Hike #580; Glen Onoko, Broad Mountain, and Nesquehoning Loop
8/21/11 Glen Onoko, Broad Mountain, and Nesquehoning Loop with Jason Kumpas, Jason Itell, and Jim DeLotto
Woods road on top of Broad Mountain
My next hike would be a loop around the area of Broad Mountain north of Jim Thorpe PA. I had scaled this hike off this hike a while back with the idea of looping back through the gorge of Jean's Run, where supposedly there is no trail but a few waterfalls. The weather was looking bad so I decided to amend that idea for something else.
Split Rock in Glen Onoko
Falls in Glen Onoko
Falls in Glen Onoko
Falls in Glen Onoko
Falls in Glen Onoko
Chameleon Falls in Glen Onoko
Onoko Falls
Below Onoko Falls, Glen Onoko PA
I changed the route of the hike somewhat from what I was originally intending because there was bad weather predicted. We would actually end up extending the route a bit.
We started off at the parking area near the Glen Onoko Tunnel and ascended a bit. Usually, there were a ton of people heading up Glen Onoko, but because the weather predicted was bad we hardly saw anyone. We crossed over the former rail bridge and then descended beneath and up into the glen on the old trail with fine cut stones that were once part of the hotel industry that thrived here. I liked to picture what the falls in Glen Onoko would have looked like when they were up and running, and the walkways of wood continued on to the falls where now the cut stone steps stop.
On the way up we made a stop to check out the Split Rock, and of course every little water fall along the way. The trail crossed the stream to the left at the Split Rock, and then back to the right below another small falls. We passed one larger falls, and then continued on up to Onoko Falls, the tallest in the ravine. The rocks were a bit slippery, but we were able to go up Glen Onoko with no rain.
View from the top of Onoko Falls
Heading up from Onoko Falls
Falls above Onoko Falls
From the top of Onoko Falls, it was now clear enough that we still had a nice view of the other side of the rim of Lehigh Gorge, and on to Mt. Pisgah where we were looking at Onoko Falls from the rock outcrop earlier in the year. I didn't want to get to close to the edge. There were recently some deaths in Yosemite out west, I think at Vernal Falls because people got to close to take a picture.
Cave Falls
Cave Falls
Looking out from behind Cave Falls
Cave Falls
We made our way up from the top of Onoko Falls, and checked out a smaller falls just above, then soon reached Cave Falls. This was the last really significant one on the gorge, and by far the most interesting. Jason Kumpas mentioned that this was probably the most water he'd ever seen flowing through Glen Onoko. Indeed, it rained a lot the night before and earlier in the morning.
Kumpas and I went up behind Cave Falls and let the water flow over us, which was quite refreshing. We'd been sweating heavily on the steep climb up Glen Onoko already.
From here, we continued on to the top of the rim and the ravine became much less narrow. We soon reached the woods road where I had come from the left with Jillane the previous Summer during our backpacking trip. This time, we would turn right and follow the woods road in the other direction.
View into Lehigh Gorge from Broad Mountain
View of Lehigh Gorge from Broad Mountain, down stream
View up stream into Lehigh Gorge
View up stream into Lehigh Gorge
View of Lehigh Gorge from Broad Mountain
View into Lehigh Gorge from Broad Mountain
We followed the woods road for a ways, which was very nice and easy, surprisingly free of rocks. In addition, the sides were also lined with lots of blueberries and huckleberries which we stopped to eat quite a bit. When we reached a fork in the woods road, we turned right. This led us shortly out to a fantastic view point with a view into the Lehigh Gorge at a dramatic bend. We could also see up and down the gorge in both directions. The site had a fire pit and was well cleared. The sun was even beginning to come out, which was great considering they were calling for a certain degree of rain all day.
When we headed out from here, we tried to walk the rim to the north a bit, but the path that left the camp site petered out pretty quickly, so we doubled back to the woods road, and then to the fork we initially took to continue north on the main woods road route.
Fox piss wine! Good!
Along a woods road on Broad Mountain through young growth forest
Blueberries of Huckleberries on Broad Mountain
Woods road on Broad Mountain
We took a few side trips from the woods road down pretty much every side road we could find hoping to find more view points, but we never found anything that was not obscured by foliage like the previous one.
The only place we didn't bother walking down was by a power line crossing. I'll have to check that one out the next time.
The woods road forked after a bit, and we went left heading west. Much of the edges of the woods roads had been recently mowed back, and the parts that weren't were totally full of blueberries, which we ate a lot of. There was also a lot of interesting looking young growth forest. We walked and speculated about what such a woods road would have been used for up on top of Broad Mountain.
We eventually came to another fork near where areas on the sides of the road had long mowed paths around. I assumed it was for the State Game Lands hunting management. We soon turned left, on the route I had followed with Jillane along Broad Mountain after crossing Rt 93 from Fire Tower Road the previous year. This road took us gradually down hill along the top of Broad Mountain and across Jean's Run, then to another woods road. We turned right here.
My original plan was to go left and bushwhack down Jean's Run, but I was worried that with rain it might not be so wise, so my amended route was to turn right and then left down another woods road toward the town of Nesquehoning. I had been in touch with our friend Jim DeLotto who lived nearby in Summit Hill, hoping he could join us. We made plans to take a side trip out to Rt 93 via another woods road so he could join up.
We reached the entrance to the woods road at about the same time Delotto showed up, and he brought us Pizza and garlic knots, which was wonderful. I was starving I felt, as I hadn't had any breakfast.
We sat and laughed for a bit, ate some food, and then moved on together along the woods road. We soon made a right turn onto the other woods road that paralleled Rt 93 to the east, but far off into the woods.While walking up, we passed a tractor.
Woods road on Broad Mountain...and a tractor!
Somehow, this tractor got moved from it's parked position to further up onto the woods road.
Woods road on Broad Mountain
We continued along the woods road heading south from here a bit. Delotto was only able to join us for a bit and had to turn back because he had a meeting for a non profit he was involved in, and was now an important part of running the meetings. We said goodbye to him, and planned to try to meet up later again, but rain would inhibit this from happening.
We continued on along the woods road and soon came to an area that had obviously been burnt. There were also signs around mentioning that this was either a controlled or prescribed burn, and not to call 911 if you see fire. All of the ground in the area was black and charred, but lush green ferns and such were already out.
Burned area on Broad Mountain
We continued on the woods road heading south. It became less used as we continued.
View from the end of a woods road on Broad Mountain into Nesqhehoning Valley
The road started becoming more overgrown, and then started descending much more dramatically off the south side of Broad Mountain. It switched back and forth, and then leveled a bit heading pretty much due west. Just before it ended, we came to a nice view where we could see along the Nesquehoning Valley and to Mt. Pisgah.
View from a woods road off of Broad Mountain near Nesqhehoning
Descending to Rt 93 off Broad Mountain
Rt 93 heading into Nesqhehoning valley
Runaway truck ramp on Rt 93, Nesquehoning
View from Rt 93 near Nesquehoning
View along Rt 93
Culvert for Nesquehoning Creek under Rt 93
Nesquehoning Creek near Rt 93
Railroad culvert under Rt 93
We climbed down hill from the woods road, which was sort of cut off by the entrance to an animal control, corrections center type of place, over steep rocks. We then turned right and then left onto Rt 93 to follow it down hill a bit. For a road walk, it was actually quite pretty with views off of the mountains and the valley.
To the right of us as we walked, there was the constant sound of shots because there was a paint ball place out in the woods there. We then passed a runaway truck ramp and walked onto it a bit on the right. I'd never walked on one before, and I was interested in what kind of surface they used to stop the trucks.
We continued down hill, and crossed the Nesquehoning Creek followed by the former CNJ railroad tracks. The road went over culverts on a high fill which obscured the fact that a river and railroad were below us. We came to the intersection of Rt 209 at a pizza place, and then descended to the left of the road steeply down to the railroad tracks. We then crossed the tracks next to the culvert under the highway and made our way down to the Nesquehoning Creek to take a dip.
The water felt great and wasn't too cold. It was a nice hidden spot below the road and railroad, and quite refreshing. We sat here for a while before making our way back up to the railroad tracks. We could see there were clouds building up and that our luck with such a nice day wasn't going to last.
My next plan was to look for the Hauto Tunnel, a railroad tunnel that was once part of the Lehigh and New England Railroad. Delotto had told us about it so I wanted to see it. We followed the CNJ tracks heading west underneath the culvert below 93. On the other side there were abutments for what I assumed would have been the predescessor to 93. On top, there was a nice little side road with pavement below the level of the current highway which I assume would have been part of it's original route. It probably used some of the road currently used for the correctional place and did more of a switch back. I'd have to explore this too another time.
Wow...Nesquehoning PA. Paradise Rd has it's sign in a funny spot...
Former CNJ line approaching Nesquehoning PA
We walked the tracks on and soon a road came down from Rt 93 on the right. This was Paradise Lane which served a few homes that were along the tracks. The road paralleled the tracks for a while. We passed by an amusing sign that read "Paradise" and pointed right, with the left directing to a water treatment plant.
We continued along the tracks which skirted a couple of back yards as we approached the town of Nesquehoning. One truck pulled onto the road along the rail bed behind us, but it turned off before reaching us. When we reached the first grade crossing in town, we turned left toward the main drag, and then turned left again. We stepped into a bar and got a six pack of Lord Chesterfield's Ale and talkd to the proprietors about the Hauto Tunnel. They didn't seem to know about it, but went on about some train crash into the Nesquehoning Creek, saying how they left bodies in there, but Snapping Turtles keep people from retrieving them. That's just too far fetched for many reasons, among them the fact that the Nesquehoning isn't deeper than the knees.
We continued on through town from here, and I stopped in a Wawa to get a drink. I held back from getting snacks because Kumpas spotted a church picnic. We went over to have a look, and he got me some perogies and stuffed cabbage. Everyone knows that old church ladies make the best food. While there, we met a guy who knew about the Hauto Tunnel. He told us it was filled in on the north side, but we could see into the south side. It had to be done because it's collapsed had caused a road above it also to collapse. Even during it's operation it was reportedly a problem with water inside.
While we were at the church gathering it began to rain. It poured very hard and we took refuge under the tent to eat our food. After a bit it let up, so we continued on our way along the tracks back in the direction we had come from rather than continueing to Haouto Tunnel. That would be another day.
Nesquehoning PA after a terrific church picnic
We had some beers and walked the tracks back out of town and under Rt 93. The rain was coming down pretty good but we handled it well. We actually made pretty good time following the former CNJ tracks back to the east. The rain would let up, and then get heavy again, but it was overall fine. The tracks went from heading pretty much due east to somewhat south. At one point, a truck appeared behind us, either railroad or utility workers coming through. They gave us no problem for being there, cordially said hello and moved on. We followed for a brief time another rail right of way to the left of the active tracks as well.
There appeared to be some sort of retention ponds down below the right of way to the left where the Nesquehoning reached the Lehigh. No clue what they could have been for. We soon came to the junction site where this former track joined the CNJ main line, now an excursion train track.
Abandoned railroad tower adjacent to the Nesquehoning trestle
At the junction was an old tower in ruins I had gone into before. We ducked into it for a bit of shelter. There was now thunder and lightning as well as rain. We discussed the dangers of crossing the Nesquehoning Trestle during an electrical storm, being the tallest things around. Delotto called us around this time to make sure we were okay.
We soon opted to just run across the trestle in the rain.
Train rushing by on Nesquehoning trestle
We could hear a train whistle coming from the other side. Fortunately we did not opt to run across the active side of the trestle, instead opting to scale the chain link fence to the D&L Trail which ran on the former second track.
Sharing an umbrella during a torrential downpour in Lehigh Gorge
Torrential downpour in Lehigh Gorge
Lehigh Gorge after a downpour
While we were running across, an excursion train bound for Jim Thorpe to the south passed by us. The passengers looked at us out the windows like we were crazy. They were probably right.
The thunder grew louder and the lightning closer. Once we got to the through style truss section of the bridge which went over the Norfolk Southern, former Lehigh Valley Railroad, an active frieght line, we stood still for a bit. Jason assured us we were safer between the trusses because if they were struck they would carry the current to the ground.
We huddled together, and Kumpas and I held our umbrellas over Jason as well because his poncho was certainly not good enough for the deluge of water that was coming down on us.
Looking througg the old Glen Onoko Tunnel
Looking out of Glen Onoko Tunnel at old Lehigh trestle site
North end of Glen Onoko Tunnel
View of a trestle from the north portal of Glen Onoko Tunnel
Clouds in Lehigh Gorge
When the rain started to let up, we stepped off of the trestle and continued to follow the trail along the access road to Glen Onoko. It was still raining lightly, but getting much better. We passed by our cars at the lot and headed over to the Glen Onoko Tunnel and walked on through. There was no one else around this time, so we went out to the end and admired the view of the Lehigh. There were some rafts being pulled in by outfitters down below us to the right. When the people were in the employees played by batting rocks into the river using the paddles. As the rain continued to let up more, more kids approached within view on the trestle to the left. To my surprise, two of them jumped off into the Lehigh! I had wanted to try it, but wasn't really into it at this moment.
We eventually exited the tunnel and found that it had stopped raining. Clouds floated by along the rim of the Lehigh Gorge making it look pretty cool.
Turned out to be a good day for a hike.
Lingering clouds over Lehigh Gorge
No comments:
Post a Comment