Hike #1242; Phillipsburg to Bethlehem
8/3/19 Lower Lehigh Canal; Phillipsburg to Bethlehem with Jim "Uncle Soup" Campbell,
This next hike would be a point to point I’d done a great many times. It’s probably the hike I’ve done the most aside from the original Warren Railroad anniversary hike.
Lehigh Canal towpath along the river
The reason for this is that it’s just such a perfect Summer hike. There is all of the stuff that I usually like about the hikes...the history, the social aspect, the beautiful landscape, but then also plenty of opportunities for swimming.
Yummy
We met to the north of Bethlehem at the large parking lot at the Lowes Home Improvement Center. It’s not all that far from where I used to meet for the hikes at the Martin Tower. Sadly, that structure had just been demolished a couple of months earlier, so that lot is no longer an option, and the one that is supposed to be an option is to the north of Rt 22, so I didn’t want to do that.
We shuttled from this point to Phillipsburg at Union Square where my brother Tea Biscuit was supposed to meet with us. He apparently got there before us, but then we missed him.
Functional Lehigh Canal Abbots Street Lock
We went into Free Bridge Wine and Spirits to get some drinks and then moved on. We walked across the Northampton Street Free Bridge, and then cut to the right down to along the river on the paved path. That path takes us back up into the park at the forks of the Lehigh and the Delaware with good views over the dam and beyond.
Lehigh Canal in Hugh Moore Park
In this area, I stopped and removed my shoes somewhere. I had done this hike before barefoot the entire way, and it had been quite a while since I’d attempted to do any considerable distance barefoot. I figured this would be a good opportunity to try it out again.
As we headed up through the park toward the Rt 611 bridge over the Lehigh, Tea Biscuit pulled up with Amanda and his dog Waffles. He was about to get out, but then the light was changing, and they were struggling with something, so they pulled ahead and he was dropped off a little further up.
Former Jersey Central line across from Glendon
We turned and crossed the bridge on Rt 611, and then headed to the left on 611 south for just a bit, until the fence blocking us from getting down to the old Lehigh Canal towpath was gone.
From the forks of the Delaware and Lehigh, where the sixty mile long Delaware Division Pennsylvania Canal starts, the first bit of the Lehigh Canal was slack water navigation behind the dam, with the towpath built beside the river. This restored route is quite a pretty place to walk.
I followed it for a bit, and thought to jump in the river, but it was looking scuzzy there.
Rope swing
We continued along, and the wall to the left of us retained the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. In the area of the old station, just above us after passing beneath Rt 611, was the original site of Lehigh Canal Lock #49, which was the original outlet lock for the canal.
Rope swingin
Lock #49 had a lift of 5.7 feet.
We continued along further, where slack water navigation replaced the earlier locks, until we came to the newer unnumbered Outlet Lock, with an old vault or toll house to the right.
To the left of us, under the Lehigh Valley Railroad fill, close to where it’s Easton and Northern line passes over by way of a handsome deck truss bridge, was the original location of Lock #48, which lifted boats 8.1 feet. When this and Lock 49 were covered over by the Lehigh Valley Railroad, the currently visible Outlet Lock, which had a lift of 13.8 feet, was built to replace them.
Rope swinging
The current outlet lock was rebuilt in canal days back in 1910, and then rebuilt and restored in 1977. Just upstream from this is the also restored Lock #47.
Rope Swinging
Lock 47 was also known as Abbon Street Lock. This one was a rare example of a double like, side by side for opposing traffic. This is uncommon on the Lehigh Navigation, while it was standard on some canals such as the Erie.
Lock 47 had a lift of 8.6 feet. The foundation of the lock house is adjacent to the lock area.
We turned from the lock onto the paved section of path which goes through the woods below the canal, and passes by the ruins of Glendon Ironworks and other old industrial stuff. The canal through this area was once a bustling place of a lot of activity.
Rope Swinging
In this tight area, the Glendon Furnace, Keystone Furnace, Lucy Furnace, and South Easton Furnace all operated during the 1800s. It’s amazing how different it is today.
We continued along the paved path, which eventually weaved back up to the canal, and then weaved back down through Hugh Moore Park near the picnic grounds.
When we reached the Old Glendon Bridge, the trail crosses over to the right, over the Lehigh and then turns left on the other side to follow the former Central Railroad of New Jersey.
Rope Swinging
Tea Biscuit mentioned that the old Glendon Hotel was scheduled to be torn down, and it was just across the river from the old Glendon Bridge in the opposite direction. I kind of wanted to see it, but I also wanted to continue. Tea Biscuit, Lerch, and Justin all went out to check the place out before it’s destroyed.
This building dates back to the early 1700s where it served as a fortification, and apparently had holes through the walls for rifles to fend off attacks by Native Americans.
I still need to get over there to have a look at it before it’s gone, and I kind of wish I went this time. Tea Biscuit gave Waffles’ leash to John, who walked him for a while ahead.
Rope Swinging
Tea Biscuit exclaimed “Anybody want a dog?” at which point John took the leash.
Some little kid walking with friends and family there when we walked by said “Did that guy just GIVE you a dog??” and John played along saying “Yeah!”.
The kid was shocked, and I’m sure will go home and tell all of his friends about it. John then went on to talk about his cats and how he’d just inherited another one.
We continued on the old Jersey Central right of way, passed beneath the new Glendon Bridge, and then entered Riverview Park. We passed by a pavilion full of people, and then continued on along the path heading to the west on the rail bed.
Swingin
Once we were a bit away from the open areas, I stopped to get a drink, and Tea Biscuit called me.
Waffles was having trouble walking at this point. He’s usually pretty good about keeping moving, but he must have been really tired or something.
We held back at this point for a bit and waited for the others to catch up after their adventure.
We continued on, and passed beneath the stone culvert that was once a trolley underpass adjacent to the Chain Dam. I pointed out where the original dam used to be, just up stream from the current one with it’s fish ladder.
Splash down
The original dam was known as Chain Dam as well as Dam #8, which served Guard Lock #8 across the river.
Originally, canal boats were chain ferried across the river at this point, and a towpath was on the north side for slack water navigation. In later years, the canal was routed up along the slack water on the other side, and a towpath bridge brought mules across to Island Park, a little amusement park the canal passed by at the island. There was then a causeway that brought mules across from the island to the north side, which apparently only has some crib work remaining. We continued to follow the railroad bed to the west.
Rope Swinging
Along the way, we passed the junction with the CNJ branch line that went gradually up to connect with the Easton and Northern in Wilson, and just beyond that came to the parking area for the boat launch before the Rt 33 overpass.
We went down to the left and I was going to jump in the river at the boat launch, but there a guy fishing from it, so I didn’t want to disturb him.
We then got on the towpath, as it crossed back over at this point, and followed it into the woods.
The section here is unpaved, and much easier walking at times, but other times rough gravel.
Glendon Ironworks historic image along the canal
In the section between the boat launch and Riverview Park, we were joined by Jason and Megan Itell, who had already done some running earlier in the day, but would finsih with us.
Swinging
They had been planning to do the entire hike, but ran behind getting to the meeting point.
Jason had done this hike with me a few times before, including one very memorable night over a decade ago where we sneaked into a Moody Blues concert at the end.
This one was intended to be a sort of repeat of that, hiking into Musikfest.
Just after the launch, we all stopped for a break at the first really good rope swing. This one is pretty high and you can get good air from it because of a wooden platform. When we had done this years ago, we were going off with a bottle of cooking sherry, which I needed to get rid of.
swingin
This time, I had better stuff than that certainly.
We spent a good long while here going off of the swing, and a whole lot of kids showed up to swim as well. If they had gotten there before us, I might not have stayed, but the mob wasn’t there when we arrived.
We hung out here for a while before moving on, and Lerch was still swinging off the rope even when the rest of us had packed up and were walking. No matter, he was caught back up in no time anyway.
Swingin
We continued ahead to where the canal started again along the river edge, heading toward the next lock. We then came to the Bethlehem boating club access road.
Splash down
This was the site of a change bridge where the towpath crossed and switched to the other side of the canal. This was also Lock #46, also known as Hope Lock.
The site once had a stable and a general store on the berm side. The original lock house was located where the railroad bed is located now, and it’s replacement stands on the other side of the rail bed along the access road. I had been around this house in the past before, but didn’t realize that it was the replacement lock house until much time later.
Uncle Soup samples Four Loco
We continued ahead on the towpath, and I immediately had to stop because of some new gravel on it. I could walk it, but I was not keeping up with everyone trying to pass along the trail with no shoes. I stopped and slipped them on, and then kept up with much less issue moving ahead.
There was a good long stretch of pleasant towpath from here, and eventually we came to Lock #45, also known as Republic Lock.
The lock house ruins are still there, but they deteriorate a lot every time I see them. What used to be an intact window is now separated from the rest of the structure.
The group
Only a section of the wall at the corner that is held up by cement and a section of the river side wall is still standing. Even worse, the two sections appear to be leaning toward one another. I have a feeling the next time I make it back to the site, it will have collapsed.
Republic Lock
This lock had a lift of 5.7 feet.
We moved on ahead from this point, through another lovely section where there’s pretty much nothing.
I always say that this section from Hope Lock to Freemansburg, is much like the Lehigh Gorge in the way that it feels completely secluded, with nothing much visible on either side of the river, even though we’re pretty much surrounded by development. The illusion of complete seclusion on this section is just delightful.
We soon came to our next swim spot, a tree with a ladder on it at a deep pool of water.
Republic Lock House ruin
This is a great spot to go up the remnant of a tree and jump off into the water. We spent a little while here jumping and cooling off again, though not everyone was into going back in.
Republic Lock
We made our way from this point on through more pleasant woods until emerging at Lock #44 in Freemansburg.
This lock had a lift of 8.6 feet. The lock house and the bypass flume for the lock are all intact here, and it’s a beautiful little historic site.
We continued along the towpath here, and pretty soon an earthen dam in the canal keeps it watered up stream.
I mentioned to everyone that this particular section of the canal was considered to be so authentic, that it was included as a representation of the Erie Canal in the Henry Fonda movie “The Farmer Takes a Wife”.
Republic Lock
The 1935 film found the still serviceable Lehigh Canal just as it was abandoned, which made it ideal for use in the film. The section of canal is still pretty authentic to this day.
We continued walking from here in the dark to the next foot bridge, where Uncle Soup had left his car.
This is one of the first times ever that Uncle Soup had cut out on a hike, but he had good excuse.
He had done our entire hike on Saturday, and then climbed high peaks in the Adirondacks or something the very next day. He’d been out a lot and didn’t want to knock himself out, so he gave himself reprieve.
Republic Lock and lock house ruin
We soon passed beneath the bridge over the canal and the river for Main Street out of Freemansburg, and the section ahead went to being pretty secluded again. The entire next section was full of water, but not as well maintained as the stuff through Freemansburg.
I was trying to figure out what to do when we got to town. Commando Tom was trying to get me to go to a bar on the north side, and Steve Miller Band was playing on the south side at the Steel Stacks.
I hadn’t seen Tom in a while, so I figured we would go and try to see him.
As we walked, the steel stacks came into view through the trees to the left, and then the music became audible as Steve Miller Band took the stage.
We could hear them playing very clearly. I remember hearing “Rockin Me” as well as “Swingtown” while we walked by.
We passed under the Minsi Trail Bridge; it was tempting to try to go over to see. We passed Lock #43 which lifted boats 7.9 feet, and then continued on along the towpath after the foot bridge that led to Sand Island Park and reached Lock #42.
This lock had a lift of 8.2 feet and is immediately adjacent to the Monocacy Creek Aqueduct. The original aqueduct is long gone, but there is a wooden flume that goes out over the creek from here.
I don’t recall if I got on the lock for a swim this time or not, but I usually do when we get there.
We crossed the foot bridge over the lock and went up onto the former tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. A left turn on the abandoned tracks leads across the old bridge over the Monocacy Creek, and then out to the station, which has now been repurposed as a restaurant and venue.
Steel stacks
Someone told us we couldn’t be there I recall, and we walked down to the street level where there was a rail yard, between the passenger station as well as the former freight station. There were still some rails visible coming up through the pavement.
We hung out here for just a bit and talked about what we were doing.
Tom said the bar they were at was closing, and so I figured we might meet up with him somewhere else, and we started walking to the north a little bit.
Tea Biscuit had cut out somewhere in here, but I don’t remember quite where.
CNJ station
Jason and Megan eventually headed out as well. I don’t recall if we watched any acts or anything at this point, but I think we did hang out for a little bit this time.
Rails!
I don’t recall where everyone got to, but I think it was just John and I that finished the hike the way I had intended to.
We walked up along the Monocacy Creek, through the festival, and I think we went right up the main street.
I think when we got to Union Boulevard, we turned left and crossed the Monocacy Creek, then turned to the right on the trail known as Monocacy Way. We followed that from there up along the creek, and then turned to the left after the Burnside Plantation on Schoenersville Road, and then turned left.
Then again, I could be wrong. I was really knocked out by this point.
CNJ Station
I really can’t remember quite well. It could be that we followed more streets to the north at this point. I was ready to fall asleep by this point I think.
Anyway, when we got back, I got a ride back to my car in Phillipsburg, either by Justin or John, I can’t quite remember which!
HAM
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