot and found a break in the west side and made our way to the
Delaware, following it until the end of a fence, when we emerged into the front parking lot
of the paint place.
Delaware River view from our bush whack toward Belvidere
Railroad tracks in Belvidere
On the Belvidere trestle over the Pequest
When we reached the railroad tracks, it was from a different angle than last time, and we
accidently followed it north until we saw the gates where the tracks entered Roche. We
turned back immediately and entered Belvidere, descending at the Pequest Trestle so we
could take a dip in the river. Tea Biscuit soaked himself, in part because he had for the
first time gotten into a significant amount of Stinging Nettle, also known as “Cow Itch”,
and needed to soothe the itchy but painful abrasions it caused.
Belvidere trestle over the Pequest
Coming down from the Bel Del tracks in Belvidere
Tea Biscuit after a dip in the Pequest, Belvidere
Next, we made our way to Skoogy’s Deli where Tea Biscuit bought a slab of Beef Jerky
that looked more like a piece of road-kill. He had been making comments about being a
nudist, in regular absurd conversation, and said he’d like to discuss nudism with the good
looking young girls working the registers. I don’t remember if he did this time, but every
time we visited Skoogy’s after this Tea Biscuit would walk in and proclaim “I’m a
Nudist!”, then exit. We came to refer to this as his “Proclaimation”.
Road kill looking Beef Jerky at Skoogy's Belvidere
Along former LHR railroad in Belvidere. Ouch, stinging nettle!
We made our way across our grandfather’s lot, then onto the Bel Del south to the
L&HR. As we made our way beyond the Pophandusing Brook Bridge, the right of way
out to Rt 624 had been bulldozed beyond recognition, except for a short stretch of it
nearing the road. Houses were already being built to the west.
Construction of an age restricted community over the LHR rail bed near Belvidere
LHR rail bed near Belvidere
Trees down over LHR railbed east of Belvidere
Continueing east, corn had begun to grow, and a few blowdowns were navigated around.
When we reached Bridgeville, Tea Biscuit again took a dip in the Pequest. The remainder
of the walk toward Oxford went free of incident.
History bridge at Bridgeville
Tea Biscuit walking under historic Bridgeville Bridge
We stopped in Rita’s general store again
for drinks and snacks; we rarely carried anything other than a camera at this time. Tea
Biscuit was snapping pictures the whole time, but it turned out later that his camera was
broken. Tea Biscuit wandered through the store looking for what food he could buy up to
his last amount of change, and he ended up buying a weird gummi hamburger thing.
Clearing dense jewel weed on our way to the north side of Oxford Tunnel
North end of Oxford Tunnel
Tunnel in the wall, Oxford Tunnel
Making our way to the Oxford Tunnel, the Jewel weeds had grown high, and we had to
beat through them. I once again found my old shoes, that I had loved so much. Wishing to
give them a more proper resting place, I set them on a mantle like shelf inside the tunnel,
so I could pay homage to them each time I pass through. Passing through the Oxford
Tunnel was without incident, and we made our way back to Washington in good time.
Washington railroad yard
Aside from my Sure Shot Owl Camera, we used Tea Biscuit’s little cheap camera, which
managed to take a few shots. Here's what we shot that day...
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