Hike #253; Walnutport to Catasauqua

 Hike #253 11/21/6

Along the former CNJ tracks in the Lehigh Valley

11/21/6

Walnutport-Catasaqua Railroads with Cathy Fisher

In Walnutport PA

Along tracks in Walnutport PA

Former LV tracks in Walnutport PA

Walnutport PA, I found this fire burning and called 911

Former LV rail line south of Walnutport

South of Walnutport

I found an umbrella

North of Treichlers

Cascade near Treichlers PA

Cascade near Treichlers

Former CNJ line near Treichlers

Old Lehigh Canal lock belwo Treichlers PA

North of Northampton PA

Northampton PA

Station in Northampton PA

Northampton PA

In Northampton PA

Northampton PA

Former rail spur below Northampton PA

Catasaqua PA

In Catasaqua PA

Catasaqua PA on former LV railroad

Former Lehigh and New England right of way approaching Catasaqua Tunnel

Former LNE railroad in Catasaqua approaching the tunnel

The remains of old Catasaqua Tunnel

Lost the original journal entry for this one to the fire as well...I'll try to remember as best I can.

Here's a link to all of the pictures from this hike:

http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/sneezehorse/hike253%2011-21-6/

Cathy and I started at the Stop N Shop I think it is in Walnutport PA. We walked down to the former CNJ tracks through a ball field and by some road walking and just turned left onto the tracks southbound to do the next piece of the CNJ I'd never done yet.

As we walked, we could see the old piers to a Lehigh and New England trestle that used to cross. Also in this area was a huge fire in someone's back yard. To help, I dialed 911 on my cell phone but the guy came out and told me it was alright. Apparently fire precautions aren't so big in PA.

The railroad went through a narrow gorge section heading south. I was probably worried that Cathy would see remnants of the nearby Lehigh Canal and want to walk that instead, though I wanted to cover both as separate hikes. We actually saw almost no canal on this section. After the Walnutport section it is almost obliterated. I'd read of a lock still in place in Treichlers, but I could'nt see anything of it. There was a side road we did'nt check out, and we saw one lock that was messy and overgrown below us, but that was it. We continued south from here through a very narrow area with some nice little cascading falls along the way, then came to the seemingly endless clearing before entering Northampton. I don't remember if we got food here or not, but we continued down toward Catasaqua before getting to the old tunnel site we'd found previously off 2nd Street, then made our way to the car which I don't remember where we parked...oh wait yes I do, at a little park up in Catasaqua...a ways off the rail bed but it was the only good thing we could find.