Hike #83; Lower Water Gap

 Hike #83

Hike 83

The group with the Indian Head of Mt. Tammany in the background.

3/19/3

 

I had been trying for some time to get some of the guys from Wal Mart together for one

of my hikes, and finally I was able to convince some of them, as well as Skyler Jermyn,

who had previously dated Jamie Pene. I decided I wanted to do the lower Water Gap hike

again, knowing it was a particularly scenic hike to bring the crew on.

At the beginning in Hainesburg

Hainesburg with Paulins Kill Viaduct in view, Paulins Kill Valley Trail

Joining me this time, other than Skyler, were Rich Nielson, whom I attended High School

with, but did’nt know very well at the time. He was working in the hardware department

at Wally Mart. Next, Gianni DeRosa, who worked in Electronics. Gianni is a talented

musician, a guitarist. I enjoyed listening to some of his stuff on the cd players in Wal Mart,

and we had similar tastes in music. Also, Nick Thorton, brother of David whom I worked

with at Shop Rite years earlier. Nick had a goofball personality and we had some good

times; he worked in the furniture department and I got to talk to him often, because I was

nearby working in ICS (Inventory Control Specialist, a prestigious name for an unloader.).

Old structure along LNE railroad bed

Finally, Gary who worked in the Lawn and Garden department, was the most enthusiastic

hiker on this trip. Sometimes laid back, he got overly excited during the hike and would

constantly yell “WOOHOO!”. To my surprise, everyone agreed to meet at my house at

5:00 am...the earliest I’d ever started!

Approaching LNE Paulins Kill trestle near Hainesburg

LNE Paulins Kill trestle, Hainesburg

LNE Paulins Kill trestle, Hainesburg

Former LNE rail bed in Knowlton Twp.

Approaching Portland Colombia foot bridge

View up the Delaware toward Delaware Viaduct and the gap

Former Lackawanna Railroad at Slateford Junction

Everyone seemed immediately in awe as we passed under the Paulins Kill Viaduct. We

continued as we did in the past, taking the Lehigh and New England Railroad grade west

toward Colombia. When we reached the road, heading toward the TA Truckstop Gas

station, there were several convicts doing road clean up, begging us to buy them

cigarettes. I’m sure they were not pleased as we began singing the Sam Cooke song

“Chain Gang” as we walked away.

After a stop at TA, we crossed the Portland/Colombia Footbridge. I stopped at Port Mart

for Chocolate Milk, then we headed north on the DL&W railroad. I was surprised to see

that this time the right of way had been cleared near the site of the junction with the

Lackawanna Cutoff. We of course had to go into the old tower and look around again.

After climbing in the tower, I wanted to climb around on parked trains, and everyone was

jovially frollicking behind me.

Slateford tower

In Slateford Tower

Rail cars at Slateford Junction

Cold Air Cave, Del Water Gap PA

Cold Air Cave, Delaware Water Gap PA

Side trail from Cold Air Cave, Del Water Gap PA

View of Mt. Tammany from a viewpoint just off Rt 611

Rt 611, Del Water Gap PA

Train approaching in Del Water Gap PA, DL&W tracks

This time, when we reached where the railroad and Rt 611 come close, I brought the guys

up the the Ice Cave, a cold air cave at the base of Mt Minsi. After going inside, Gary and I

ran up a brief trail which ascends to a seasonal view fo the Delaware. We then headed to a

circular structure nearby which gives great views of Mt Tammany in NJ.

When it was time to return to the tracks, there was someone from PennDot (Pennsylvania

Department of Transportation) parked at the entrance to the access path. We figured

someone had seen us earlier on the trains, so we decided to walk along 611 briefly before

jumping back down to the right of way and running like hell out of sight. Not long after

descending, a train passed by, freaking everyone out.

The group at the Resort Point falls on Caldeno Creek, Delaware Water Gap.

Running from a train in Del Water Gap, PA

Lake Lenape along the AT, Del Water Gap PA

Soon, we reached Caldeno Falls (named after the three people who discovered Caldeno

Creek), which was running strong. We continued on, and at a very narrow part of the right

of way, another train approached fast from the south, so we again ran like hell to avoid

being in a tight place! We soon reached the I-80 underpass, and Gary and I found a nice

bycicle abandoned there, but I forgot to return to retrieve it later.

Lake Lenape on the AT, Del Water Gap PA

Falls below Lake Lenape, Del Water Gap PA

Delaware Water Gap at Winona Cliff

Delaware Water Gap from Winona Cliff on the AT

View up the Delaware from Mt. Minsi along the AT

Top of Mt. Minsi

Top of Mt. Minsi

Top of Mt. Minsi

Porcupine climbing a tree atop Mt. Minsi

View down the Delaware from the AT on top of Mt. Minsi

On the Kittatinny Ridge near Tott's Gap

Totts Gap cave

Along Slateford Farm Trail

Slateford Farm

Slateford Farm house

Gary climbing out of Paulins Kill Viaduct

We ascended to the Appalachian Trail, then reached Lake Lenape. Though the ice was

melting fast, and even overflowing across the Minsi Fire Road, Skyler and I still walked

out onto it! Water formed rather large waterfalls below the pond due to the heavy meltoff.

We made our way along the AT passing the Winona Cliff lookout. Skyler was particularly

happy to be there, as he had drivin through in the past and always wanted to be on top of

those mountains.

When we reached the top, there was a porcupine climbing a tree near us, which was great

for the guys to see having never really hiked. We continued at a good pace to Totts Gap,

and descended to the cave, then made our way to Laurel Hill Road and National Park

Drive.

For this trip, I decided to lead everyone around some of the dirt road across farm fields in

an effort to find snow mobile trails marked on the Kittatinny Trails maps. We seemed to

find the route, which took us out in an occupied farm, which felt kind of weird as we were

stared at making our way out. We continued on woods roads to the old Slateford

Farmstead, where there are beautifully restored old buildings. A connector trail took us to

the Arrow Island Trail.

After descending on Arrow Island Trail, Skyler and Rich were particularly worn out. We

slowed a bit, but still managed to make it up to the Lackawanna Cutoff, and across the

long bridge. It was gettng dark as we made our way back to Hainesburg.

When we reached the Paulins Kill Viaduct, I tried to get everyone to climb in, so we

could cross within the bridge, but it was far too full of ice to pass through, so we opted to

climb back out and use ATV paths back to Station Road. Though everyone was hurting,

we all had a great time.

In Paulins Kill Viaduct

On the Kittatinny Ridge near Tott's Gap