Hike #290 6/24/7
6/24/7 Bushkill Falls-Delaware Water Gap with Cathy Fisher, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Ron Phelps, Russ Moyer, Jude Shabrach, Dave Reidel, Brian "Scooter" Thompson, and David Stein.
Group shot at Bushkill Falls
Following the hikes I did the previous Summer I felt this week I would continue my venturing through the Delaware Water Gap region north in a new route between the gap itself and Bushkill PA, and noteably the famous Bushkill Falls, known as the "Niagara of Pennsylvania".
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Lower gorge at Bushkill Falls
Gorge in Bushkill Fals
Bushkill Falls
Delaware Valley Overlook, Bushkill Falls
Delaware Valley Overlook, Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Below Bushkill Falls
Lower gorge falls
At Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls area
Bushkill Falls
lower gorge falls
Lower Brides Maids Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Upper Brides Maids Falls
At Upper Brides Maids Falls
Upper Brides Maids Falls
Upper Bride's Maid's Falls
Rock overhang at Upper Brides Maid's Falls
Top of Brides Maids Falls
Small cave at Bushkill Falls
Above Brides Maids Falls
Unnamed waterfall off trail at Bushkill Falls
Pennel Falls
Below Pennel Falls on Little Bushkill Creek
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Falls
Along Little Bushkill Creek
Off trail in Bushkill Falls
Off trail south of Bushkill Falls
Off trail south of Bushkill Falls
Off trail south of Bushkill Falls
Long abandoned swimming pool in Bushkill PA
Outcrop above Little Bushkill Creek south of Bushkill Falls
Bushkill Creek about the join the Delaware
McDade Trail, Bushkill PA
Old house out of Bushkill PA
Bushkill PA
Swamp view behind DWGNRA headquarters
Following future McDade Trail route
Swamp view
Turn Farm
McDade Trail south of Bushkill
McDade Trail south of Bushkill
McDade Trail nearing Hialiah Picnic Area
In Minisink Hills PA
We met in the morning at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center at the Water Gap. Joining me were my girlfriend, Cathy Fisher, and other past participants "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Ron Phelps, Russ Moyer, Jude Shabrach, Dave Riedel, and newecomers Brian "Scooter" Thompson (who I'd been friends with since high school), and David Stein. We waited at the Welcome Center for people to show up, and checked out a hot corvette while chatting with it's owner. Dave reminded us we'd better get going to do such a long hike, so we were off to Bushkill. As we drove up, Dave had forgotten something, so we started driving back before he told me not to worry about it. When we reached Bushkill Falls, Cathy and I left out cars, one in Bushkill near the site of the former Delaware Valley Railroad Station behind the old general store off 209, and the other at Bushkill Falls itself. Once we were all together at the falls, we entered the park. The cost to get in was $9, which was certainly something different for my group as most places we visit are free. We began heading down toward the main falls. We got a bit of a view, and headed to the top of the main falls, crossing, and climbing along their many boardwalk trails uphill to a viewpoint down the valley of the Little Bushkill Creek and beyond to the Delaware Valley. We then headed back down toward the main falls with more views. We opted to follow the west side of the creek down steps to the bottom of the main falls which offered great views. We continued down stream for a bit, with continueous terrific views into the narrow gorge. There was a little bridge that went over the top of the Lower Gorge Falls, which was interesting. Only a few people at a time were permitted on it. We continued downstream, and there was another view of the Lower Gorge Falls, which was visible through a narrow cleft in the rocks which was quite amazing. It was here we crossed the creek to the confluence of the Little Bushkill Creek and the Pond Run Creek. Another bridge took us across the Pond Run and the trail changed from being a well manicured wooden walkway stuck to the sides of cliffs to a rustic hiking trail along the creekside. We made our way up stream eventually reaching the lower Bridesmaid's Falls. We checked it out, then headed up steep steps to the cliff above the falls and another falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and then above that to a second Bridesmaid's Falls. Each falls had a deck with a viewpoint down the previous falls. The last of these three was particularly nice as there was a little cove in the rocks that sort of housed the falls. I went in to retrieve a bottled water someone had left. There were signs in the area stating that the trails were left in their natural state, and we joked about it a lot as most of the trails were improved wood chip surface or something, and in the main area were decking. We continued up along the Pond Run to a bridge across and a trail junction called Peter's Corners where we turned left. Before leaving the Pond Run there was one more small waterfall that was never mentioned in any of the flyers, maps, or advertisements for the falls. I feel like an idiot for not having taken a picture of it. We continued from Peter's Corners heading back out to Little Bushkill Creek through the woods to Pennel Falls. There was some sort of an old road heading along the creek upstream, and I asked some people coming from that direction how far it went, but they did'nt know. We continued on down stream through a Hemlock Grove where we took a break. We continued from here through Adam's Flats to the little falls of the Upper Canyon. We continued down stream along the east side of the creek where we had previously crossed to the other side retracing our steps. We made use of a trail heading down to the best view of the main falls just ahead, and made an extended stop here before making our way back down into the Lower Gorge. There were a ton of people at the falls this time through, and it was tough for the group to move through the area as so many of the patrons were stopped and/or moving at a snail's pace. When we reached the confluence of the Little Bushkill Creek and Pond Run Creek, we crossed both creeks, and when no one else was around began bushwhacking along the creek down stream. We carefully made our way along until it appeared that the rocks along the creek were too difficult to pass by, so all of us except Ron decided to cross. We continued along, and Cathy slipped hurting her knee a bit, but she ended up being okay, though she was slowed down for a bit. The edges of the creek kept switching from being rather easy to walk along to being steep and difficult as the creek kept bending back and forth. One side was almost always a flood plain while the other side was steep and rocky. Dave and Scooter opted to simply cross over when one side became too steep, but everyone else wanted to continued with as few crossings as possible. Dave Stein, who was at first behind, soon made his way ahead of the rest of the group. We continued along, and the deer paths we sometimes followed were very slippery and not sturdy for walking. Fortunitely, no one fell into the creek. We also stopped for a dip along the way in a deep pool on a narrow part of the creek. Along the way, we passed where there may have at one time been a camp, because we passed an abandoned swimming pool which looked more like an algea filled pond. I tried to migrate back and forth from the front of the group to the rear to keep tabs on everyone, which could be difficult. Amish Paul was helping Cathy near the end, then Ron took over helping her after that. The group soon rejoined when Dave Stein found his way onto a knoll above the creek to the east. From here, we were able to see the road above, so we made our way out to it rather than spending more time on the creek, because we had so much farther to go. We followed the road down to the site of the former Delaware Valley Railroad Station where Cathy and I shuttled the cars around once again, and she decided to head home. Dave Stein was saying he was good to go on, but did'nt want to get home late. When we talked about the early out, Dave S said he might cut out later. Russ quickly reminded him that if he wanted his early out, this is it, that there would be no early out later on. He quickly opted to take the early out. This would prove to bruise his ego or something, because he would go on to report me to the Appalachian Mountain Club because he felt my time management was very poor and I allowed participants to smoke cigarettes. When we got under way again, we crossed Rt 209 and made our way into the woods along the Bushkill Creek toward the Delaware. We soon found a somewhat overgrown pathway leading away from the creek. We followed this route and it led us to the route I was looking for, the McDade Trail. Eventually, this trail was planned to traverse the entire Pennsylvania section of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, but at this time only a few parts were complete. It had an improved crushed stone surface, easy for walking. The trail took us through woods then into some old fields or meadows in various stages of succession, with undergrowth and a few Red Cedars growing. This trail terminated at a recently abandoned paved road. A ranger had told me this road was planned as part of the trail, since the bridge over a creek near Rt 209 had washed out, but at the time of this writing I don't know what the route will be. We walked up hill along the road, passing by a nice old farmhouse out to River Road. We continued on River Road to the Delaware Water Gap NRA Headquarters where we took a nice break behind the building overlooking a swamp. When we moved on, we headed downhill along River Road to the site of the Turn Farm, and next section of the completed McDade Trail. The trail led us parallel with the River Road, across little bridges over tributaries, and along the edges of fields. The Delaware River below us was looking very murky and flowed brown, so when we reached Smithfield Beach the lifeguards told us we would not be allowed to go in any deeping than our belts. I was a bit cocky proclaiming that I'd swam across the river in worse conditions and that we'd just find another place to swim. We waited a bit in this spot and talked to a couple women before making our way along the trail downstream. The pathway was paved in the vicinity of Smithfield Beach (as well as another boat access site), then went back to the crushed stone surface. Continueing downstream, we went through more woods and fields before the trail terminated again at Hialiah Picnic Area. We made our way down to the river near the picnic area to take a break and a swim. Only Wyatt and I really went in, and I crossed the first set of current to an island, fthen swam the rest of the way across to the NJ side. The current was a bit stronger than I'd anticipated, but I was still able to make it across and back. When I returned, we all made our way out to River road, walking to Shawnee on the Delaware, and in the village we stopped at a little general store for snacks. Jude bought me some ice cream, and I also got a chocolate milk. We then continued on, first along the road, then onto a trail (more of an old dirt road) parallel with the main road on the Shawnee Property. This gave us a good break from the road walking, leading us back out to the road heading toward Minisink Hills. We continued on road side, and Wyatt found some cd booklet of a crappy spanish boy band, and thumb tacked it to a church bulletin board using a tack he pulled out of a utility pole.We continued heading through North Water Gap, briefly walking a piece of the NYS&W Railroad right of way, and through a municipal park out to the Brodhead Creek, then along the road a short distance across the DL&W Railroad tracks, under Rt 80 to the PA Welcome Center. Amish Paul drove me back to my car in Bushkill, then I returned to pick up Ron, Dave, and Scooter to go to dinner at a little eatery in Portland PA before heading home.
At the bottom is a link to all of the photos from this hike on Photobucket, and before that here are descriptions of what they are based on that...
1.) Somewhat of a view looking down the main falls at Bushkill Falls2.) Wyatt along the little Bushkill Creek on one of the many trail walkways at Upper Canyon3.) View in I think Laurel Glen at Bushkill Falls4.) The walkways heading from Upper Canyon to Laurel Glen5.) The group on the walkways above the main falls6.) View from the overlook, Delaware Valley Lookout7.) Another look from Delaware Valley Lookout closer up8.) The group; from left, Dave Stein, Jude, Ron, Dave, Scooter, Cathy, me, Russ, Amish Paul, and Wyatt at the Delaware Valley Lookout9.) The main falls10.) Another view of the main falls11.) Yet another main falls view12.) View into the Lower Gorge13.) Closeup view of the Lower Gorge Falls from a bridge14.) The trail heading down stream15.) Some of the group observing the creek from a bridge16.) Amish Paul heading down stream along the trail17.) Lower Gorge Falls as seen from far below them18.) The lower Bridesmaid's Falls19-20.) Bridal Veil Falls21.) The upper Bridesmaid's Falls22.) Wyatt climbing around at the Upper Bridesmaid's Falls23-24.) The upper Bridesmaid's Falls25.) The group just below Bridesmaid's Falls26.) View looking down at Bridal Veil Falls I think27.) Wyatt with an interesting rock overhang28.) The Pond Run making it's way to the top of the Bridesmaid's Falls29.) An unmarked, possibly unnamed trail on the Pine Run30.) Pennel Falls31.) That would be me taking a break in the Pine Grove32.) The main falls33-35.) Head on view of the main falls36.) Heading south from the main falls37.) View of the lower part of the main falls38.) The group overlooking the main falls39-40.) The main falls41.) Ron in what Wyatt called a "Christmas Card Photo" at the main falls42.) Along the creek downstream from the falls43.) Scooter standing in the creek downstream from Bushkill Falls44.) Dave and the group along the creek45.) Wyatt crossing the creek using an old wire46.) Dave Stein along the creek47.) This pond was actually an abandoned swimming pool just south of the town of Bushkill48.) Amish Paul on the hillside above the creek49.) The Bushkill seen from the Rt 209 bridge looking at the confluence with the Delaware50.) Amish Paul, Scooter, and Dave R on the McDade Trail in Bushkill51.) A nice old house, still inhabited, within Del Water Gap NRA along a road near the Del Water Gap headquarters52.) Walking down the road toward the park headquarters53.) Swamplands behind the park headquarters54.) Jude with a feather in her hat at the park headquarters area55.) More lovely swamp land from the road56.) Ruins of the Turn Farm along the River Road and McDade Trail57.) Along the McDade Trail south of the Turn Farm58.) Another view along McDade Trail I think south of Smithfield Beach59.) Amish Paul along the McDade Trail nearing Hialiah Picnic Area60.) Wyatt with the church sign he thumb tacked his cd booklet to
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