Hike #272 3/11/7
3/11/7
Tohickon Valley; Lake Towhee-Ralph Stover State Park with "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, "Major Tom" Conroy, Bill "Guillermo" Fabel, Gerry Martiniak, Beverly Auvil, Joan Aichele, and ?
Beginning at Lake Towhee
WYATT!
Wyatt with a stupid mask I made in elementary school
goofin off
Wyatt wearing a mask I made in Elementary School
Lake Towhee
At Lake Towhee
Lake Towhee
Lake Towhee
Walking along the shore
Going over the maps
Getting ready to go
Along Lake Towhee
Along Lake Towhee
Lake Towhee
In State Game Lands 157
In State Game Lands 157
In State Game Lands 157
Climbing Haycock Mt
On Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
Rocks on haycock Mountain
Scrambling on Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
Rocks on Haycock Mountain
Rocks on Haycock Mountain
View from Haycock Mountain
Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
Rocks on Haycock Mt.
On Haycock Mountain
Haycock Mountain
Top Rock on Haycock Mountain
At Top Rock
Top Rock on Haycock Mountain
Top Rock
On Haycock Mountain
Haycock Mountain
Haycock Mountain
Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
On Haycock Mountain
Haycock Mountain
Starting off a hike at Lake Towhee, Bucks County
Guillermo rests
Lake Towhee Park
Going over the maps for the trip
Going over the map of the trip
WYATT!!
At Lake Towhee Park
Beverly and Gerry
A short road walk in Bucks Co
Near Lake Nockamixon
Lake Nockamixon
Lake Nockamixon
Crossing an inlet of Lake Nockamixon
Lake Nockamixon bridge
Northeast end of Nockamixon SP
Northeast end of Nockamixon SP
Nockamixon SP
Nockamixon SP
Nockamixon spillway
Sentinel Rock at Nockamixon SP
Sentinel Rock at Nockamixon SP
Sentinel Rock at Nockamixon SP
Nockamixon SP
The Tohickon Creek south of Lake Nockamixon
Tohickon
Along Tohickon Creek
The Tohickon Creek south of Lake Nockamixon
Tohickon Creek
Bridge over the Tohickon
Along the Tohickon south of Lake Nockamixon
Along Tohickon Creek
Mr. Buckett
Taking a break at a creek bridge
Bridge over the Tohickon
Bushwhacking along the Tohickon
Impenetrable weeds of the Tohickon
Along the Tohickon Creek flood plain
Bushwhacking Tohickon Creek
Junk along Tohickon Creek
Bridge over the Tohickon
Break along the Tohickon
Figuring out our next move...
Walking paths along the Tohickon Creek downstream from Lake Nockamixon
We're apparently having too much fun
Alogn Tohickon Creek
A yummy beverage
Along Tohickon Creek
Bushwhacking Tohickon Creek
Bushwhacking along Tohickon Creek
Fields along Tohickon Creek
Fields along Tohickon Creek
Biker bar
In a biker bar
In the biker bar
Free drinks at the biker bar
The biker who bought us free drinks
The biker who bought us drinks
Tohickon Creek near 611
Along Randtz Mill Road
Randtz Mill Road
View along Randtz Mill Road
Randtz Mill Road
Randtz Mill Road
Randtz Mill Road
Heading down to Tohickon Creek
Field walking to the Tohickon
Major Tom looks like he pooped his pants on the way to the Tohickon
Tohickon Creek
Along Tohickon Creek near Stover-Myers Mill
Tohickon Creek bridge
Dam on the Tohickon
Tohickon Dam near Stover Myers Mill
Stover Mill County Park
Fields and cows
MOO
Moo
Moo
Covered Bridge Road along the Tohickon
Cabin Run Covered Bridge
Cabin Run Covered Bridge
Old bridge sign
Inside Cabin Run Covered Bridge
Cabin Run Covered Brige
Wading across the Tohickon near Ralph Stover SP
Along Tohickon Creek
Wading acorss the Tohickon
Wading the Tohickon
This hike would be the next scouting trip for a possible future route of the Highlands Trail in Pennsylvania, from Lake Towhee in Applebachsville PA to the High Rocks in Ralph Stover State Park. We met in the morning at the end point, then shuttled cars north to Lake Towhee Park where we began walking. Joining me this time were Bill "Guillermo" Fabel, Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Joan Aichele, Gerry Martiniak and his wife Beverly Auvil, and newcomers Alan and Joan Perkins. Gerry, Alan, and Joan P planned on cutting out early and set their own car shuttles up, and Joan A. planned on getting a ride at the appropriate time she needed to leave. We began walking along the shore of Lake Towhee from the parking area along the shore southbound, with a nice trail. It was a pretty warm day, but Lake Towhee was till well frozen over, enough so that I could walk out onto it a bit. There was a guy ice fishing out in the middle! We continued on the shore south until we reached another parking area. We walked a path below the parking area, but this took us to the outlet of the lake where there was no bridge crossing, so we opted to turn back. We came back to the parking area where we started and had a look around for routes along the lake. There was nothing immedately along the lake, save for a short trail with a wildlife observation blind. Soon, I found an old woods road with yellow blazes on it, so we began to follow it. This trail took us a ways in from the lake shore, near a house, and into deep woods near the lake. We turned east and crossed two tributaries to the lake, then ascended a bit on a narrower footpath. There was a small driveway access with a small parking area, while the trail continued ahead a bit. I decided it best to make our way over to the road so that we could make our way into State Game Lands 157. We made our way along the road until we reached the entrance to a former rifle range in the state game lands, chatting with a family out for a walk along the way. We made our way up the woods road, which had apparently been used by horseback riders, passing the old rifle range area. At a fork in the road, we turned right following it till the road ended. At the end, we cut into the woods trying to continue for the most part east. The land was not too badly overgrown, but very rocky. It was slow going, and we soon reached an area so rocky we had to take the opportunity to climb around a bit. Wyatt climbed through a little cave in the rocks, and would have made it all the way through if it had not been for his dad throwing snow balls at him. While walking on a log together, Wyatt and I fell as it twisted to it's side. We were lucky not to have broken anything. We continued up hill, heading toward the height of the land, trying to follow the State Game Lands and Nockamixon State Park maps to an overlook marked on one of the maps. We used a compass, which I believe was Gerry's, to get there. On the way, Alan took a fall, which I did not see, and Gerry motioned me back. Alan had dislocated his elbow, but popped it back into place. It was sore, but he thought he could go on. I decided it would be easiest to continue on the route we were walking, as we had already gone far into the woods off trail and to go back would probably be more difficult. We continued up hill, and eventually reached giant rock pilings, helping Alan along the way to make sure he did'nt slip. When we reached the top, we met a young guy who knew the area very well and offered to lead us back down. On the way, we visited Top Rock, an incredible table like rock naturally placed on the rocky outcroppings, with little caves and such between them. It was absolutely incredible. We continued downhill, steeply over the rocks at times, and our guide, who was a forest ranger out west, turned back when the route was more obvious. From the parking area, we continued down the road toward the north shore of Lake Nockamixon. We walked Mountain View Drive across a finger of the resevoir on a bridge, and Major Tom stood on the railing which looked a little crazy, but it was fine. On the other side of the bridge, we turned right onto an unmarked trail along the shore. It was very nice and well beaten down, though there were no blazes of any kind. We continued on this trail along the shore until we reached an overgrown field, where Gerry directed us out along the field out to a nice dirt road, where we turned right. The road took us to another woods road, a resevoir access, which led us to a dam at the south side. It was heavily posted, but Amish Paul and I went out onto it for the view anyway. We turned left, where there was a guy with his two kids. They wanted to go on the dam after seeing Paul and I out there. We continued along, stopping along the way to check out an awesome balanced rock high above the Tohickon Creek, which had a lovely stairway like cascade out of the dams of Nockamixon Lake. We soon made our way out to the road at the south shore. Gerry, Alan, and Joan P all cut out here because they parked their cars just ahead on the road. The rest of us continued on, crossing the road and descending to the edge of the Tohickon Creek. I fought through some crazy weeds while most of the rest of the group found a good way around to the right. It was nice walking for a ways, but soon cliffs took over the west side, so we had to climb above. We crossed a gully over a little bridge, then continued along the top. Next, we came across a house, right at the top of the cliffs! We did'nt want to disturb the property owners, so we made our way down the hill to the very edge of the vertical drop and continued downstream. We soon reached a nice old bridge, on Creamery Road, which had lots of piers and a deck style to it. Joan Aichele decided to cut out here and try to call for a ride home. The rest of us crossed the road and continued through the woods along creekside. It was very easy at first, but it became far too steep to continue close to the water. We soon had to cut up hill to the edge of a large field. We tried to move quickly as we were in plain view of a farmhouse across the field. We made our way just barely out of view of the house, and walked down hill a bit to rest. We laid down in the dead leaves for a bit, then moved on down hill into a wide flood plan when the cliffs ended. We made our way toward the Tohickon Creek, but got stuck in a giant menagerie of thorn bushes. We had to make our way back toward the embankment and continue to the next road, Farm School Road, with a nice old truss bridge. We crossed the bridge, and on the other side there was a trail, flagged with tapes, heading off along the creekside. I was planning on making our way out to Rt 611 to save time, but everyone else voted on going down the trail, so off we went! The trail took us nice and easy along the creekside until we reached a somewhat large tributary coming in from the north. The tape trail went onto a small sand bar island and abruptly ended. We now had to find a way over the tributary to the Tohickon. The guys found a Beaver Dam a short distance upstream, which we used to get into the fields on the other side. We continued along the field's edge near the creek, then up a steep hill to the top of some more small cliffs. We continued on a sort of deer path leading us to more fields. Amish Paul made his way onto an island, which we tried telling him not to do as there'd be no way off, but he did'nt listen. To our surprise, Paul walked the island and was able to back to the shore, I still don't know how! We continued through fields, which were posted, I think with some private hunting preserve signs, until we reached Bedminster Road, which is Rt 113. From here, everyone was all for heading out to Rt 611 within view to the northeast to make better time. The creek across from us looked like it would be tough to follow anyway, and there was private residences coming up. We made our way out to 611 where there was a gas station. We got some junk food and then made our way along 611 south. We soon crossed the Tohickon Creek; there were too many houses and yards so we could'nt walk creekside yet. We continued turning left on the old route of 611 in a more residential area heading south. This led us back onto the current 611 south and we started nearing a biker bar. There were several motorcycles parked out front, and someone quipped that we'd survived the rocks, the trespassing and such, and if we could just survive walking by this biker bar we'd be doing something. We had a laugh about it. As we walked by, one of the bikers parked out front yelled out to us, and asked us what we were up to. I turned and told him we were out for a hike, to which he replied "I LOVE THAT SHIT!". The burly biker dude came up to me and hugged me! I looked at everyone with utter disbelief. He then invited all of us to come inside for drinks on him! Amazed, we all entered the bar and sat around one corner of the rectangular bar area.
We each had a beer (except for Wyatt who was only 14) and talked about what we were up to. The biker guy kept bragging about what we were doing to everyone inside; he was genuinely impressed. We walked out of the bar, laughing about our experiance. We soon turned left onto Creek Road and crossed the Tohickon Creek again. We could not walk along the creek without being seen trespassing from here, so we turned onto Randt's Mill Road to the right after passing some nice old houses. It was a dirt road, literally dirt, not gravel surface like many others. There were no utility poles of any kind as well, making this road feel completely like a step into the past. I absolutely loved this road. We soon turned right off the road toward the creek. At creek edge, there was a mowed path and a grassy area with a trailer park nearby. We continued walking to Dark Hollow Road at a nice bridge over the Tohickon Creek, and a small dam. Across the bridge were some fields with cows in them, which we stopped to pet. They were small and very nice, and were licking Guillermo's hand. We continued on, to Stover Mills Park. The old mill was along the left side of the road, and a trail followed the mill race along the creek. I walked that with Wyatt while everyone else walked the road. The mill race had a bridge at the end where I could get back to the road. We continued on Covered Bridge Road, which was very narrow, to the lovely covered bridge. We walked through the covered bridge, the first time doing such on any of my hikes. I climbed some of the beams inside to have a closer look. Once on the other side, the road turned up hill. I knew we could not continue on this way as it would take us far too long to get back to the cars. I decided it would be best to wade across the Tohickon Creek and make our way along the shore to Ralph Stover State Park. No one was for this at first, and Guillermo and Major Tom turned back to go to the last bridge we were at. I had to remind them that this was a very far walk by phone when they were out of sight, so they came back. Major Tom decided to wait here and we'd come back for him. Mr. Buckett was next to cross, and we waited along the north side of the creek for Guillermo. Amish Paul and Wyatt continued down stream a bit. Wyatt crossed next, while Paul waited for a while and crossed where it was deeper. Once back together, we all continued on creekside, rocky at first, but then becoming easier. Once we got to the state park land, it was like a developed trail, though it was unblazed. We easily followed many of them, and Amish Paul pointed us in the right directions to get back to the cars. Wyatt and I ran as quick as we could, which was kind of crazy, through a growth of cedars. It was getting pretty dark, and we could'nt see much of anything, but we soon reached Stover Park Road. We turned right, then left on Tory Road. Wyatt and I ran all the way to the cars from here to finish the hike. Guillermo, Mr. Buckett, and I went back to get Major Tom, and we discussed stopping to eat somewhere, but we decided not to. We were all tired from a crazy hike!
Photography by Mike Helbing
Here's a link to all of the pics from this hike I took. There's a bunch of others from Paul and Wyatt.
http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/sneezehorse1/hike272%203-11-7/
Here's descriptions of what they are.
1.) View of Lake Towhee, frozen over, Lake Towhee Park near Applebachsville2.) The group along Lake Towhee3.) Along Lake Towhee4.) The group walking the shore of Lake Towhee5.) Lake Towhee6.) Major Tom on the frozen Lake Towhee7.) Me in a cleft between rocks in State Game Lands 1578.) Another one of me in the rocks in SGL 1579.) Bushwhacking in SGL 15710.) Wyatt in a little cave beneath the rocks in SGL 15711.) The group bushwhacking in the SGLs12.) Guillermo in a nice rocky room in State Game Lands13.) Amish Paul and Wyatt in a little cave on Haycock Mountain14.) Here's the guy that directed us down Haycock Mountain15.) Obscured view of Bucks County to from Haycock Mountain16.) Guillermo in a cave on Haycock Mountain17.) Amish Paul on Top Rock, Haycock Mountain18.) Another one of Paul up on Top Rock, Haycock Mountain19.) Making our way down Haycock Mountain20.) The rocks on Haycock Mountain21.) More of the giant rocks on Haycock Mountain22.) Still making our way down!23.) View across the northern finger of Lake Nockamixon from the bridge on Mountain View Rd24.) On the bridge on Mountain View Road25.) Major Tom standing on the bridge, which looks pretty crazy!26.) Along Lake Nockamixon on an unblazed trail, northeast side27.) The group on a dirt road along the northeast shore28.) Outlet of Lake Nockamixon from the dam29.) Another view of the outlet through the trees30.) A really cool balanced rock high above the Tohickon Creek31.) Wyatt next to the balanced rock32.) The group along the unblazed trail high above the Tohickon Creek, Nockamixon State Park33.) Making our way down the embankment from South Shore Road34.) Nice view of the creek with the cliffs just south of Nockamixon State Park35.) Nice old bridge over Tohickon Creek on Creamery Road36.) Wyatt hugging his dad on the bridge at Creamery Road37.) Interesting little date plaque on the bridge38.) A nice weird truss bridge on Farm School Road39.) Climbing steeply along the Tohickon Creek40.) Amish Paul and Wyatt in a field along Tohickon Creek41.) The group in the biker bar along Rt 611; Guillermo, me, Amish Paul, Wyatt, Mr. Buckett, and Major Tom42.) The biker guy that bought us all drinks along 611!43.) The Tohickon Creek from the bridge along Creek Road44.) Walking along Randt's Mill Road45.) Randt's Mill Road46.) Nice field view from Randt's Mill Road47.) The group on Randt's Mill Road48.) Still on Randt's Mill...49.) View along Randt's Mill Road50.) After leaving Randt's Mill Road, we crossed this field to the creek side51.) The fields near Tohickon Creek and Randt's Mill Road52.) Still crossing the field53.) View of Tohickon Creek just upstream from Stover's Mill54.) Along the creek near Stover's Mill55.) The bridge on Dark Hollow Road over the Tohickon56.) Dam on Tohickon Creek at Stover's Mill area57.) View from the bridge on Dark Hollow Road58.) Stover's Mill59.) Petting the cows across from Stover's Mill60.) The cow licked Guillermo's hand...61.) On Covered Bridge Road62-63.) Cabin Run Covered Bridge64.) Wyatt and I after returning to the parking lot at High Rocks Vista on Tory Road.
At a biker bar! Free drinks!
Finished the hike at Ralph Stover SP
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