Hike #295 7/22/7
7/22/7 Jacksonville/Leaser Lake-Slatington with Cathy Fisher, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Fred Hafale, Joe Tag, Brian Rapp, David Noble, "DJ Ray" Cordts, Christina Manley, Skyler Jermyn, Gerry Martiniak, George DeLarche, and Marge Brennan
Near our beginning looking for the rail bed. Jacksonville PA
My next hike would be yet again the furthest continueous westbound section hike ever; this was quite a happy thing seeing as though we were at just about the furthest east ever just the previous Sunday! This trip would take my group and I between Jacksonville and Slatington PA.
Leaser Lake
Starting out at Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake, PA
Staring at Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake
quarried area by Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake trails
Leaser Lake trails pa
At Leaser Lake PA
Leaser Lake, PA
Trails at Leaser Lake PA
Leaser Lake PA
Leaser Lake, PA
Field view along Leaser Lake
Trails at Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake PA
Joe took a short cut
At Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake
Hiking along Leaser Lake, Jacksonville PA
Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake dam
Leaser Lake
Leaser Lake spillway
Leaser Lake
leaser lake dam
Leaser Lake dam
On the Leaser Lake dam
Hiking along Leaser Lake dam
Leaser Lake
Trail along Leaser Lake below Blue Mountain
Jacksonville PA
Jacksonville PA
Former Reading Railroad in Jacksonville PA
Near Jacksonville PA
Near Jacksonville PA
Clydesdale near Jacksonville
Near Jacksonville PA
Crossing a weird bridge
Weird bridge crossing over Ontelaunee Creek
Weird bridge over Ontelaunee Creek
Crossing Ontelaunee Creek
Crossing Ontelaunee Creek
Crossing Ontelaunee Creek
Joe and some junk, Lynnport PA
Lynnport PA
Lynnport PA
Former Reading Railroad in Lynnport PA
Rail bed in Lynnport PA
Rail bridge in Lynnport PA
Rail bed in Lynnport PA
In Lynnport PA
I fell and cut my leg badly on a protruding pipe. Have a bad scar.
Near Lynnport PA
Near Lynnport PA
Moo
moo
Moo
Quad Stacker
Near Lynnport PA
MOO MOOS!
Near Lynnport PA with a lovely view of Blue Mountain behind
Near Lynnport PA
Walking through a commune farm we found near Lynnport PA
Commune
Talking to a lady at a commune!
Commune guard dog lol
Cluck U
SNEEZE!!!
Old mill well restored for use as a house near Lynnport PA
Restored old mill
Near Ontelaunee Park
Ontelaunee Creek crossing
Ontelaunee Park
Ontelaunee Park on the rail bed
Rail bed in Ontelaunee Park
Rail bed in Ontelaunee Park
Rail bed in Ontelaunee Park
Ontelaunee Creek
Ontelaunee Park
I guess this dam spillway on the Ontelaunee Creek has a hole in it...
Old rail bridge in Ontelaunee Park
Old Reading Railroad bridge in Ontelaunee Park
Old Reading Railroad bridge in Ontelaunee Park
Old rail bridge in Ontelaunee Park
Rail bed east of Ontelaunee Park
Rail bed east of Ontelaunee Park
Rail bed east of Ontelaunee Park
We had to cut through some fields because the old Reading Railroad bed was so badly grown over and built on
Farm fields
Farm lands
Rail bed in New Tripoli PA
Rail bed in New Tripoli PA
Rail bed, New Tripoli PA
Rail bed in New Tripoli PA
Rail bed, New Tripoli PA
Rail bed, New Tripoli PA
Rail bed, New Tripoli PA
Old Reading Railroad bed
We had to walk more fields because the rail bed was inaccessible
Farmlands
Farmlands walking
Farmlands
Rail bed near Germansville PA
Intersection in Germansville PA
Old Reading Railroad
The rail bed somewhere near Germansville PA
Bullying through the rail bed
Everybody loves Skyler
Overgrown section of the rail bed
Brian found Chicken of the Woods
The group entering Washington Township east of Germansville
He really wanted his pic taken with this sign.
A bit of a road walk. Brian has the right idea.
Abandoned building near Best Station
Former LNE rail bed to the slate quarries near Best Station
Slate Belt Trail under development.
New bridge on the "Slate Belt Trail"
Slate Belt Trail under development
Slate Belt Trail
New bridge on Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate pile
Slate pile
New Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Amish Paul
Amish Paul
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
Along Slate Belt Trail
Slate Belt Trail
History marker
Ruins along the rail bed in Lehighton
Rails still in place, Slate Belt Trail
Almost end of the hike
Joe in his mean ride
Post hike dinner
Goofy shot of me
Mismatched shoes again
The route planned would prodominantly be the right of way of the former Schuykill and Lehigh Branch of the Reading Railroad from what I'd read. We met in the morning in Slatington at the D & L Trail parking area, where we'd been before to hike the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. Joining me this time were my girlfriend Cathy Fisher, "Amish Paul" and Wyatt Hassler, Skyler Jermyn, Fred Hafale, David Noble, Ray Cordts, Christina Manley, Gerry Martiniak, Beverly Auvil, Joe Tag, Brian Rapp, Russ Moyer, George Delarche, and newcomer Susan Eckhart. We shuttled a few cars to the beginning, Leaser Lake Recreation Area in Lehigh County. Ray was running behind, and he met up with us along the drive there. When we reached the lake we got everything organized and began walking toward a little boat launch area on the north side of the lake from a parking area. On the way to the water, we turned right through a sort of overgrown slope heading down toward an inlet to the lake. We headed up along the inlet, which became like a sort of woods road, leading out to a paved road. I knew this would not be the way we wanted to go, so we cut off trail bushwhacking back toward the lake heading southbound. We crossed a little stream and reached an old slate quarry, behind which was a large field. We climbed to the field and headed south. Wyatt tried climbing through the quarry which was not easy, so he had to make his way around. Once we were all on the edge of the field, we continued south, soon back within sight of the resevoir. The pathway took us soon to the right, through a dip in the field and back up the other side. Joe, Amish Paul, and I think Ray took a short cut across the field to cut a corner. We continued, soon coming to someone's back yard, so we cut through a line of trees, made a brief left followed by a right and we were back along the edge of the lake. We came out to a parking area on the west side, crossed and reached the lake's dam and spillway, which was totally dry. There were signs on the spillway warning to keep off, but we obviously did'nt pay attention. We all crossed the dry spillway and climbed the berm of the dam on the other side, continueing up an old woods road parallel with the east side of the lake on the other side. We continued until we reached the edge of a yard, right next to the access road to the lake called Pleasure Court. We walked along the road out into the little town of Jacksonville, which did'nt have much more visible than homes, a church, and a cemetary within view of the lake. We crossed King's Highway, Rt 143 directly on Donat's Peak Road heading down hill. There was a near cleft in the fields to our left, and some sort of quarried or disturbed land to the right, and as we went around a corner a guy in his yard told us where the railroad used to cross. When we reached the crossing site, it was mowed grass tot he right, and through someone's yard to the left, or east, the way we needed to go. A guy to the west of us at a little farm came walking in our direction, so I went to talk to him. He told us the new owner of the property the railroad was on told all the land owners not to walk on there, so we opted to continue to the next intersection and walk Allemaengel Road eastbound parallel with the Ontelaunee Creek parallel with us to our left. We continued along the road, and came to an old bridge over the creek, made with old railroad rails. I went out on it for a bit, but opted not to cross. Skyler, Ray, and Wyatt decided they would cross and make their way to the railroad bed while the remaining 13 of us continued on to the east. We passed a fork in the road, and turned left as the road turned north, became Behler Road I think, and we entered the little village of Lynnport. I don't know why it had a "port" name as I am not aware of any canals that serviced the area. We stopped for a lunch break here while we waited for the other three to catch up with us. They'd decided crossing the creek was a bad idea and they'd better wade across the creek back to the rest of us. At this point, Beverly decided to turn back along King's Highway to Leaser Lake, to pick Gerry up at the end of the hike. When we were all back together, we made our way back out to King's Highway and began heading east. It was apparent the railroad used to go directly alongside the road for a while. There was an abandoned road that I thought could have been a spur line to the right, but the line we were looking for was still directly parallel with the highway. There was even an old concrete bridge still in place over a tributary along the current highway bridge. Soon, we moved away from the homes and there was a path to the south leading into the woods, and we hoped toward the rail bed. We all headed in along the path, leading us out to Brobst Hill Road. There was a bit of a step up on the grass onto the road, and there was a jagged metal pipe sticking up. I was wearing one of my old boots, and one soccar cleat (wearing mismatched shoes is of course normal for me if I'd worn out one shoe for each pair), and the boot slipped a bit and I walked and sort of fall with all of my weight into the pipe, my left shin first. I got a deep gash on my lower left leg, which immediately began bleeding fast. George was quick to pull out first aid supplies and helped me bandage and tape the wound, and we were soon on our way. We could see where the rail right of way cut across another yard, but it would go out into open fields again, so we opted to stay on Brobst Hill Road and follow it parallel. When we reached Ulrich Mill Road, we turned right and headed down to the railroad right of way, which was clear to the east, but a guy across the street from us yelled at Fred while he was in front of the group not to go in there. He turned around before the entire group could even get there, and we opted to continue on Brobts Hill Road, which continued on looking more like a driveway, as it was paved in a different fashion than the other roads around it, with some stones along the edges. We went up hill, and a little dog began following us, all the way to the top where the road appeared to end at a new house. There was a lady working on the lawn along a fence line, so we asked her where we should go. She was a very nice lady, with a British accent, and she told us that while the road went through at one time, it was abandoned and only this part of it was now part of a driveway. She did'nt mind us being there, but warned us that her neighbors who's property we would soon need to cross would not be so accomodating. She lived on a commune that now made up the end of the road, and told us a bit about the area. She recommended that we not even try to walk the rail bed, but instead make our way back down Ulrich Mill Road to Allemeangel Road (a different part than we were on before), and continue to Gun Club Road. From here, we turned left, or north, crossing over the Ontelaunee Creek on a little bridge. There was a nature trail in Ontelaunee Park to the right, and I considered using it, but first wanted to see the railroad bed, so Fred and I continued ahead north on the road. Fortunitely, it seemed that some of the railbed here had been utilized as a trail, so we began following it east through the park, clearly and easily. We continued on, and reached a spot in the park where the fill had been ripped out, but there was a nice spot with a covered pedestrian bridge over the creek, so we took a break here for a bit. I climbed around under the bridge, and I think some refilled their water bottles before we moved on. The rail bed remained clear from here out to where it crossed the creek, then reached Rt 143, King's Highway. After letting everyone catch up, we crossed where a woods road went up on the other side of the road. At first I thought this would be the rail bed, but Fred found a path to the right which led to it. We all began following the grade eastbound for a ways. Some of the group ascended to skirt a field to the north, while most of us stayed on the rail bed, though it was somewhat overgrown. We walked along a shelf in the woods for a while, making our way around and over fallen trees, until we reached a house built on the right of way. Here, we opted to make our way up to the fields to join Fred and the rest of the group. We could not fight through the weeds to get back to the rail bed on the other side because they were too thick, so we decided to continue following the fields up hill and around. After the up hill, the field became easier to follow. There was a guy out plowing with his tractor, but I don't think he ever saw us because he was over the hilly contour of the land before we were well within sight. We continued along the edge of the field, and soon found the railroad bed again, where it made a turn to the north in the New Tripoli area. We continued following it from here. Gerry decided to cut down to Rt 309, which was by now within sight, to avoid possibly difficult bushwhacking. He called me on my cell phone to let me know what he was up to. We continued on, making our way out near what I believe was a Fire Department/Rescue Squad building, and took a quick break. Gerry was out on the highway and motioned us ahead. I urged everyone on to see what Gerry was pointing at, and it ended up being a convenience store! This was not just any store, but the most convenient of all conveneince stores I'd ever been to! Everything we could have needed save for deli sandwiches were offered. Skyler and Wyatt were amazed checking out their collection of current high quality video games! We had a good laugh at little bins full of kids toys such as snap bracelets, and the fact that they were kept next to a bin of "assorted knives", with small but nasty cerrated looking pocket knives! I got a chocolate milk, and Cathy got some more water. Most everyone picked something up. Once we were all organized, we continued on, walking Lochland Road to Memorial Road. As we walked along, all of us passed by the site of the former railroad's grade crossing, except for ever astute Joe, who pointed it out to us. Most of the group was already too far ahead to come back, and opted to continue on the roads to the next grade crossing, while those of us near the end followed the grade into the woods, through a small cut. We soon had to leave the right of way to the left because someone's yard and driveway were built on it, so we cut through the woods out to Saw Mill Road where we rejoined the others. This area was known as Lochland. From here, the right of way crossed yet another yard, and after quick consideration, we decided to cross directly over and into the woods. No one stopped us. While somewhat overgrown, the railbed was'nt too bad to follow. In fact, it became much clearer and was the route of an ATV path for a bit. As we walked, we came very near a house where the right of way was mowed. We crossed a driveway and were able to continue a little ways past the house before we had to cut out to a field. We got back on the right of way very briefly, but had to leave to walk the fields to the north as it was far too overgrown. We continued on, and before we came to more homes, turned to the north skirting fields back to the nearest road to the north. We continued east, crossing the right of way again, though it was hardly recognizeable, near the Jordan creek. All that remained was a bit of somewhat plowed away fill to the south of the road. We continued to the intersection with Bake Oven Road in Germansville, a quaint little town. We turned left here, and immediately right on the redundantly named Railroad Road, which paralleled the railroad to the southeast. I ran ahead on Bake Oven Road a bit, crossing the creek, to see if I could find some of the rail bed. It was very obvious, but crossed someone's yard, so we opted to stay on the road. As we continued, another road came in from the left, but the railbed was not yet obvious. Soon, Fred was able to point it out, and by the time the road came to it's grade crossing, we were able to follow it clearly as it was used by ATV riders. Next, we crossed another road, and it was rather easy. There was a trailer with a guy, his daughter, and two sons I suppose (smoking, and they were too young! David asked them if they were old enough to smoke!!!). I asked the man which way we should go, and he gave us permission to walk across his property to reach the rail bed on the other side. We crossed and continued on the rail bed which got somewhat overgrown. Skyler was feeling great, in his element as he described, when we were off the roads. The right of way unfortunitely led to someone's yard, but fortunitely ran next to a road immediately to the south. Most of us made our way to the road, while Skyler, David, and Ray decided to cross the yard. The lady who lived there yelled at them, asking what they were doing on her property, and they told her they were hiking. She glared at us, but did'nt cause us any problems. As we walked along this road, Joe pointed out the former grade crossing, but we could'nt really follow it from here. He also pointed out another road going south called "Trestle Road", which was probably named for a railroad structure I would have loved to see, but we opted to stay on the parallel road for a bit longer. We were soon in the village of Best Station, and the group turned north on Old Mill Road, while David, Skyler, Brian, Ray, and myself accidently continued straight for a ways. I called Russ on his cell phone to find out which way they'd turned and found that I went the wrong way, so we turned back and caught up with the group a ways ahead. The railroad bed paralleled Old Mill Road to the left alongside a small creek, and we continued on to where the road descended to an intersection. When we reached this area, a heavy set kid rode by us on a small bycycle and Russ yelled out "Wow! You need a bigger bike". The boy sighed and said "I know...". He rode past us a couple times, and the last time I asked him if he could tell me where the railroad right of way was. He gave me the not surprising "There's no railroad" response, but he added he could tell us where the "Rails to Trails" was being built. We continued and turned left on Main Street I think it was, and the boy pointed out a set of two driveways, the one to the left being the former railroad bed. I would find out in the next few minutes that this crossing was not the right of way we'd been following but a spur that went to a slate quarry. The right of way we'd been following came out of a back yard at the intersection with Main Street and Old Mill Road, directly over Main Street to the north. When we walked the spur line in from the road, it took us to a new bridge intended for use of the rail trail when it was finished (to be called the "Slate Belt Trail"). The bridge over the Trout Creek (which we would parallel for the remainder of the trip) for the rail trail was not complete, and there was no approach to either side, as they were both very high up. I walked through the creek, some of the group did stone hopping, while Ray and a couple others climbed up and over the new bridge. On the other side, there was a lot of fill dirt sat on the rail bed. We walked over it all, and soon came to the site of the former junction with the quarry spur line and the line we were following. The right of way took us out to Center Street, where there were piers and abutments from where rail bridges may have been (I have to look at some more maps). Fred and Russ went ahead to find the route we needed, turning left on Center Street briefly, then right onto a gravel road down and toward an underpass below the Pennsylvania Turnpike Rt 476. It soon appeared we were back on the right of way, and there was another bridge over the creek, unfinished with no fill approaching on either side to reach the bridge from. Wyatt tried to climb a slate pile along the way, to no avail. At the bridge site, I immersed myself in the water, which I felt there was a complete lack of on this trip. We continued on the other side of the creek and the pathway began to take more of the characteristics of a rail trail. It seemed to be a crushed stone surface, and we met a guy along the way who told us it turned to pavement within a quarter mile. Gerry had also told me he'd hiked the eastern section of the Slate Belt Trail and that it was paved. We continued reaching the paved section in a community park with a covered footbridge and a little bench where Amish Paul layed down for a bit. The trail I believe strayed from the rail right of way a bit, but soon returned. There was an old through style girder bridge over the creek at one point that had been converted for foot traffic, the only such bridge we encountered during the entire hike. As we walked, the paved path paralleled the creek on a shelf, and we passed by a really interesting ruins with foundations and a huge cut into the cliffs to our right. I commented that if we had'nt walked so far already, I would want to run up there to check it out. I said this while running up, to check it out! I remember thinking how great it felt to feel the same as I did when I was 17. We continued around a corner, and met some kids working on a demolition derby car, and after we finished talking to them we crossed a small bridge and reached the site of the former junction with the Lehigh Valley Railroad, now the D & L Trail, where we were parked. We all chatted for a bit, and decided we would have dinner at a place called Sal's Pizza (no relation to the Sal's Pizza in my hometown of Washington NJ). Some of the group opted to go home, having a long drive, but most of us hung around for food. The service was excellent and we had a good time hanging out and eating. Cathy and I each had cheese steak, which were good, though not the best we'd ever had. Still the service made up for any shortcomings. We hung out for a bit, and David made a doobie and stuck it in a sign with an italian chef on it which was hilarious. Amish Paul drove the three drivers back to Leaser Lake to retrieve the vehicles, and we were on our way. Other than there being too much road walking, it was a good trip!
What? Hiking Lehigh County
Photography by Mike Helbing, Fred Hafale, and Skyler Jermyn. Photos taken by anyone other than myself are suffixed by letters, and have the intitials of the photographer with the description.
1.) Russ, Fred, Wyatt, Cathy, and Brian at the north Leaser Lake parking area near Jacksonville PA.1a.) The group getting ready to go from the parking area (FH)2.) View of Leaser Lake from the parking area2a.) Starting out (SJ)2b.) Descending from the parking area along Leaser Lake (FH)2c.) Wyatt trying to climb in an old quarry area near Leaser Lake (SJ)3.) The group reaching the fields above the old quarry4.) The group on one of the mowed paths near Leaser Lake heading south, Blue Mountain in view behind us.4a.) Joe on the trail (FH)5.) Joe walking off the trail through the fields with the west side of Leaser Lake in view5a.) Along the trail...(SJ)5b.) Joe taking his shortcut off trail (SJ)5c.) More off trail Joe! (SJ)6.) Nice view of the rolling hills near Leaser Lake7.) The group on the trails heading sort of west...8.) The group near Leaser Lake, with Blue Mountain in view8a.) Joe rejoins the group after taking his shortcut! (FH)8b.) The group wandering through the hills...(SJ)9.) View of Leaser Lake10.) Cathy and Wyatt walking along the lake11.) Another view of Leaser Lake11a.) Yet another view of the lake (FH)11b.) Me on the dam of Leaser Lake (SJ)12.) The group descending on the spillway to Leaser Lake13.) The spillway from the Leaser Lake Dam14.) View from the Leaser Lake Dam14a.) The group mucking about on the Leaser Lake Dam (FH)14b.) The group making their way up the dam (FH)14c.) Crossing the dam (FH)14d.) More of the group along Leaser Lake (FH)15.) The trail making it's way along the lakeside15a.) Making our way out toward the road in Jacksonville PA16.) The group heading down Donat's Peak Road in Jacksonville PA17.) Weird dip in a field along Donat's Peak Road18.) The Philidelphia and Reading Railroad right of way where it crossed Donat's Peak Road south of Jacksonville19.) Walking along Allemaengel Road south of Jacksonville20.) Clydesdale Horses along Allemaengel Road20a.) Another view of the horse (FH)20b.) Me posing with a sign on Allemaengel Road (SJ)21.) Skyler crossing the Ontelaunee Creek on a bridge made of a couple old railroad rails22.) More of Skyler on the bridge...23.) Ray and Wyatt crossing the bridge23a.) Wyatt crossing the bridge (SJ)23b.) Skyler thought this was such a good shot he'd take another (SJ)24.) View of the Ontelaunee Creek looking downstream near the town of Lynnport25.) Joe sitting along the road in Lynnport with a bunch of junk26.) An interesting sign we found...Cathy took this one I think27.) Brian with the newfound sign in Lynnport28.) An old road, now abandoned off Rt 143 in Lynnport...it may have been a rail spur as it was curiously level graded...29.) David and George on the right of way in Lynnport30.) An old railroad bridge in the Lynnport area parallel with Rt 14331.) Historic marker near Lynnport32.) I gashed my leg rather badly after a fall on a pipe climbing up a little hill onto Brobst Hill Road....ouch33.) Looking up Brobst Hill Road33a.) Walking up the road (SJ)34.) Cows along Brobst Hill Rd35.) COWS!!!35a.) Walking along Brobst Hill Road near the cows (FH)35b.) yeah, more cows. (SJ)35c.) Skyler titled this one "Quad Stacker" (SJ)36.) Lovely view from Brobst Hill Road37.) The group walking along Brobst Hill Rd38.) Nice farm view from the road38a.) Along the now private section of Brobst Hill Road, now part of a commune! Had to turn back from here obviously...(SJ)38b.) Walking up the private section of the road as a dog followed us...(SJ)38c.) Talking to a British woman who lives at the commune on Brobst Hill Road, who gave us directions to get to the next part of the right of way we could walk (SJ)38d.) The dog that followed us a bit up the private road (SJ)38e.) While everyone else was trying to figure out what was going on, Skyler was "Taking pictures of Horsies" (SJ)38f.) More horsies (SJ)38g.) What Skyler calls "A Proud Cock" (SJ)38h.) Nice building along Allemeangle Road (SJ)38i.) Another view of the building (FH)38j.) Walking down Gun Club Road (FH)38k.) Along Gun Club Road at Ontelaunee Creek crossing (FH) 38l.) Along Ontelaunee Creek on Gun Club Road I think (SJ)38m.) Entering the right of way from Gun Club Road (FH)39.) Along the right of way within Ontelaunee Park40.) More on the right of way in Ontelaunee Park41.) Skyler riding a tree along the right of way within the park41a.) Skyler in Ontelaunee Creek while we took a break (FH)41b.) The group on a covered pedestrian bridge in Ontelaunee Park (SJ)41c.) I'm not sure what this is, but probably a drain on the old railroad bridge (FH)42.) Old railroad bridge in Ontelaunee Park42a.) Amish Paul sitting on the old railroad bridge (FH)42b.) Russ up on the old rail bridge (FH)42c.) Making our way to the old rail bridge in Ontelaunee Park (FH)43.) On the right of way east of King's Highway in the valley of the School Creek43a.) On the right of way continueing on...(FH)44.) Gerry on the right of way above the School Creek to the left45.) In the fields to the north of the right of way where we had to detour because of a house built in our way.46.) More of the group heading through the field, trying to avoid a farmer on a tractor nearby over the hill47.) Still crossing the field48.) The right of way where it turns to parallel Rt 309 at New Tripoli49.) Skyler on the right of way, east of New Tripoli50.) Joe in a cut along the right of way east of New Tripoli51.) The right of way crossing a yard from Oriole Road52.) In the woods on the right of way heading east52a.) Entering a cultivated field area heading toward Germansville (FH)52b.) Skyler on the right of way (FH)53.) The right of way along fields between New Tripoli and Germansville53a.) Crossing the fields having had to leave the now grown over railroad bed (SJ)54.) Crossing the field heading out to Memorial Road55.) Crossing the field...55a.) Joe crossing the field (SJ)56.) The right of way to the left crossing this yard to the east of Bake Oven Road near Germansville, we were'nt able to follow it here.57.) The group turning onto Railroad Road from Bake Oven Road in Germansville58.) Once again on the right of way near a place called Bull's Head59.) Christina, Joe, and Dave in a view west along the right of way59a.) I think this one is the right of way parallel with Railroad Road...(SJ)60.) Skyler and Wyatt along the right of way where it's getting a bit overgrown..60a.) Of this picture, Skyler says "I actually don't remember what's going on here, or how the camera got away from me". Taken with Skyler's camera, Wyatt got the picture.61.) Brian is happy having found "Chicken of the Woods" Mushroom on the right of way near Railroad Road62.) Permits required...but for what? I think this is on Railroad Road...62a.) Another similar shot by Skyler. Of this one he says "Fortunitely everyone had their AMC Permits with them, or in the case of Mike, permanantly tatooed on their bicept.". I don't get it either, but hey, whatever! (SJ)63.) Ray with the Germansville sign!64.) Wyatt and Brian with his business man pack! Quite handy!65.) I think this old house is on Best Station Road...66.) Part of the Lehigh and New England Railroad spur to a quarry at a place called Emerald I think it was67.) The "Slate Belt Rail Trail" under development with bridges in place, just not complete, crossing Trout Creek.67a.) The east side of the new rail trail bridge, obviously incomplete! (FH)67b.) Gerry at the bridge (FH)68.) Skyler walking the right of way northeast69.) The group still trying to cross...70.) The right of way of the Reading line we were following heading east, as seen from the site of the junction with the LNE line71.) A section of the right of way in bad shape entering the Emerald area72.) Approaching the PA Turnpike underpass on the right of way72a.) Wyatt trying to climb a giant slate cliff to no avail near the PA Turnpike (FH)72b.) A wider angle of Wyatt trying to climb slate (FH)73.) Yet another new trail bridge under construction over Trout Creek74.) Joe approaching from the PA Turnpike underpass75.) Crossing the creek below the bridge on stones76.) A covered trail bridge as we neared Slatington on the Slate Belt Trail77.) Me on the trail, Cathy took this one. Note how badly my bandage was falling off by now.77a.) Cathy and I approaching the trail bridge (SJ)78.) Is this Paul's funeral? No, it's just what he always does.78a.) Skyler titled this one "Amish Paul doing what he does best" (SJ)79.) Coming out of the covered bridge getting ever closer to Slatington80.) Skyler and Wyatt, the Homeboys picture81.) Cathy crossing a converted through style girder bridge on the trail in Slatington81a.) Amish Paul on "The Homestretch" (SJ)82.) DJ Ray wearing flowers in his hair along the trail in Slatington83.) Walking the trail along Trout Creek, Slatington84.) "Berksey Line" Historic Marker in Slatington85.) Some sort of huge quarry place along the rail bed in Slatington86.) Rails still in place in Slatington nearing the end86a.) FINISHED, the group preparing to leave! (SJ)87.) Joe Tag in his car ready to take off88.) The group shot at Sal's Pizza in Slatington PA!89.) That's me taking a picture of myself90.) My mismatched shoes, as usual91.) A great finish to the night, David just had to put a doobie into the mouth of the italian chef out front...it was like it was asking for it!
LOL!!!!!
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