Hike #596; Dickson City/Archbald Loop

 Hike #596; Dickson City-Archbald Loop

11/13/11 Dickson City/Throop/Archbald Loop with Jillane Becker

On the Lackawanna River foot bridge from Mellow Park

The next hike would be a simple loop around Dickson City to Archbald PA and back. Jillane and have both been under stress at work and needed a little vacation getaway. We did some thrift shopping, wandered around, and did one long hike.

While not as exciting as some of the previous trips we'd taken, it was still a pretty interesting hike, and I felt pretty good when we'd completed it.

We stayed the weekend at the Holiday Inn on Main Road, Dickson City PA, and so we started our hike right there. I walked by myself the previous day...

Along the lackawanna river in dickson city p a

Lackawanna River near Scranton

I wandered down into Dickson City's older parts, near the coal mining areas by way of a cemetery, and found my way to the Lackawanna River which had a great berm path. I followed it down stream which took me to the village of Throop. I walked from there through Elm Street Park with a paved loop trail, and then back out along roads under Interstate 81. I then followed ATV trails out to the railroad tracks, and followed them out across Lackawanna River, and came out onto Main Road further down. I wandered through stores and stuff for a bit following.

View from St. Anthony's Cemetery, Dickson City PA

View from St. Anthony's Cemetery, Dickson City PA

The next morning we woke to a terrific Continental Breakfast at Holiday Inn. They certainly had a feast of stuff to offer compared to most places, and so we had a lot to burn off.

We walked from the hotel along the south side of the parking lot, and then skirted the edge of the hillside to a path/road leading into St. Anthony's Cemetery with a nice view out into the Lackawanna Valley. We descended through the cemetery, and then followed Price Street down hill. It went into a little dip where there appeared to be an old coal mining area off to the left, made it's way up hill, and then steeply down hill again. Jillane pointed out the giant heap of black coal refuse that towered above the small twentieth century houses that lined the street.

We followed Price Street to it's ending at Walker Street, turned right, and then left again on Storrs Street down the rest of the hill. We turned off at an angle onto Boulevard Ave across from Main Street and followed that south. We stopped at a pizza place for drinks along the way. The place looked more like a diner.

NYS&W or O&W right of way in Dickson City PA

We soon reached the active railroad tracks. Just before this, there was a set of rails in the street, which I immediately assumed was just a siding or something, but I was quite wrong. This was the abandoned right of way of two other rail lines that ran immediately parallel with the active line. The active one was the former Delaware and Hudson Railroad according to records. The set of rails I saw along with another area along side of it were the lines of the New York, Ontario, and Western and the New York, Susquehanna, and Western. Both of these companies had rail lines we had both walked extensively already.

Old station in Dickson City PA

We walked across the railroad tracks and then headed further down Boulevard Ave. Soon, on the left between buildings we could see a ball field. We walked between the buildings and across the field toward the Lackawanna River. There was a guy there with a metal detector looking for buried treasure.

Along Lackawanna River, Dickson City PA

We reached the berm along the edge of the river where I had picked it up the previous day, only we turned to the left and followed it heading up stream. I had thought this berm would continue on for quite some time, but it did not. It ended at the end of the ball field park; quite a disappointment as I was able to follow it for so far in the other direction. We ended up walking by the guy with the metal detector again. I asked him if he found anything good, and he replied "just junk".

View of the mountains northwest of Dickson City

Access at an old rail bridge site, Dickson City PA

We walked out of the park to emerge on Enterprise Street heading northeast. We had to follow this for a bit through an industrial area. which was somewhat boring save for the nice view out toward the mountains to the northwest. We could see the drive in theatre on the hillside above us, and toward our hotel.

We soon came to a spot where we could access the river again, only not on a berm. This was the site of a former railroad trestle.

Old D&H trestle site, Dickson City PA

This former rail line was apparently a spur line that went through coal mining areas to the town of Throop to the south. We made our way past an access sign and then down to the edge of the river where there was a bit of a path to follow. Jilane opted to go up to the former D&H tracks that were adjacent to us while I tried to follow the river's edge.

Sanitary sewer line along Lackawanna River at old trestle site, Dickson City

I could see more closely what the bridge would have been like further up. The far abutment was older, made of stone with cement, and the near side seemed to have no abutment at all, but rather some timber that would have supported it in poor condition.

Lackawanna River, Dickson City PA

We continued past the former bridge site. Down next to the river it got rather tough to walk for a bit. There was a steep concrete slope next to the river I had to hold onto in order to get past, and then the path along the river was somewhat overgrown and weeds were knocked over the pathway from the recent snow storm. Jillane came back down to join me where a path joined in from the tracks. We followed a very nicely cleared ATV path along the edge of the river through another former industrial site, with cinder dirt dominating every inch of ground.

Old bridge over the Lackawanna River

Lackawanna River bridge

Lackawanna River bridge

As we continued on, we soon saw an abandoned trestle crossing the river ahead. Maybe this was a connector to the other right of way that turned off further back. The bridge was in terrible condition. Many of the ties from the deck of the bridge had been removed. Even from further back, we could see that much of the steel structure of the bridge was shifting and it did not look as sturdy as it should. This of course was not intended to be a huge main line bridge, but rather a work bridge that would be abandoned when the resources it reached were exhausted.

Ruins along Lackawanna River near Dickson City

We walked beneath the bridge and tried to continue along the river, but what little of a path remained there was covered over with weeds that had been pushed down by the recent snow. We turned left and climbed the embankment to try to get to one of the more clear ATV trails. Once at the top, we walked across giant piles of busted concrete, the remains of the former industry that would have occupied that site.

View from the ruins near Dickson City

We had a great view over the industrial waste land, past the residential area to more former coal mined hillsides and the mountain above. We turned right and began following the cinder path further up stream along Lackawanna River.

A mostly washed away rail bed on the far side of Lackawanna River

Near Dickson City PA

Near Dickson City PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

Old railroad trestle over the Lackawanna River in Olyphant Pa

D&H Railroad bridge view, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

Queen City Station, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

D&H Railroad bridge, Olyphant PA

We continued following the black cinder path until it took us back out at the active former D&H Railroad. We emerged at the south end of two twin throgh style truss bridges over the Lackawanna River. One was built in 1904, the other in 1906 I believe. The one on the left had a single tracks till crossing what was intended for two tracks. The one of the right was abandoned, but intended for two tracks as well. The construction dates for these bridges were cut into markers sitting atop the trusses on either side.

We opted to cross the completely abandoned side, which was in pretty poor condition. While the ties were still in place here, many of them were rotted half way through. There were planks laid across many of them, but they whobbled. We took our time to cross, and no sooner did we reach the other side, a girl, looking about high school age casually walked up to the active side of the bridged and sped across like it was nothing. We had a laugh and realized we should have crossed there. No train would be coming fast enough at this point to merit much of a scare.

We took a break on the far side of the bridge, in Olyphant PA. There was a cool looking railroad station just up ahead on the corner of Rt 347 and Valley Ave. I walked up to see it was referred to as "Queen City Station". It was supposedly referred to as this because of the day "When Coal Was Queen". There was a lot of great on line history of the town of Olyphant, but I couldn't find anything  initially on how the town got it's peculiar name. I did end up finding out there are all sorts of weird things about the town, including an occult group who seems to think the town is tied to ancient Egypt and the Pyramids, because the town supposedly is double the height of them, and the churches are set up something like the Orion constellation. It gave me a chuckle.

After our break, we made our way heading up stream along the river. We walked down the upstream side of the trestle abutment, down the steps of the edge and onto another section of berm along the river. Both sides appeared to have flood control berms at this point.

D&H trestle in Olyphant PA

Along Lackawanna River, Olyphant PA

Along Lackawanna River, Olyphant PA

Along Lackawanna River, Olyphant PA

Grenada Theatre, Olyphant PA

The top of the berm was grassy at first, and it didn't look like we'd be able to continue on it, but as we approached the next building it was evident we could continue. the surface of the berm became gravel and we continued on around the outside of an old industry. We walked through a narrow area near a dramatic bend in the Lackawanna River, and then skirted the side of the industry, which was full of boarded windows with a chain link fence along our right. We then passed an historic looking theatre building with "Grenada" painted along it's rear side. We then came out to Rt 347 again. We came down from the berm and crossed the street. There was a set of railroad rails in the street and a large box, which at first I could not figure out the intention of. After looking for a bit, I realized it was flood control. When the water was high, they could move this rail device across the road to complete the berm. The berm would be inefficient if they could not cut off where it would flow across the road. It was quite an interesting idea.

Statue of a miner, Olyphant PA

Statue of a miner, Olyphant PA

Statue of a miner, Olyphant PA

On the opposite side from the flood control device, there was a strange stature of a miner atop the far berm wall. Jillane stood beside him. He appeared to be the correct height, but his proportions seemed somehow screwed up. He had an enourmous mustache, and his head and arms seemed too large or something, while his body was normal height. Beyond the statue, the berm had "no trespassing" signs on it. There were homes adjacent to the berm, and the berm was apparently owned by each adjacent landowner or something, so we opted instead to cross the bridge.

Statue of a miner, Olyphant PA

Woods road near Lackawanna River

O&W or NYS&W rail bed near Olyphant

NYS&W Railroad bed, Blakely PA

On the other side, there was an island in the road with a giant anchor sitting in it. Apparently this was a warm memorial from a ship someone served on in more recent years. We had initially thought it was some sort of  hoist from a coal mine, because an anchor seemed like it would be so out of place here.

We turned right on Main Street and watched side streets to see if we could find a way in to the other railroad beds. The O&W and the NYS&W were both directly beside the Lackawanna River after crossing the bridge. No sign of them remained here though, with a business on the right and a Rite Aid on the left. When we reached Novitsky Ct, we turned right and were able to access the rail beds for a bit. We followed them north, and took a side trip up a woods road to see if we could walk more closely to the river, but there was a stream coming in that blocked our path. This stream flowed orange from the sulfur contamination from the coal mines.

We made our way back to the rail bed and followed that for some time. It was obscure, but somewhere here the O&W had a junction and turned off to the right to stay along the Lackawanna River. We were continuing on the NYS&W for a bit. We followed it as far as we could and then cut through a business to our left. We then came back down Pennsylvania Ave to the right to try to regain the O&W line, but there was no such luck for a bit.

We followed Pennsylvania Ave to Railroad Ave, and continued out to Willow Street where we turned right.

Stream in Blakely PA

Willow headed off to the right and soon crossed over a small stream. This stream was completely held in by a concrete diversion route. It reminded me of all of the rivers out in the Las Angeles area of California. We crossed on an angle and continued out to a corner parking lot for Mellow Park, which actually takes it's name from a Senator.

Trail along Lackawanna River in Mellow Park

Along Lackawanna River, Mellow Park

View of mountains beyond Mellow Park

We stopped for a break at a very nice area along the Lackawanna River with picnic benches. I was perturbed because there was a nice foot bridge across the river here with a trail on the opposite side. We could have skipped quite a long road walk had we known of it's existence. Jillane ate a salad she hadn't finished from dinner the night before and we had a nice rest.

When we moved on, we entered Mellow Park on a paved pathway that read that bicycles and roller skates were not allowed. We laughed at this since it was really perfect for such things. We didn't know it at the time, but the paved path was probably the old O&W railroad bed. We turned off of it to walk the quarry stone path along the river below. We had another laugh when I guy came riding by on the bike, poking fun at his civil disobedience.

Trail, former O&W Railroad in Mellow Park

The quarry stone path along the river soon led back up to the paved path/former railroad bed. We tried to trace the route the rails would have taken I suppose out across the community library property and then to Rt 247 and turned right.

O&W rail trail, Peckville PA

We continued out to Depot Street, past what appeared to be an old railroad building, and then across onto the next official section of rail trail. This section was well signes as the former O&W railroad, and there were cyclists going by following it. The trail was quite nice, and possibly overdone with both garbage and recycling cans at each road crossing, and with resurfacing and widening. One could tell vehicles were regularly brought down it for maintenance.

Lackawanna River from O&W rail trail north of Peckville

We walked through a section of woods, and then the trail began to run closely parallel with the edge of Main Street for a bit. I was hoping it wouldn't last long like that, and it didn't. It soon turned away from the road and had some nice views of the Lackawanna River.

Beaver dam on a tributary to the Lackawanna River

O&W rail tral

Lackawanna River from an outcrop along the rail trail

The trail turned away from the original rail bed apparently for a brief time because there was a sewage plant or something to the left of us. We skirted a giant beaver dam to the right of the trail, which spilled off into the main Lackawanna River, and then headed through a section of woods. The trail again diverged from the rail bed when people's back yards had encroached upon the right of way, so the trail dipped down closer to the Lackawanna River for a bit.

There was a side path that went off to the right of the trail, so we checked it out, and found that it led to a great rock outcropping with views up and down the Lackawanna River. We took a nice break here sitting on the rocks before continuing on.

Rock outcrop along the Lackawanna River

Next, we passed by an industrial site, and above us were some large old trestle abutments. We weren't sure at the time what rail line they were for, but I found out later that it was part of the Erie Railroad, not just a spur line passing through. This was a significant through route, and we would be on it again a bit later.

We continued ahead on the old railroad bed until we reached Winton Road. Here, the official trail section ended. We didn't know if we could get through ahead or not, but we would try. I had found maps of proposed trail sections on the computer in our hotel, and I think this section was noted as "under study" or something.

We crossed Winton Road and continued on Railroad Street which pretty much was along side the old rail bed anyway. We went through a neighborhood, and a roadway descended to an open field, but signs warned against trespassing, and went as far as to say "stay alive, keep out".

We kept to the left on the road until it ended. I thought I could see the old rail bed below the road to the right.

Old Erie Railroad bridge north of Peckville PA

Where the road ended, a cinder road continued up hill and slightly to the left. We followed that up hill because there weren't the foreboding signs we saw earlier. The road led up into a field area and sort of disappeared. We then walked across toward the middle directly.

Disturbed old mining area near Archbald PA

At the top of the open area, there were great views to the right of us, across Lackawanna River of a huge industry, and there were large warehouse buildings we could see as being small from the distance near our  hotel room, but were now very close.

View near an old mining area, Archbald PA

We could also see up the river a bit toward the next town, Archbald. I had wanted to make it further north to visit Archbald Pothole State Park, but we wouldn't get that far this time. We continued across the field further, and I wanted to get back down to the rail bed which looked like it would be clear. There were lots of trees that had apparently been bulldozed into piles blocking us from descending except for where there were openings.

View across Lackawanna Valley near Archbald PA

I started heading down hill along the edge of the field, but Jillane went to have a look further on into the woods. We were now pretty high up above the creek, and could see why she wouldn't want to descend all the way back down to where we started. She saw ahead of us what might have been something abandoned, so we followed a path off of the open area into the woods to check it out.

Walking through a former coal mine field just south of Archbald PA

It turned out to actually be an active operation with some equipment and at least two vehicles that appeared to be in good use, so we turned back into the woods near the field. We talked over which direction we'd like to take, and I looked at my GPS. The area had a really nice seasonal view upstream on the Lackawanna River. When I got signal, I found that there was a ball field in very close proximity to our location, so we began heading up toward it.

Seasonal view from the hillside near Archbald PA

The rocks we were climbing were very peculiar looking. They were not the shale or coal looking stuff. These were much harder rocks with ripples in them from who knows what. We made our way up over the rock formations and came out into a large parking lot. To the left of us was the ball field, slightly higher up from us, to to the right behind chain link fences was the industrial area we had seen from just before.

Climbing rocks near Archbald PA

There was also another terrific view of the lower part of Archbald PA and the Lackawanna River Valley. We turned left through the parking lot heading northwest. We soon came to Harrison Street, the main access to the park and began following it.

View of Archbald PA from the south

Maintenance area for Archbald's municipality

We followed Harrison Street which began to head down hill. We passed part of the chain link fenced area with large storage buildings, and then made our way out to Main Street in Archbald. The main part of town was further down hill to the right, but we turned left and headed sort of west.

We soon came to Kennedy Drive where there was a mini mart at a gas station on the corner. I was getting a bit hungry, despite the fact that we'd eaten so much on this weekend. They had some good chocolate milk, so I think I had one of those, and Jillane noticed there was a pizza place beyond in a strip mall just up Kennedy, so we headed there. We noticed on the way there was a Quinn's supermarket, and we'd wished we had stopped there rather than the gas station to get more drinks.

We went over to the pizza place, and I got three slices which weren't that great. They reminded me of Elio's boxed frozen pizzas. It was alright, but nothing like pizza back home. I felt totally stuffed after only this little bit, and wished I hadn't eaten pizza.

Power line in Archbald PA area

We headed up Kennedy Drive for a bit until we came to a power line right of way. We turned left on the right of way, which took us down hill with a nice view in the distance.

Power line west of Archbald

Old coal mine area, Eynon PA

As we descended the power line, a guy was working in his back yard. I greeted him in a friendly day, commenting on the nice weather. He agreed in a similar fashion. I went on to say, "great view you have back here", to which he replied. "Yeah. Nice and private". He was apparently taking a jab at me for being there, basically saying it was private land, which we pretty much knew. In our defense, it was not posted as such.

We headed down hill, and Jillane spotted what appeared to be an old coal mine off to the right. We wandered into the woods and had to cross a deeply eroded wash area, then made our way toward the opening. It was right below new homes to the left, but appeared to be an old mine. The area certainly was a mined area, as it was full of rail beds and cinder dirt.

Coal mine area in Eynon PA

The ATV path along the power line opened up into a wide area full of cinder dirt. We made our way across it with new houses above us to the north. The development to the north of us was part of the village of Eynon. We continued across the open area to a berm ahead. I knew it must have been a railroad bed. Later I would find out that this was the probably branch of the O&W that headed north through Eynon, that had broken off of the line along the river back near the Erie Railroad trestle site we passed under. We got up on the fill and had a nice view back in the direction we had come from.

Power line, Eynon PA

To the north of us, we could see the railroad bed went right into people's back yards. We of course were not going to follow that route as it was not where we were going. To the south, it was much clearer, and appeared to now have a sanitary sewer running beneath it. We turned left and headed into a line of trees on the rail bed. There was a huge mount of excavated earth to the left of the rail bed, and a big clear area to the right.

Along former O&W railroad branch south of Eynon. View north.

I soon saw on my GPS that this grade was not taking us where we wanted to go, so we would have to turn off on an ATV trail to the right. Jillane found a nice shovel there in a cleared spot and pretended to be a miner shoveling coal for some pictures. We left the shovel on the rail bed and descended into the open field.

Along former O&W railroad branch south of Eynon. View south.

Open field near Eynon PA

We crossed the field, and then made a left turn where an ATV path headed south a little bit. This might have been a short railroad spur, or a Wye off of the former Erie Railroad. We soon came to the right of way of the NYS&W. This track was the same line we were following earlier in the area of Blakely from Olyphant, and the Erie Railroad had trackage rights over it, so it went to the former trestle site we had passed under between Peckville and Archbald.

Former NYS&W Railroad nearing Peckville

View of the sunset from Virginia Ave, Peckville

Sunset from Virginia Ave, Peckville

We turned right onto the old railroad bed, which was totally clear and kept open by ATVs. In fact, there were a lot of ATVs out in the open fields we were walking in, but they kept quite a distance from us. This section of rail bed reminded me of the majority of rail beds I've walked, and it was quite nice, while still being different and exciting.

The rail bed came out of the woods area and onto a dead end road. The road led to the right to a horse farm, and to the left became paved. It seemed as though a horse track had been built over the right of way ahead, so we turned left and up a gravel drive that connected with Hill Street. We turned left, and this became a very narrow road known as Reserves Alley, which paralleled the rail bed from above.

View of Peckville from Virginia Ave

Reserves Alley came out to Union Street, and we turned right, heading up hill slightly. There was the stream here that was kept in a concrete flume which we had crossed earlier, right along where the railroad should have been. After crossing this, we turned left on Grove Street to parallel it. Grove Street took us out to Virginia Ave where there was a nice view of the sun beginning to set. I couldn't get my camera to take a good shot for the life of me.

Abutment along former NYS&W line, Peckville

We followed Virginia Avenue below Prospect Hill Cemetery, and then continued with the concrete laden stream below us to the left. When Virginia Ave turned away from it to the right, we descended down to the creek on a narrow path. There were occasional bridges that went across the creek, but some of them were locked off. Virginia Ave was built on or along the railroad bed, so we were now below the shelf of the old line. We continued along the stream and passed a stone abutment, probably that was part of a coal trestle. At first, I thought this line would have gone off to the left, and that the fill was plowed away, but I could see later that the fill to our right was indeed the rail line and this must have been an interchange site.

Concrete path of a stream, Peckville

We walked along the stream further, as the railroad fill turned away to the right of us. It was fine, because we now wanted to get south. It was getting darker fast. We came to another bridge over the stream, this one with barricades on our side, but the kind we could just walk around. We crossed the bridge, and fantasized about walking down the concrete stream, but that might be tough and some sections had deeper water.

Stream in Peckville

The bridge spat us out on Rose Street, which we followed to Keystone Ave and then turned left. The next road we came to was Gravity Road. Now, after looking at the map, it's obvious that this road goes right back to the railroad bed, and probably lines right up with that trestle. Could this have been a gravity tram way from the rail line down to the O&W line, or to the Lackawanna River? It seems to make sense now what it would have been, and would explain why there would not have been a second abutment.

Gravity Road, Peckville PA

We followed Gravity Road to the right, which took us out to Main Street in Peckville, at the Valley View Elementary Center, a school which had signs forbidding cycling and roller blading the same as nearby Mellow Park. My plan was to walk across the elementary school grounds back to Mellow Park to cover that missing piece of trail from earlier, but there was no way to get past the chain link fences all around all the fields.

Sunset in Peckville PA

The sun was setting beautifully, and we wouldn't be able to see much longer. There was no way to get around any of the stupid fences behind the school, so we made our way back out to the Main Street and turned left. We then turned left again on Riverside Drive which closely paralleled the same stream in the concrete impoundment we were following earlier.

We walked out onto the foot bridge over the Lackawanna River to enjoy some of the last moments of day light. The river was beautiful here, and it was one of the spots where it wasn't always evident we were in an urbanized area.

Sunset, Peckville PA

Sunset in Peckville PA

Sunset, Peckville PA

Mellow Park at dusk

Sunset sky at Mellow Park

Sunset sky at Mellow Park

Sunset sky at Mellow Park

Sunset sky at Mellow Park

Lackawanna from the foot bridge at Mellow Park

The stream turned away to the right, and it looked really cool with the sun setting and reflecting on the limited amounts of water flowing through it.

We followed Riverside Drive down to the same parking lot we were already in earlier for Mellow Park. I believe it said the park closed at ten pm. It was probably only about 5:30, and there were people in the park all over the place. We took another rest on the benches we had stopped at earlier. The sun was setting beautifully through the trees and causing the clouds overhead to turn a bright mauve color.

There was some sort of history thing on the bridge, that it was actually older and that it had recently been redecked. It looked like one of those new prefab bridges, but apparently it might have already been over fifty years old, which surprised me.

Sunset sky at Mellow Park

Foot bridge at Mellow Park

Foot bridge at Mellow Park

Foot bridge at Mellow Park

Sunset near Olyphant PA

Sunset from Mellow Park on the Lackawanna River

Sunset in Blakesly Pa

We crossed the bridge and then turned right following the trail on the other side. It was actually really nice. The path was wide and had a crushed stone surfacing some of the time. Even though it was getting dark, we could still see pretty well. The path took us through mainly woods, and for a time the only houses we could see were over across the river. The trail soon became the top of the flood protection berm, and there was a side trail that led off to the left. We continued on the berm which I believe went through a stand of White Birch. The area was still pretty secluded, and we saw a couple kids riding bikes, but that was it.

The trail soon skirted several blocks of the town of Olyphant, but we were able to stay on the berm for a time. When we reached an access point at Jackson Street, we walked ahead and saw a sign similar to what we'd seen in downtown Olyphant earlier, forbidding trespass upon the berm through this section where it was private. There was a path leading down by the creek, but it looked like it turned into a rubble rock wall, so we wouldn't want to follow that. Jillane wanted to go through anyway, but I didn't want to have any problems, so we walked Jackson Ave to Willow Ave and turned right. We turned right on Grant, left on Susquehanna and emerged on Rt 347 in the middle of town near where we were earlier. From here we had the choice of going left to walk the tracks, or right to Main Street to keep in the light. We opted for the right to Main Street where we turned left.

Night view from Throop Rd, Dickson City, Pa

Night view from Throop Rd, Dickson City, Pa

Night view in Dickson City

Night view from Throop Rd, Dickson City, Pa

Once we were on Main Street, we again had the choice of either staying on that or taking the more direct but smaller side streets. We opted for the side streets, and so turned right onto Sunset Drive. As we walked the road, four hoodlum looking kids walked a short distance ahead of us. We didn't get too close to them, and kept back a bit. We turned left on Shady Lane and paralleled a ball field. The kids turned right here, and we continued on Hamilton Street, then left on  Mary Street, then across Dundaff Street heading up hill across a parking lot to Link Street. We could have walked through on Hamilton, which was marked dead end, but we went around because I didn't think we'd get through.

We turned right on Scott Road which headed steeply up hill with very little of a shoulder to walk on. It was bad with cars coming by fast. We then turned left onto  Union Street steeply up to Throop Street and turned left.

We followed Throop Street to a terrific spot with a view out toward Scranton and Wilkes Barre, and in the other direction toward Olyphant. We sat here for a nice rest and enjoyed the night view. Directly in front of us was the giant mound of coal we had seen earlier in the day a short distance away on Pine Street.

View toward Olyphant from Throop Rd, Dickson City Pa

Night view from Throop Rd, Dickson City, Pa

After our break, we walked Throop Street further on and turned the right onto Pine Street. We followed it up hill to the St. Anthony's Cemetery again. The houses on the way were barely lit, as everyone must have been getting to bed. We cut directly up through the cemetery, and past the giant cross that was at the top.

St. Anthony's Cemetery

At the very top of the cemetery, the left turn along their border led us right back to the path leading to the Holiday Inn, who's top we could already see from down in the cemetery.

While the level of excitement was pale in comparison with many of our other trips, it was still a nice hike, and it was pretty relaxing which was probably more of what I needed anyway.

Jillane hiking up hill through St. Anthony's Cemetery.

I just realized that our first solo hiking weekend together was in St. Anthony's Wilderness, and this time we began and ended at St. Anthony's Cemetery. I don't know that it means anything, but thought I'd share that.