Hike #1274; North Easton Loop
11/20/19 North Easton Loop with Justin Gurbisz, Shane Blische, Sue Bennett, Celeste Fondaco Martin, Dan Asnis, and Ken Zaruni
This next hike would be a long loop around the Easton PA area again, parking once again at the Phillipsburg boat launch adjacent to Union Square.
The Northampton St. Free Bridge
After the time changes, and hunting in most of the public grounds starts up, I usually come back to doing my night hikes in Easton PA area more often.
I don’t want to get shot, and I’m sure most other people don’t either. Besides, the Easton area is really fantastic for doing night hikes. Everyone is always happy to be back there doing stuff.
This time, I figured out another loop that would include some of the stuff we’d done before, as well as a few spots we hadn’t. It was a good way to go about checking things out we had already seen, because there are always changes happening.
Rt 22 bridge
We met in the big boat launch lot like we usually do. They tried charging for parking there, and for a while I wasn't meeting for hikes there, but that changed back and so I’m doing it again.
From that point, we simply walk across the old Northampton Street Free Bridge, which replaced the original covered bridge that spanned this location after the Pumpkin Flood of 1903.
When we got to the other side, we walked to the right and down the steps into the park along the edge of the river with nice views. We continued to the north a little bit, into Columbus Park.
My then and now
We climbed back up the steps and passed the outdoor amphitheater. then came out to Rt 611. We passed beneath the Rt 22 bridge, which was originally built as Bushkill Street Bridge.
Row houses below College Hill
We continued along Rt 611 north from here, which is something I had never done before on one of the hikes. We always take to the back streets or go to Lafayette College, but I wanted to check out the river views, and I had found some cool stuff that I wanted to include just ahead.
When Jillane and I were riding down 611 a little while back, she noticed a giant stone laid sluice on the right side.
We turned around and went back to check the thing out, which was quite interesting. It was very steep and went all the way up hill to connect with Paxinosa Avenue.
A building along the Delaware
I climbed to the top of it then, which was very steep, but not all that difficult.
Across the street from this same place was the former site of the Easton canoe club or something, and adjacent to that I am told was “Old Eddyside”, which was a community park and swimming beach along the Delaware River that must have been wiped out in the Flood of ‘55.
There’s no way into the thing, but it looks really cool. I’ve also been told it served as some sort of water works for a while. I knew I had to include this in on a hike, so no time like the first Easton one of the season.
FISH!
We continued up along 611 until we got to the ruins to the right. We walked down what was once a driveway access and could see a little bit of a wing dam or something in the Delaware. I noticed also that there was a drainage culvert across the river. At first I thought it was the one we had gone through so many times, but this one appeared to be in a different location. Something we’ll have to check back on.
There was a large concrete building to the left. The roof appeared to be a flat tar material I didn’t want to stand on for too long, but the bottom area was pretty safe.
There was a door into the main section, but it was blocked off. There were rounded concrete steps that led down to an area of a steep wall down to the Delaware River.
A little further up stream were more ruins, some of the masonry and much older obviously than the concrete toppings that had been put on them.
The Delaware
Whatever was most recently at this site, it certainly was not the first thing to occupy it. There was probably something of ruins that had been built upon for the last incarnation.
There were steep steps leading directly down into the river near the end of these ruins as well.
We got our group shot on the rounded steps here, and then took to a set of steps that led back up to Rt 611 above.
It was at this point I planned to split the group ahead of time. I knew some would not want to climb up the old stone sluice, so I came up with an alternate route.
A view of the Delaware
Celeste, Sue, Dan, and Benny stayed on 611 a little bit further, and then turned left on Park Street. I instructed them to then turn left into Nevin Park, follow that to the end, and continue just a little bit further to the intersection with Paxinosa Avenue.
The old canoe club area
They headed out, and I climbed over the stone guide rail onto the metal grating that keeps people from going down the drain toward the Delaware.
People have told me “you should see what’s in there” referring to the grating. I think I could pull it back enough to crawl inside, but I haven’t tried that yet. One of these days also.
I started climbing up the old stone work, which was supposedly built in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project. It was covered in leaves, so I had to sweet them off with my hands before climbing as to be sure I’d have grip.
Ruins along the Canoe Club area
The sluice splits in two directions, and I chose to take the route to the left. To the right seems to go over toward more private land anyway.
After the split, it got to be quite a bit easier. We made our way slowly to the top, and there was an opening in the stone wall along the edge, which must have been some sort of cliff side pedestrian route. Otherwise, maybe it was part of the Lafayette College campus. I’m not sure. We exited the sluice area, and then turned right on Paxinosa Avenue.
Steps at the old canoe club
There was a large turret type of thing on the corner of a private homes wall to the right that was interesting looking.
Paxinosa Ave headed up hill a bit, and I was surprised not to see the ladies there a little sooner.
We continued to the intersection with Wayne Avenue, where Paxinosa turns slightly right and then left to continue up hill.
We waited there for them to show up, since there were two ways to reach this spot, and I wanted to be sure we got them at one or the other.
Once they had caught up, we continued up Paxinosa Ave only one more block to Parker.
The group at the ruins
We turned right on Parker Avenue and followed that a couple of blocks. I think this road section was once the route of the old trolley line we would be following.
Stone sluice
We reached the intersection with Shawnee Avenue and continued gradually up hill.
Shortly, Woodland Ave continued straight following the old trolley right of way. This is a dead end, so we couldn’t follow that through. Someone’s private home blocks us from continuing direct on the trolley bed.
We continued up Shawnee a little bit further to a point where the last house was past us below, and there is a beat up old set of steps that led back down to the trolley bed. I usually climb up these from the other direction, but this time we had to go down them which was the toughest thing we had to do on this hike.
The wall behind the steps looks like it’s collapsing pretty badly, but it was sturdy enough to get through. We took some time to get down it, and then had to carefully walk down the remainder of the hill on the very slippery fallen leaves in order to reach the trolley right of way.
The stone sluice
Another interesting thing we noted on this hike was that all along the edge of College Hill, there were tons of leaves on the trees. Most everywhere else we go, the trees at this point have been bare because we’ve had some serious winds. At this point though, some of them were reddened but still completely holding on to the trees.
We turned left on the trolley bed to head gradually up the flank of Weygadt Mountain.
This is a really pleasant route to follow. It goes by one person’s house which has clearing to the trolley bed, but apart from that it’s much secluded.
We passed by St. Anthony’s Nose, the rock formation off to the right, but it was not safe enough to venture down to it this time.
I watched to the right, and could see the now well lit new Phillipsburg High School across on Marble Hill. I’ll have to do another night hike over there in the near future as well.
stone sluice
We paused when we got to the power line crossing getting closer to the top.
I had never been to this spot when it was this dark before, but there was a fantastic view down the Delaware River and into Phillipsburg. The available light shone on the river to delineate it’s path toward us, which was quite a beautiful scene.
We continued heading up hill from here, and reached where the trolley bed makes a hairpin turn to weave up around where the Paxinosa Inn used to stand. There is a rocky outcrop with a great view off to the right from here, and we tried to walk over to it.
It was rocky and much more dangerous than I’d remembered it being, because I had never been there in the dark, but I managed to get to the main rock. The drop to the right particularly was really bad, and if I’d fallen it would mean death. I was pretty quickly ready to turn back and get to the safety of the trolley bed.
The stone sluice
The trail follows the trolley bed directly below where the Paxinosa Inn stood, but only the stanchions remain to the pavilion next to it today.
The inn dates back to the 1800s, and was situated at the very top of Weygadt Mountain with incredible views.
The inn was built in 1888, but it really started picking up business when the trolley route we were walking first started serving it in 1892. Rides ran every fifteen minutes on what started as a horse drawn rail ride. It was eventually electrified, and improved upon. Trolley service was extended all through Easton, the Lehigh Valley, Phillipsburg, and beyond.
The original Paxinosa Inn was 40 by 340 feet, and was four stories high. It was buildt entirely of wood, and there was no way of checking the flames, once they spread from the laundry.
The stone sluice
The inn was replaced by the second Paxinosa Inn in 1915. This one was proclaimed to have been “fireproof”, and yet it too burned down in February of 1931.
The entire area around the old inn is now part of Gollub Park.
We continued walking through the dark, and then quietly moved on past the couple of houses that are situated on the access road. We took a break and let everyone catch up when we got to the parking area for the park. We then continued down Paxinosa Road and the former route of the trolley to the west. There were some great views to the north over people’s homes.
Turret thing on Paxinosa Ave
Paxinosa Road took us out to the road known as Sullivan Trail. We turned to the right here, and then left immediately to continue on Sullivan Trail while Richmond went to the right.
We went up slope onto a grassy area with a view to the north over the Forks Township vicinity and the strip malls we were heading toward.
We continued gradually down hill through grass, went around a chain link fence, and then went around the back of a daycare center or something. We’d have liked to have played around on the equipment, but it was all fenced in.
At some point, Ken mentioned the only reason he started coming out on the hikes was on a Patriot’s Path one where I was hiking through his development, and he told me not to go walking on a paved path that connects a couple of the streets because some lady got mad. He said he didn’t trust me not to go through there, so he figured “I’d better go in this hike...”.
I said to him “And look at ya now! You’re going through stuff you’re not supposed to like ever trip!”. We were in fact going ot use lots of development paths after dark, though in my defense, the ones out here do not have anything saying closed after dark.
View on the old trolley bed
We continued to the edge of the property, and then sneaked out the edge of it to Knox Avenue under a big tree. We crossed over this at the first opportunity, but there were cops ahead.
View on Weygadt Mountain
At least two cars had someone pulled over, and while we were there a third one showed up.
We had to turn to the right, but I wanted to try to get into a development to the back for easier walking.
We went behind a pizza place but didn’t stop, and ended up right back on the road.
We approached the police, and they made us walk further from the road behind some cars. We had to squish in order to be able to fit by back there. We reached Old Mill Road just after that and crossed over to a very odd Exxon Station with a nail studio rather than a mini mart.
View north on the Delaware. Sort of.
We turned to the left, then right down through grass and behind a mini mart. I left a beer bottle in the mail box of a place, which at the time I thought was very funny (there was a trash bin right there, I just think it’s funny that someone will think someone was drinking sitting on the back porch of the business).
We continued across another larger lot, and this one oddly had a sign reading “no trespassing” signs. Actually, it forbade not only trespassing, but loitering and soliciting. It sounds like it’s a strip mall where no one is allowed to sell anything, no one is allowed to patronize, or even go there. We headed across to Picasso Pizza II.
Seasonal night view
We had already walked by the one pizza place, and then another one, so this was the third. I asked if anyone wanted to stop, and they didn’t. I told them we might not see anything for a while, and then thought about it and realized we wouldn’t be seeing anything AT ALL until the end.
I decided at that time I was going to get a couple of slices of pizza.
I ended up getting one with round wet tortillini things, and another one with mushrooms or something I guess, I can’t remember what it was. Celeste insisted on buying them for me, which was quite nice.
Night view on Weygadt Mountain
Once we were done here, we turned to the right and passed another nail studio. Justin noticed there was a cat inside, and we peered into the window watching it, which probably looked creepy. One of the guys inside eventually picked the cat up and carried it out stage left as we watched sadly.
We continued around the outside of the building, where the first of many paved trails started off. We followed it around the building and came to the Forks Community Park.
The trail went both left and right, but this time we were heading to the right.
The route took us along the park and parallel with the parking areas to the right. We then weaved past a building, and then past the old Fraes Cabin.
Night view in Forks
The Fraes Cabin was built in 1766 off of Frost Hollow Road by Michael Fraes who moved to Forks Township PA from Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County NJ. It was moved to the Forks Township park as a museum piece.
We continued on the trail to the north from here, which paralleled the entrance road to the park, and then crossed Zucksville Road. The paved trail took us through from there with homes on the left and right to the north across Meco Road next.
No anything of any kind!
Shortly after crossing Meco Road, the trail turned to the left. This led us through a much more pleasant and open area heading west, in a bit more of a gully. Houses were still both to the right and left of us.
We reached Wagon Wheel Drive, turned briefly left, and then right again to continue on the trail.
The trail eventually led to a trail intersection where we could go left or right. This was formerly the through route of Ben Jon Road, but the mid section was closed off to traffic and made a trail.
Lafayette Fisher Campus
We continued up hill through a swath of woods, and then turned to the left on another trail which went around the backs of more houses.
The trail eventually comes out on Kesslerville road near the west end of the development.
I don’t remember this trail going through before, but this time I noticed signs reading “Two Rivers Trail”, and the pavement continued down hill to Bushkill Drive. I’m pretty sure it didn't do that before. It did not, however, continue along Bushkill Drive.
Weird thing hanging at Lafayette College
It’s not a far walk on Bushkill Drive to the left at all, and we just turned to the right on Penn’s Grant Path, which is an old road route. It took us across the Bushkill Creek to the bike path built on the former Easton and Northern Railroad, which was part of the Lehigh Valley Railroad system.
Penn’s Grant Path continues ahead, but we turned left to follow the railroad bed to the south.
We headed south and crossed Stocker Mill Road, and then headed toward Walters Mill Pond to the south, before Penn Pump Park, but we had to stop because police were stopped ahead.
Lafayette College view
I didn’t want to walk out of the trail and try to cross to the other side with someone pulled over just ahead, so we waited there for a little bit. When the car pulled off, we continued ahead to cross over Northwood Avenue and paralleled Penn Pump Park.
We crossed over Bushkill Creek ahead, passed by a few houses, crossed over Bushkill Park Drive, and then crossed Bushkill Creek again.
We then continued through a wooded swath again, and made our way to the old Binney and Smith factory of Crayola fame.
The trail simply goes through the facility, and there are still some visible rails in the pavement.
It was like a free for all in the past going through this open lot area, but this time they had delineated the trail with white painted lines through the site.
I pointed out at the other side of the place where you could make out the filled in windows of the old stone mill that this facility amazingly makes use of. One wouldn’t expect some major corporation to build upon some old stone mill, but this one is quite interesting. You wouldn’t even notice it at all if it were not for the windows and doors filled.
I have a theory about this one which may have some merit. Snyder’s Rock Mill once existed along the Bushkill Creek “beyond Thirteenth Street”, where this is.
A view at Lafeyette College
Historic images of the mill and its windows seem to match up with the windows of the current Binney and Smith facility, only on the opposite side. They were probably the same or similar on both sides, which might tell us something about the history of this site. I’m going to have to look into it further and report back.
We continued across Edgewood Avenue, and then reached where the paved trail went to the right, and the railroad bed continues as an informal trail to apartments to the south.
We turned right to climb the hill here to Upper Hackett Park. When we were near the top, we cut to the left across open grassy field to reach the point the trail would have taken us anyway, and remained in the trees a bit to the crest of the land along Hackett Avenue. We then crossed and started heading gradually down.
I tried calling Stef Statler to join us since she lives along the way, but she was staying in for the night.
We continued down hill, and soon reached the foot bridge over Rt 22 that connects Lower and Upper Hackett Parks.
We stood there admiring the view and watching traffic, and then a cop car went under and put its lights on. He wasn’t pulling anyone over. He was just stopping.
Lafayette College walkway
I knew he had seen us standing there, so we hurried off the bridge into Lower Hackett, and then turned left into the grassy fields heading to the east. We just stayed back away from the roads, parallel with Wood Avenue, until we got near the buildings at Fisk Field.
We headed out to Wood Avenue from there, and then turned right on 17th Street.
We soon turned left on Bushkill Street, which passes by some very nice larger houses. This must have been the rich section of town going way back. We continued until we got to 13th Street, and then turned left.
We headed down hill on 13th under Rt 22 again, and then turned to the right onto the Karl Stirner Arts Trail next to the old stone mill building.
The mill building was under heavy renovation, which was really cool to see.
The mill when it was abandoned
I had been inside when it was abandoned years before, and it was pretty cool. People were getting in through one of the side windows on the slope.
In the mill when abandoned
I wanted to have a closer look at it, and it was looking really good. Actually, the window I used to use was still open, but there was heat on and everything. I didn’t want to have any problem, so I decided we would just leave well enough alone.
We continued to the rail trail, and looked over to the left at the old Simon Silk Mill.
That place sat abandoned for a long time too, and I’d been all through it. The last time I was in was just after they started renovation, but at this point there were lights and everything on all through it. It was really something else to see.
On one had it would have been fun to still have it to go through, but I’m very glad the structure was saved.
We continued along the trail, which seems to continuously have more art and stuff along the way. It actually tends to get more and more interesting every time we go.
The LV bridge as it appeared in 2009
Shane wanted to turn to the left and go across the old bridge that the Easton and Northern used to cross Bushkill Creek on, but I wasn’t up for going a harder way. Its undecked, and was not originally to be part of the trail system. Now, Shane was telling me they planned to add it to the trail system. That seemed rather unbelievable since they had put so much effort into making plantings on the right of way leading up to it from the side the trail is on, and the trail was routed away from the railroad bed to the bottom of the slope below Rt 22. To my surprise, all of the plantings on the first bit of the railroad bed where it veered off had been removed. On one of these hikes, we’ll have to hit that site earlier on to get some more photos of it before they re deck it. I’ve already got quite a lot.
Hiking Lafayette College in Feb 2002
We continued along the trail to the entrances to the Easton Cemetery, and then crossed the old cemetery bridge to rejoin the railroad bed. We turned right, and then ended up under Rt 22. It was here that my plan was to climb up to the Lafayette College.
Lafayette College on my hike in 2006
I love walking this route. I’ve been doing stuff around Easton for so many years, and really started organizing hikes through Lafayette College more actively in 2006.
Ever since that one, I started regularly planning to go on through.
We climbed up through the Fisher Campus, which was well lit. The little store was open, but we didn’t stop in this time.
We walked up and around the fronts of the buildings, and someone had a cloth hanging making references to “Aunt Becky” not paying for something or other. I was thinking it was some sort of reference to Full House and the actress that played Aunt Becky and her money fraud issues (thanks to Facebook I know about celebrity crap I wouldn’t know about otherwise).
We continued around the front of one of the buildings in a way I’d never bothered to walk before, down a set of stairs. There were some girls smoking up on a roped off section of steps that go further down the hill from there, and I think we scared the bejesus out of them.
Potato cup
We continued to the Civil War monument that overlooks the city and admired the view for a few moments before heading down.
We met up with Sue again who was on her way up, and Celeste was heading up as well.
We then headed down together, and made our way to the Rt 22 bridge. I decided since we did the Northampton Street free bridge across, we could return via the 22 bridge, which a lot of people don’t realize has a walkway that’s open to public. I don’t think they particularly encourage people to use it, but I love it, in some ways more than the more historic free bridge.
We climbed down hill once we were across onto the old ramp to the bridge, which is now a grassed over area. We then followed Main Street and climbed to the Bel Del tracks, and cut over through the corner of the lot back to the boat launch.
This was a great hike to really re-orient ourselves to this kind of night hike for the rest of the Winter. It honestly helped me to think in terms of them being mostly in the dark, and we’re going to have a great season with a lot more interesting stuff like this. Including more Easton.
HAM
No comments:
Post a Comment