Hike #482; Hopewell Big Woods Loop

 Hike #482 4/24/10

4/24/10 Hopewell Big Woods Loop with Kyle Zalinsky, Amanda Rosenblatt, Matt Casey, Pete Fox, Nilam Shah, James ?, 

Walking Fire Tower Road in French Creek State Park

This was an interesting hike, and I was excited to be doing the next northwestward section of the Horseshoe Trail as well as new and unfamiliar railroad beds, but it was also our last time hiking with our dear friend Kyle Zalinsky. His tragic passing was only a week later.

It was also the first hike for our friend Matt Casey. We both went to Warren Hills High School, and had many mutual friends but for some reason had never associated. Through these mutual friends we met through Facebook and chatted a bit on the internet. Matt was interested in the hikes, and I told him when it was convenient I'd pick him up and we'd go. Jillane didn't feel like going on this hike, and I certainly didn't want to drive the distance alone, so I gave Matt a call in the morning, and he was up for it.

I drove to Phillipsburg a little early, and headed up near where I used to live on Summit Ave. It was fortunite that I knew the streets well enough to find him. As I was driving down the street looking for the house number, a blonde kid stopped my car and asked if I was the one looking for Matt. As it turned out, it was his cousin James I had talked to earlier when I called the house, and he asked if I minded if he'd join as well. I of couse let him on, and when Matt got in the car we took off!

For this loop hike, we met in the morning at Warwick County Park and then all followed to our beginning point, a small parking area for State Game Lands 43 on Laurel Road below Thomas Hill. I just caught the guy at the park office for Warwick County Park where I wanted to buy a Horseshoe Trail guide and map set. Kyle showed up a little late, and Amanda said something about him looking like a ghost because he had put on such thick sun screen, so he was constantly looking at me with wide eyes and going "WhooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoo".

Once we started from the parking area, we walked up Laurel Road past the firing range area, then on to a woods road leading right. It immedately forked, and we took the left side of it. This descended us down toward Harmonyville Road. The old road itself seemed to come out behind someone's house, and so I was surprised that this route was blazed, and that the official trail led away from the house and along a hillside on footpath. We didn't continue on this, because I wasn't at all expecting to find a trail system. We got onto the road and went left.

While on the road, an older gentleman in front of his house greeted us. He had an irish accent I think, or maybe british, and told us he was one of the volunteers who had taken over maintenance of French Creek State Park's trail system years ago. He even asked if we'd been to the east end, and of course I had pretty recently. He was happy to hear we were using his trails, and we were happy he'd done such a good job. That system was indeed very well marked, cleared, and easy to follow. I believe the man had a very stereotypical british sounding name, it may have been Colin Horner or something, but I can't remember totally. Kyle really liked him, but he always liked those European accents.

We turned right onto Park Road and continued on. Along the road was a religious mail box Kyle had to pose with.

Mail box on Park Road

Mail box on Park Road

We continued and just before we turned left onto a connector trail into French Creek State Park we passed a giant tree and across from Pine Swamp Natural Area.

Giant tree along Park Road

We ascended on this trail and soon came to the Horseshoe Trail, turned left and then right onto Boone Trail. We continued and turned off of the Boone Trail to the fire tower road leading to the Hopewell Fire Tower. I was hoping we'd be able to go up it, but it was fenced off and there were people working in the vicinity so we had to head north on the paved road down hill.

When we reached where Horseshoe Trail crossed the road we turned right heading out to Scotts Run Lake. Last time we followed Horseshoe Trail, but this time we'd follow Boone Trail to the left of the lake.

Along Boone Trail, French Creek State Park PA

We continued along Boone Trail and crossed other parts of Fire Tower Road again twice. Along the way at one road crossing we talked to some people who were out hunting for mushrooms, and I recall them looking out of place because they were more than a little out of shape.

Kyle surfing down the Boone Trail, French Creek State Park PA

The trail took us out to Horseshoe Trail again on a section we'd done over a hill and to the valley of six penny creek. Where Six Penny Trail went right, this time we went left on the Horseshoe Trail, soon across the creek. It took us out on Geigertown Road and onto the property of a firing range

Lovely little pond along Horseshoe Trail near the firing range at Geigertown Road

There was a lovely little pond where I sat and waited for the group to catch up. When they arrived, Kyle and Amanda decided to cut out because Amanda was in a theatre production that had a show that afternoon. They walked Geigertown Road out, and I told him it would be quicker to cross the park, but he wouldn't listen. They ended up getting really lost, through firing ranges and such. I even gave him a map printout to use to get him back, but it didn't help. It was amazing that Amanda made it to her performance on time despite being so late.

Kyle left the hike though as his smiling, silly fun self. I wish he could have finished this one with me, and continued to come on every one to follow, but it wasn't to be.

Along Horseshoe Trail at Geigertown Road. This is the last picture I ever took of Kyle, and maybe the last picture of him ever taken. He died only a week later.

The Horseshoe Trail went right up the driveway of the firing range, then made a hard left past a little building before ascending into the woods and heading up hill. We were on the firing range property for a bit, and then came to an area where there were other blazed trails. I don't know what the property was, but there were two other trails first, then we descended into a dip in the terrain on a woods road section, and where the HS Trail turned off of the road another blazed trail was on it ahead.

Horseshoe Trail on Long Mountain vicinity, Berks Co PA

The trail skirted the edge of what must have been part of Long Mountain, and made a descent to a little area with what used to be a pond, and a small funny looking shack

shack along Horseshoe Trail, Long Mountain

The trail ahead went gradually up and down as we came within sight of a few more houses, and then descended to Mullen Hollow Road. The others somehow came out onto the road from ahead of me, while I stayed on the blazed trail. There must have been an alternate route that looked like a trail out to the road as well.

The trail turned off of Mullen Hollow Road and followed along the edge of a steep slope with an excellent seasonal view into the farm land below. It then came into a clearing and to a farm road to a lovely bridge over the railroad bed we were turning onto next. We were now in the vicinity of Scarlet Mills PA.

Old farm bridge over the railroad bed at Scarlets Mills PA

The railroad bed had a zip line going across the deep cut at this point, but it was a bit beat up. James was about to try it but when he saw how bad it was he decided not to. Once we were all down on the grade, we followed it to the south.

I thought it would be really clear up ahead, but the clearness gave way to heavy briars. It got really tough. As we walked around the curves and over cuts and fills through farms and woods, we could see an abandoned house and barn far to the left of the tracks, but it was too difficult to get through on the rail bed let alone those succession fields. We continued on the rail bed to Geigertown Road. It was like a farm road at that point, but across the street it was on private land and just not worth trying to get through so we turned right down the street. Soon, a church appeared on the right. We were thirsty and so we decided to try to find a spigot on the outside to get water from. I think we found one, maybe not...I'm not sure.

In St. Pauls Methodist Church cemetary near Geigertown PA

We continued down the road and made a left turn onto Kratz Road to find the old railroad bed. In the days before GPS, I would certainly have walked this road back and forth looking for where the rail line used to cross, but this time I just had to line up my blue dot with the areal image on the phone/GPS. It didn't look like it, but there had been a bridge once over this road, and I couldn't see it because I was looking for a grade crossing. We climbed up and soon were on the rail bed.

We passed through woods and fields and then out to Fire Tower Road. We continued straight across and then it actually started looking more like a trail with nice black cinder dirt finally.

Abandoned rail bed near Geigertown PA

We crossed over Fire Tower Road and then travelled to Cold Run Road. Across from us, there was a new road built on the former rail bed that did not show on my google maps application. We walked up it and at the cul de sac there was a driveway into a giant house. We knew we could go this way, so first we tried to descend below the place a bit and parallel the right of way. This was way overgrown and we ended up just coming back out to this new road. We then saw that there was a woods road going up the side of the hill to the south, so we followed it. We went up far enough that we were out of sight from the house, then bushwhacked down hill to the rail bed just beyond the house. It worked out perfectly.

We were able to pretty clearly follow the rail bed out to Hay Creek Road at Joanna Heights. Across from here it was blocked by a fence and there were pretty serious signs forbidding trespass within this area so we opted to stay out and walk Hay Creek Road south.

The road became Twin Valley Road I think, and we turned right on Elverson Road to get back toward the rail bed in the little village of Joanna. At one time there was supposedly a furnace in this area. We could pretty much see where the rail line used to cross next to a little general store. We went in and bought some nourishment. I'm pretty sure I got a local farms chocolate milk and I remember it being pretty good.

When we left the store and headed south, it was parallel with Joanna Road briefly, and then we came to where a new house had just been built next to the right of way. If we'd come a little later we'd not have been able to walk through this section. The section ahead was pretty nice though for a while, but it took us out to another private area on Twin Valley Road. I recall we tried heading to the north of the rail bed, the left, and through some woods and fields in order to come out just up the road from the house. We still had to go out by some fields. I think this place also had electric fences around it for horses. There were ATV trails and such around the perimeter we also used. Fortunately no one came out.

We weren't even going to try to go across this next section because it was so wet and messy, but the crazy bug must have gotten me and off I went with the others following.

At first, it wasn't so bad after the wet stuff. We went through a section of woods, but then came to a giant farm land where the rail bed was farmed almost completely out of existance.

Obscure former rail bed in a field west of Elverson PA

The rail bed west of Elverson PA, farmed out of existance

We tried to cross, but we knew we were highly visible. We could kind of see where the railroad would have gone, and we wanted to hurry across. It got worse when as we walked there were low voltage electric fences over the way. I think we had to crawl under them. Fortunitely no bulls charged at us.

When we reached the other end of the fields, the rail bed became very obvious with it's black cinder  yet again, and it was evident how farmers had moved what little grading the railroad had through that area out of the way.

At the end of the field near Elverson, it becomes visible once more.

We soon came to Chestnut Street, and unwilling to take any more chances followed it to the right into the town of Elverson. The rail bed ahead soon led to a junction where a southbound line went all the way south to Downingtown and beyond, but I haven't tried to follow it yet except for in part.

We turned left, on Main Street/Rt 23 through Elverson. When we got to the old railroad station in town, we tried paralleling the route of this south bound line back north to the other line but couldn't find a way to get on it.

Old Elverson train station

We also walked further down main street and tried to get back on it at Park Ave but couldn't. We then decided there was no other choice but to continue walking Rt 23 out of town.

I think we finally got back on it by following a dirt driveway to the railroad bed, then turned right. The remainder of the rail bed was quite clear. We followed it to a gas line right of way and then headed up hill along that, then to a woods road on the right.

The woods road took us along a field and then out of State Game Lands, but then back into it. Near the end of the road we passed a little pond followed by an abandoned house on the left. We came out on Laurel Road directly across the street from where we were parked. The hike ran much longer than anticipated but it was a good one. I remember Pete saying that he was training for a high mileage trip he was doing...I hope it helped!!!