Hike #242 10/8/6
10/8/6
Lehigh Gap/Lehigh Furnace Gap loop with Scott "Tea Biscuit" Helbing, Bill "Guillermo" Fabel, Joe Tag, Laurie Ellicott, Ira Rubenstein, Jude Shabrach, "Amish Paul" Hassler, Wyatt Hassler, Sylvia ?, and ?. There may actually have been a couple more and I really can't remember...I just see the pictures!
This is another one that we lost the journal entry to...maybe someone out there has it on one of the discs I passed out? If so e mail me one please!
Group off trail near South Trail
This was always a good area to be doing a hike. I was really excited to be leading a group over a good section of the Appachian Trail and incredible side trails and also covering the next westbound section of the Lehigh and New England Railroad that I've always wanted to walk on since my first time seeing it driving through Lehigh Gap with Conrad Blease in 1997.
We had a nice group with a few newcomers, most noteably Amish Paul's son Wyatt who would become a huge part of the group from then on. Even though he was only 13, it was hard to believe he had such a thick beard growing!
The route took us from Lehigh Furnace Gap on Ashfield Road along the AT northbound. We made a right turn onto the "South Trail" which did'nt really have a name at the time yet. This trail led to extremely exposed, incredible rocks for the next half mile or so, and I had'nt been here in almost exactly three years.
Along South Trail
After climbing around on South Trail, we continued back to the AT through pleasant woods to the North Trail, equally as incredible but less rocky, with even more fantastic views to the north of the Lehigh River Valley. As soon as we turned to the first view Sylvia and the one other guy decided to turn around and go back, to my surprise. They were younger so I thought they'd appreciate the group more but whatever.
The North Trail led us out to the dip of the gap itself where we then followed the Devil's Pulpit Trail, a spur trail which led down very steeply to the vertical facing rock and cliffs with unequalled views into the gap.
Me on Devil's Pulpit
The Devil on Devil's Pulpit
We hung out here and then ascended back to the North Trail, then followed it to the AT northbound again, leading down hill past a shelter into Lehigh Gap. Before crossing the bridge, we turned and cut into some woods. We did'nt know a building down below had been turned into Lehigh Gap Nature Center, as it had been private land before. We soon came to footpath along the totally exposed rocky ledge of the gap marked "LNE" Trail. People called it the "Line" Trail but I knew it meant "Lehigh and New England" for the rail line it used to be. This path led to the former west end of the Lehigh Gap trestle which carried the LNE line across. I'd been to the other side and always wanted to be at this point.
Group shot at the end.
Off trail near Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap+
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along South Trail between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Along North Trail, Lehigh Gap
Devil's Pulpit Trail
Devil's Pulpit Trail
Devil's Pulpit Trail
Devil's Pulpit Trail
Devil's Pulpit Trail
View from Devil's Pulpit
Devil's Pulpit Trail
View from Devil's Pulpit
View from Devil's Pulpit
View from Devil's Pulpit
Devil's Pulpit
On Devil's Pulpit
View from Devil's Pulpit
View of former LNE trestle site, Lehigh Gap PA
View from the AT in Lehigh Gap
Lehigh Gap PA
Lehigh Gap PA
Lehigh Gap PA
LNE rail bed, Lehigh Gap
LNE rail bed, Lehigh Gap
LNE rail bed out of Lehigh Gap
View of Devil's Pulpit
LNE rail bed out of Lehigh Gap
LNE rail bed out of Lehigh Gap
LNE rail bed out of Lehigh Gap
LNE rail bed out of Lehigh Gap
NJ Zinc Co buildings across the Lehigh
North of Lehigh Gap
Former LNE rail bed obliterated by PA Turnpike
Former LNE rail bed near Ashfield PA
Weird root thing in Ashfield PA
Ashfield PA
Group shot, Lehigh Furnace Gap
Group shot, Lehigh Furnace Gap
Once we got there, we followed the rail bed through the gap which was incredibly scenic the entire way through with continueous views. I chatted with Wyatt most of the time which was fun. He's a ball of passion and energy which, with some of my previous experiances with some AMC people, was welcome and refreshing. Fortunitely this was a good group with no problems all around!
We continued on the rail bed until it turned into sort of a cul de sac road and ahead it became sort of a road, and then blocked off or something I think. We had to turn right on a road that took us north to Sunset Road. We walked down the road and laughed for a bit at a giant jacked up 1980s model Ford Mustang with a snow plow on the front of it.
We continued down the road and had to turn right on Kittatinny Road I think (we crossed the rail bed again but could'nt get on it). We soon were able to see where it used to cross and turned left onto it, off of the road. We did'nt go far on the rail bed when we came to the PA Turnpike. There was no bridge across and traffic was moving very fast having just come out of the Lehigh Tunnel to the south. I was ready to dash across directly but Ira convinced me not to (thanks). Instead, I think it was him and/or Tea Biscuit that went down to the right and found another way by going under the same culvert that carried Lizard Creek below. We used that and then climbed back up to the rail bed on the other side and continued west. There was another line, formerly a Lehigh Valley Railroad line that also paralleled this below us along the creek more at it's water level.
We continued on the rail line for a while and it soon turned to the right a bit. We reached the site of a former bridge which seemed to go over a small creek, but only abutments remained. I did'nt know it at the time, but this was no creek but rather the washed out right of way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. We continued to the other side and soon crossed the Lizard Creek on an intact culvert. I remember being surprised that this was in place and the other one was not. We soon reached where the rail bed was somewhat obliterated by a small side road from Rt 895. We could see where it departed from the road as the road turned right, but it was badly overgrown so we opted to follow the road for a bit. We reached 895 and went left into Ashfield, taking a small side road parallel with the main one. We talked to a lady in a yard there who let us refill our water bottles there and cut across her yard to get to Ashfield Road, our return route up the ridge.
We walked the road for a bit, looking at the former rail grade crossing sites on the way. The road became dirt before it's major steep ascent, and some of us decided to try to run up the rest of the ridge. I think only Laurie made it up the entire way, running non stop to the cars!
I think it was probably the beginning of this hike as well that there happened to be two ladies and a kiosk trying to take a survey to show the usage of the area...and there were tons of cars!
I HAVE GOOD NEWS!!! Thanks to my good friend Major Tom, who lent me discs of my old stuff, I have recovered the original hike journal for this one!!! There IS hope you see!!!
Hike 242; 10/8/6
My next hike would take us close to the farthest west in my line of continues section hikes. This would be a loop between Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Furnace Gap using the Appalachian Trail (AT) and it's sorrounding trails, as well as the abandoned right of way of the Lehigh and New England Railroad in the next section I had not walked of it westbound.
We met in Lehigh Furnace Gap, and joining me were past participants Tea Biscuit, Laurie Ellicott, Joe Tag, Ira Rubenstein, Jude Shabrach, Bill "Guillermo" Fabel, "Amish Paul" Hassler and newcomers Wyatt Hassler (Paul's son, who would be the youngest participant in any of my hikes at 13 years old), Lydia Holiat, {name unknown}, {name unknown}, and {name unknown}.
I was running behind getting to the meeting place, as was Lydia Holiat and ?, and Joe Tag. We waited for everyone to show up, and there were two women at the little parking area taking surveys on our thoughts on the area, which was a bit weird and definitely a first for us!
We began walking on the Appalachian Trail northbound through woods in State Game Lands 217 (most of the trip was within this SGL). We passed through some stands of pines, and it was very easy soft ground uncharacteristic of most of PA. We followed the AT for a while, then cut off trail to the south when a large rock outcropping became visible. We went up there to take a break on the rock with great views to the south and west. This rock was near the beginning of the vague Scenic Bypass Trail, which had been reblazed blue once again since my last visit with Rich Pace three years prior.
We began along the trail, which was still difficult to locate at times, but we had little problem. The rock outcroppings and views down the ridge along the way were absolutely incredible. The trail took us back and forth through short pieces of woods onto fields of flat open rocks, partially devoid of vegatation due to the Zinc smelting in nearby Palmerton. Ironically, the hike the week before this took place where the zinc was mined, in Franklin, New Jersey, and this time we would be where it was smelted. The trail eventually took us down off the open area and onto the AT again, which we followed out to another blue blazed trail, the North Trail, which I had also followed with Rich Pace on the previous visit. We took the North Trail a short distance to the north ridge, with beautiful open views of the northern Lehigh Valley and Palmerton area below. By the time we were halfway along the North Trail, we had already had probably more viewpoints than on any hike I had led to date.
The views continued as we walked along the ridge, and Silvia and {name unknown} decided to turn back early. We continued on to the Devil's Pulpit Trail, a side trail that made it's way across a rock field and steeply down to a rock outcropping that is the trail's namesake. The view from the Devil's Pulpit was indeed incredible. It offered superior views of the railroad abandonements and roads passing through Lehigh Gap. We could see the site of the former Lehigh and New England Railroad's grade where the trestle used to be over the river plainly. Not everyone went down to the Pulpit, but it was worth it to those who did. We then climbed back up to the North Trail and followed it down hill to the AT, then continued past a thru hiker's shelter reaching PA Rt 873. I had everyone wait at the lot while I looked ahead for the route to get to the Lehigh County side of the abandoned Lehigh and New England Railroad, abandoned since 1961.
We began walking off trail on deer paths along the base of the ridge into the gap, eventually coming to a new trail I did not know existed. A sign called it "LNE Trail", which overjoyed me because it meant the railroad right of way had been preserved through the gap as a trail! We followed the trail on a narrow route along the ridge, then descended to the rail right of way near the site of the trestle. We stopped for the lunch break at the west end of the trestle site. While there, I talked to a cyclist that was using the trail. He told me the trestle had been ripped out in 1969 after the line was abandoned.
We began walking the right of way north through the gap with great views continueing along the way. We made our way around a corner heading west on the railbed, which remained totally clear for a long time. We eventually came to a road access, and the right of way became weedy, but we continued on. Soon, a fence was over the way, and I tried making my way around it to the right, but it became too tough so we turned back and headed down the road we had passed. This road took us down hill and then parallel to the right of way. It was fortunitely a nice road with little traffic. We passed a house with a crappy looking 1980s model Ford Mustang with a plow on the front and lifted higher than a 4WD truck! We had quite the laugh about that one!
We continued on to an underpass for the PA Turnpike, but fortunitely the right of way crossed the road here and went behind houses. We made a right hand turn on another road instead of going straight and under the highway, and the right of way soon crossed this road. We turned onto it despite "No Trespassing" signs, and were able to follow it clearly. We soon came to where the line was severred by the PA Turnpike. I thought we would be able to dash across it running easily, but no one else wanted to try (probably better that way). We climbed down from the right of way to the highway's bridge over the Lizard Creek, which had far more than enough room to walk underneath to get to the right of way on the other side. As I walked under, Tea Biscuit and Wyatt threw something at me as they were hiding under the girders of the bridge.
We climbed up the other side and had pretty clear right of way ahead of us. We were able to walk easily for quite a while with only the occasional puddle in the way to go around. The railbed made a turn to the right, and there was a missing bridge over what appeared to be a creek. I later found that this bridge was actually to go over a branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and it had been washed out. We were able to cross the little stream easily and made our way back to the LNE grade, and crossed the Lizard Creek, apparently on a culvert as there was no bridge missing. Unfortunitely, it became overgrown on the other side and we had to make our way out to a nearby road.
We walked the road, called Lizard Creek Road, out to Rt 895 and turned left, then another left onto another parallel road. We thought we'd be able to get over to Mountain Road (Ashfield Road on the south side), the road we were parked on, but it abruptly cut off. It appeared that the road used to continue on straight at one time. We talked to a lady who owned the yard it went through, and she was happy to let us cross her yard for a shortcut! She was also willing to let us fill our waterbottles with her hose.
We continued on to the road and turned left back toward the ridge. We crossed the railroad rights of way while heading back to the ridge, and one of them was very recognizeable at a curve in the road where a ballfield was, the other I did not see. I think the one I saw was the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. I could not pinpoint the LNE. We continued south heading uphill on the road. It was a rough way to end the hike, up hill on a dirt road. Laurie decided early on that she was going to run to the top. She passed us all with no problem and continued on. ? and ? began to run too, just as Laurie passed them, but could not keep up. I also tried to run behind Laurie and passed the two, but I could not keep up with her. I made it to the top second. We all made it eventually. It was a great trip!
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