Hike #236 9/10/6
The group at the ruins of the supposed speakeasy, Devil's Hole
Hike 236; 9/10/6
This hike would once again be a co-lead for me with Rich Pace, the Devil's Hole and Seven Pines Mountain we had done previously in the Spring of 2005. We had a large group for this one again; Ron Phelps co-lead with Rich and I, and there was also Tea Biscuit, Julie Satmari, Bill "Guillermo" Fabel, Ira Rubenstein, Jude Shabrach, Bill Jacobsen, Paul Z, Mark ?, and newcomer "Action Adam" Stevens, Tea Biscuit, Guillermo, Action Adam, and I drove up together, stopping along the way at a grocery store to get Lehigh Valley Chocolate Milk.
Getting started at State Game Lands
Devil's Hole Hike #2
Devil's Hole Hike #2
Devil's Hole Hike #2
Devil's Hole Hike #2
Devil's Hole Hike #2
Devil's Hole Hike #2
Speakeasy ruins
Speakeasy ruins
Speakeasy ruins
Speakeasy ruins
Action Adam lost his knife at this washout later in the day.
Ron and a chimney.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Gorge.
Devil's Hole Falls
Devil's Hole Falls
Above Devil's Hole Falls
Devil's Hole Falls
Devil's Hole Gorge
Devil's Hole Gorge
Devil's Hole Gorge
Falls in Devil's Hole Gorge
Falls in Devil's Hole Gorge
Devil's Hole Gorge
Devil's Hole Gorge
Climbing out of Devils Hole
Climbing out of Devil's Hole
Climbing out of Devil's Hole
On Seven Pines Mountain
Mill Creek Gorge
Seven Pines Mountain
Mill Creek Gorge
Mill Creek Gorge
Arch in Mill Creek Gorge
Mill Creek Gorge
Mill Creek Gorge
Mill Creek Gorge
Mill Creek Gorge
Mill Creek Gorge
Del Water Gap from Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco heights
Cresco Heights and Big Pocono
View from Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heights
Cresco Heighs vicinity
Seven Pines Mountain
Seven Pines Mountain
Seven Pines Mountain
Seven Pines Mountain
Seven Pines Mountain
Seven Pines Mountain
Seven Pines Mountain
Devil's Hole Gorge
Devil's Hole Gorge
Devil's Hole Gorge
We met the rest of the group at the State Game Lands 221 parking area. Rich led the circle talk at the beginning and we took off walking down the old woods road to the Devil's Hole gorge. I of course did not mind walking in the water, nor did Tea Biscuit, Guillermo, or Action Adam. We followed the old woods road for the most part walking up the gorge. We again stopped at the ruins of the Prohibition era speakeasy, and climbed around on them a bit more than we did the previous visit. Only one part of the building was still enclosed, the rest was just frame. Tea Biscuit, Guillermo, and Action Adam kept falling behind to drink some beers. We made our way up to the falls, passing a fireplace and walking along sometimes very steep embankments. We took an extended break at the top of the Devil's Hole Falls, then headed back down stream. There was another small tributary coming into the creek from the east, so we decided to scout it out and see if there were any other waterfalls, but there were not. There were however a few stone foundation pieces which I could'nt figure out why they were there. We climbed back down and headed downstream more. The next tributary coming in from the left was our route. We began climbing up, sometimes right in the water. The little waterfalls were beautiful on the way up. We climbed up steeply until we leveled out on the top of Seven Pines Mountain. We bushwhacked again out to one of the woods roads on top of the Seven Pines Mountain, following it through some open areas to a power line, then briefly onto another road to Mill Creek. We headed downstream along the Mill Creek switching sides and following the easiest route. We passed the odd stone arch along the way, still looking the same as on our last visit. We eventually began heading out of the gorge steeply to another woods road, following it to Cresco Heights with it's terrific view of the Delaware Water Gap and Big Pocono. We took another long break here. Soon, we continued along the ridge at Cresco Heights, making our way off the edge of the mountain and over a couple different ridges. We did a little climbing, and walked along the tops of some interesting flat rocks exposed rocks. We eventually ended up fighting through some heavy undergrowth on our way out to the next woods road section. There was one road descending the mountain, one going right, and one going straight which we followed. We continued on the woods road until it began it's descent down towards the Devil's Hole. Before the road gave us the chance to descend too far, Rich led us on one final bushwhack down toward the gorge directly through Rhododendrons. It was very thick but we go through and soon reached the creek. We were at the top of an almost vertical embankment which we began to walk along down stream. Soon, we came to an enourmous washout, and Action Adam and I decided it would be fun to try to climb down it, however crazy it must have looked. Fortunitely, we made it down, but Action Adam lost his knife in the stream. We then headed back downstream to meet up with the rest of the group. There was one final stream crossing everyone had to make before making our way back to the parking area. Everyone made it fine. Rich, Ron, Tea Biscuit, Mark, Guillermo, Ira, Action Adam, and I had dinner at a place which I think was along Rt 611, and we joked and laughed quite a lot. I could have sworn the waitress asked if we wanted the McChicken, so we started ordering everything as if it were from McDonalds. I was asking to have things Super Sized, and Ira ordered the McFlounder, which was hilarious. The waitress got right with it and asked if he'd like fries with that. We had a great meal and a great day.
Photography by Mike Helbing and Richard Pace (RP)
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