Hike #1439: 9/17/21 Quakertown to Bethlehem with Jillane Becker and Everen
For the third big hike with baby Everen, I suggested we look at the old Bethlehem Branch of the Reading Railroad between Quakertown and Bethlehem. We were still getting the hang of all of this, but the last two had really gone quite well.
I believe we parked one car behind the Wind Creek Casino or on the street near the Museum of Industrial History. I remember finding a parking space back there was not easy so I'm pretty sure we were behind Wind Creek. We then headed south to Quakertown, where we parked at the Quaker Village shopping center.
As part of the start of the hike, the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail section, which actually has a designated route now despite not having much actually blazed yet, runs through the town. I figured we could trace some of the route of that as well as some of the other parks at the start of this, then get on the rail trail to the end.
Most of the rail trail is paved so this would be just about the easiest thing we'd done yet, or so I thought.
As always, there are things that come up unexpected that cause a lot of stress, but we dealt with it all okay.
We started out by walking north on 4th Street, and skirted Quakertown Memorial Park on the left side.
We crossed East Mill Street to the north, and then entered the Kupps Park Trail, which goes around fields.
Quakertown started in the 1700s, rather obviously as a Quaker settlement, but it really grew with the arrival of the Northern Pennsylvania Railroad in 1855.
The railroad was eventually taken over by the Philadelphia and Reading, and was referred by either as the North Penn Branch or as the Bethlehem Branch.
We walked to the north, and then the trail turned left, made a half circle around the north side of the park, and then a right turn on another path led to the trail in the main Quakertown community park.
We turned right when we got on that trail, and then headed toward the railroad tracks again.
My plan had been to follow this trail around to the west and then do a bit of a road walk to where the rail trail started, but then I figured we could go to the east side. There was a path off to the right through the woods, which went over the railroad tracks and up the other side to Garden Court.
If we went that way, we would be on the official PA Highlands Trail route, in a short distance on the other side. So, we carefully went in the path, and the two of us lifted baby Ev's stroller over the tracks.
On the other side, we followed Walnut Court to Walnut Bank Farm Road, which we followed to the north.
This road walk went on forever. It was hot out and there was just nothing particularly good about the route that was chosen here. I am finding out there are ponds and preserved lands close by, but hopefully the redevelop the trail to follow those rather than the road walk.
We continued through the development to the north, and turned left on Heller Road. There were good sidewalks for the trail along the entire way at least. Then reached East Pumping Station Road.
Here, we turned to the left. I think just briefly, and to the right, on the north side of the road, I was surprised to see the teal and white diamond Highlands Trail logo and foot path leading into woods.
I was completely unaware that any new foot path for the Highlands Trail had been constructed in Pennsylvania at all, save for maybe a little bit of what was done in Ringing Rock Park to the east.
At first glance, it looked very good, like we could get the stroller through it very easily, so I started pushing it on through. It didn't seem like it could possibly go very far.
At some point, I was worried that the trail was going to take us out somewhere out of the way from the rail trail, and that would add more to the hike.
It ended up adding more anyway, because it went way north and came back down I recall. I watched the GPS on my phone both amazed but also concerned about how far we were going.
As we continued, we were soon right alongside the Tohickon Creek, which was quite small here. I'd done so many hikes along this stream in the past, but it was cool to go this far up on it.
I got way far ahead of Jillane, and I was just bracing myself for her to be really angry or upset about my choosing this trail. It was a major workout for me to get through, so I wasn't really happy either.\
Fortunately, she didn't say much of anything about it, and I kept pushing Ev in the stroller until eventually I came out to the paved rail trail, which at the point it joined was actually parallel with the railroad, because there were tracks still in place.
We took a little break when we got out, and turned to the right out to California Road.
Here, the trail shifts from next to the railroad bed to directly on it.
The North Penn/Bethlehem Branch was double tracked all the way through from the south up to Bethlehem, which makes it ridiculous that the entire thing was turned into a super wide rail trail. The line connected Philadelphia directly to Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley, so it really should have been utilized as a transportation corridor over all else.
It actually would have been an excellent candidate for rail with trail instead of just rail trail because of this connection. Instead, it was a very expensive, crazy trail that even has light up crosswalks in some areas.
The first time I had walked this section was back in 2007 as part of Hike #300, and the idea was to make it all the way to Bethlehem where Musikfest was going on. Unfortunately, the bushwhack along the abandoned tracks for so many miles was too much, and we only ended up going from Hellertown to the north toward Bingen where we gave up after having had to make several detours off of it.
I did the upper part of it after the leaves were falling later that year, and then walked it several times since when different sections of the trail were under development. I had not yet walked the completed trail from Bethlehem to the north after it was completed.
I did put it on the schedule for one of the hikes, but when Ev was born I was not able to go through with it. I think it was John that took the lead on that one in my place and it went pretty well.
This time, I would see the new trail development stuff I had missed.
We continued a little was north from California Road when Jillane and I realized we had both forgotten baby formula.
I didn't want to give up on the hike. I took the keys to Jillane's car, and I ran all the way back to Quakertown to get them, and left Jillane and Ev to continue ahead to the north.I ran back across California Road, where the tracks started up again. Soon there were derelict rail cars parked on the section of tracks as I paralleled them heading to the south.
I came out to a wide open ball field where the trail split in two, and I took the left fork heading south. When that trail started to turn to the left, I continued straight on the slope next to the tracks.
At Pumping Station Road, I turned right and passed beneath the tracks, then continued a short distance until lawn started on the left. I cut to the left and then through Hills Imports property, followed by many more long swaths of grass. My trajectory was aimed at California Road again to the south, but at the farthest point so that I could maximize the amount of time in the grass and shorten the distance even if by only a little.
I cut to the left through Bucks County District Court property, behind the building, and then to the access road to the Quakertown community park again.
When this opened up to a field section to the right, I dashed across that directly to the Union Cemetery. I then crossed directly through the Union Cemetery heading toward Cemetery Road and a parking area. From there, I continued at an angle, most the time heading southeast, across more ball field area and skirting some fences to reach Mill Street. I continued kind of southeast here and through parking lots, angling through Quakertown Memorial Park to reach 4th Street.
I made my way back to Jillane's car, stepped inside, and put the air conditioning on while I tried to get the baby's formula and anything else I might need all together.
To save me just a few blocks of running, I then drove Jillane's car back over to California Road and parked at an industrial lot and left it at a spot where it was kind of out of the way enough that no one should really notice it.
I ran back up California Road and tried to stay over in the grass to not go as badly on my knees.
I started rushing to the north again from there, passed the industrial sites, passed Hills Imports again, and just continued on California Road. It was slightly more direct from there but had really no shoulder for walking.
I soon got back to the Saucon Rail Trail and turned left. Jillane would be far off from this point, but I hurried along at the fastest power walk I could heading to the north.
Usually I don't feel it so well, but this time the power walking was getting to me because I had already run, and because this was a gradual uphill.
The trail continues from the Tohickon Watershed at this point up to the Saucon Watershed, so until that point it is a gradual up.
I emerged from the woods onto East Cherry Road. Jillane had already pushed the stroller beyond that point when I got there. I paused for a few moments to take some then and now photos of the site using my own past pictures of it. I had some from the area when I walked it back in 2007, but I also had some of it from the exact day the rails were removed from the site, with the equipment parked.
I had organized a variation of this same hike for that day in the Summer, and it was certainly to change a lot as the trail got developed.
I got a couple of the compilations, and on one, used an old utility pole as the anchor point to the past.
I next made my way to North Mine Road at a site that was once known as Shelly.
Here, there was a former siding that still had rails in place at what looked like some sort of a lumber company. I continued ahead from here, and somewhere I found Jillane in this area as I recall. I think she was ahead where the boardwalk section had been installed.
Now, there is a very long boardwalk on the rail bed through the cut, and some of the ties and such are still in place below everything. We could see them and the tie plates down below the grade to the right.
Springfield Street went over top of the railroad around this point, and we sat down on the edge of the boardwalk for a break here. It was a nice, cooler little spot on an otherwise pretty hot day.From here we continued north into Coopersburg. I had planned on taking a left when we got to the former site of the Coopersburg Station to go and get a snack or some food, but Jillane didn't want anything, so we just continued ahead. I think I might have run down the road briefly for a drink or snack or something but I can't quite remember.
We continued from Station Road here, then across Landis Street and continued north adjacent to the golf course on the right.
I didn't really take notice of it this time, but I think the golf course is now closed, and it might just be a park now. It might have be be part of a future hike thing....
We continued north across the Tumble Brook, and then crossed a bridge over Jacoby Road.
We then crossed an access road to Lutron Electronics parking lot, and continued to another grade crossing at Passer Road.
We crossed Flint Hill Road next, and passed through a residential development area on the way to the community of Center Valley. There used to be a station at this site as well, now long gone, at the grade crossing of Station Road.
A left and then a right took us along the edge of the fields, and then another left down along the access road into the lower part of the park. Another right took us past the Southern Lehigh Public Library, and then we continued down under a tunnel beneath Preston Lane to the upper part of the park.
We headed over to the restroom buildings to take another break there, and then skirted ball fields before heading back into the woods, first parallel with the railroad bed, and then back up to it.
We crossed Landis Mill Road at grade up ahead, and then continued through some residential areas where some of the fencing around the outsides can at times be really insane.
Some fences are just split rail and fine, but some places are these high barriers beyond which no one could see anything. I assume these are the people who hated the trail and probably sued all property managers involved in its development.
We weaved around to the north and to the east, crossed Spring Valley Road, and paralleled the Saucon Valley Country Club to the east. After a bit, we got to the next parking area just slightly below the trail to the right. The lot area was the former site of the Bingen Station. I had done some then and now stuff here in the past, but this time I tried to get some of the actual former station site. It was starting to get dark even at this point, so I didn't get anything really great.
We continued northbound on the trail from here, across Bingen Road on a girder bridge, and then crossed Old Mill Road at grade.
We continued ahead, and the orientation switched from more east to north, and we crossed Meadows Road. At this point, it was the last daylight left for the day and getting darker all the time.
Pretty soon we entered Hellertown at Walnut Street and paused for a few moments at a park bench off to the left of the trail.
From here, we continued on the trail north to Water Street. At that point, Jillane took a break with the baby, and I ran out along the street to the east to get us some food and drinks.
I noticed there was a liquor store off to the right while out there, so I had a quick look at that as well.
I was delighted inside that I found a four pack of Dragon's Milk, a terrific brew I had first tried up near Scranton a little while back that I loved. I of course had to get the four pack, and that lifted my spirits quite a lot.
I wondered if he was related to Frank who owned the Roma Pizza over near where I work, where I go often. He wasn't, but he was related to another place, which I now forget, that I went to before, so it was cool to make the connection between the places and have a nice conversation.
I headed back to Jillane and we ate some pizza, and I opened up a Dragon's Milk to enjoy for the next stretch.
We followed the trail to the north from here, which was parallel with Water Street Park. I had originally wanted to take a side path down into the old Saucon Ironworks Site, later Thomas Ironworks, but it was so dark there wouldn't be anything really to see, so the rail bed was better.
I had actually never walked the road detour for the trail until this occasion. We used to just bushwhack through on the next sections and never had a problem.
This time, we went up to the street, then turned to the left on Whitaker Street. The railroad bed is down in a deep cut in this section which would probably be pretty easy to walk even in the dark, although I've not been on it lately, but I didn't want to take a chance in the dark with the stroller.
We turned to the left when we got to High Street, and then right when we got to Ravena Street. This street took us to the north through a neighborhood I'd never walked through before, and then to the intersection with Silvex Road, which was almost directly beneath the bridge that carries Interstate 78 over the Saucon Creek.
The moon was up at this point which provided us with a degree of ambient light, and it was great. We turned left on Silvex, and then after a little bit we went right into the grassy expanse of Saucon Park.
We went directly across the large lawn of the place and parallel with the reflection ponds that were set up in CCC style in the 1930s, and then crossed the foot bridge over the Saucon Creek. I think I took a quick dip in the creek in the dark briefly.
Once on the other side of the bridge, we cut to the right out to Auburn Street.
From here, a right turn led us up to the access road that took us back onto the railroad bed to the north.
We passed high above the Saucon Creek and Millside Drive next, and continued into the old railroad yard, which is now sort of disconnected. We used to walk all through that and climb on trains many years ago, but now there is a fence where the trail continues to the left side.
We headed out of the yard under Lynn Avenue, and then under Fourth Street, and then we were soon across from the Wind Creek casino place. We just went over Rt 412 and headed down the sloping pathway past the casino to get to the lot in back to finish the day out.
I really loved the trip, but I'd like to do it again in more daylight and try to check out more of the connections with the Highlands Trail and other developments of the area. The Highlands Trail now connects further to the west, and partially as a result of this I have restarted the Highlands Trail as a series including the proposed west end of it.
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