Route 309 to Hawk Mountain Road

Sunday, September 13

Tom, Shannon, Wyatt and Mike

11.5 Miles

About 300 million years ago, Africa and North America collided.  Today, my ankles hurt.  Is there a direct correlation?  Yes.   How so?  Well, I’ll get to that in just a minute.  First, let me tell you about “A Walk In the Woods”.

The new film of the Bill Bryson novel was just released and Mona, Tom, Shannon and Wyatt came into town on Saturday so that we could enjoy dinner and the movie. Joining us (including Hillary) were Cindy and Craig Dunn, and John and Carol Norbeck----colleagues (and their spouses) from DCNR.  Most of the group has spent considerable time on the Trail (Craig actually completed the A.T. and regularly organizes volunteers to keep the Trail in tiptop shape), so watching the Robert Redford/Nick Nolte film adaptation was really enjoyable for us all.   Go see the movie!

On Sunday morning, Mona dropped us off on Route 309, which literally straddles the border of Carbon and Lehigh Counties.  Heading south to Hawk Mountain Road, it’s really a 4-county hike as the Trail also enters into Schuylkill and Berks along the way.  For hikers, note that the elevation remains fairly stable at 1500 feet for the first 8 miles and then drops 1000 feet over the next 3 miles to Hawk Mountain Road.

Perhaps for the first time yet, we passed only one hiker along the entire 11 mile stretch.   (Surprising, as it was a fairly nice day, and because most expect the new A.T. movie to increase Trail traffic.)  Instead of humans, there was an abundance of frogs, some spiders on intricate webs and even a large Luna caterpillar that Wyatt spotted.  I’m guessing we saw mostly Wood frogs, a species abundant in PA forest lands.  You can go here to see the different kinds of frogs and toads found in Pennsylvania: http://www.paherps.com/herps/frogs-toads/

Now back to my ankles.  The trail was wide and level from Rt. 309 to the Allentown Shelter (where we took a nice break and read some hilarious journal entries, like the one posted here). And then, everything changed.   For the remainder of the hike, we climbed rocks, balanced on boulders, and tiptoed across them.  

For this, we can thank the Alleghanian orogeny---the collection of rock outcroppings that form Blue Mountain—which is a result of North America and Africa colliding around 300 million years ago.  When the Blue Mountain ridge was formed, Geologists claim that it was actually taller than the Rockies and the Alps, and maybe even higher than the Himalayas.  Erosion over the past several hundred million years has left us with a 1500 foot high ridge, many layers of exposed rocks, and sore feet.   You can find out more about the geologic history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleghanian_orogeny

 

Thankfully, Mona was waiting when we arrived at Hawk Mountain road.  The boots came off and we were taken back to civilization and flat Earth!

51 miles, or so, to go in Pennsylvania.

Hawk Mountain Road to Port Clinton

May 23-24, 2015

Tom, Shannon, Wyatt, and Mike

15 miles

Day-hikers, dogs….and inchworms.   Eight months since our last hike--our two-day return to the AT was not a lonely excursion.  For almost the entire length, but particularly at scenic overlooks, the trail was filled with day-hikers and dogs who were enjoying the perfect temperatures and sunny skies.  Some of those we met mentioned it was their first time on the trail, and a few others asked for directions---seeming to indicate the same.  We wondered if perhaps the movie “Wild” had anything to do with the spike in hikers, as some have claimed that it will provide at least a temporary bump in interest about trail hiking---and they may be right. 

In addition to hikers and dogs, the trail was densely populated with tiny inchworms dangling from trees nearly every few steps along the way.  These future Geometer moths are known to come in thousands of species---and we saw most of them.  Doing our best to dodge and weave around them, they still ended up in our hair….or on our clothes…or in our packs….in the car on the ride home.  If you want to learn more about them, you can read this:  http://animals.pawnation.com/inchworms-kids-8744.html

Getting back to the hike itself, we started in Eckville, along Hawk Mountain Road on Saturday morning (after hitting the Giant for provisions), and headed west towards Port Clinton.  The uphill start took us from about 800 feet to 1500 feet in the first mile or so, and remained fairly level for the next five miles.  Good conversation can be had on a long, level stretch and this section of the trail is mostly a state game lands road.   It’s a nice way to spend the early afternoon.

In that stretch of Blue Mountain are two well-known scenic overlooks, The Pinnacle and Pulpit Rock.   The Pinnacle is one of the most popular day-hikes along the AT in Pennsylvania, and happens to be the second highest point in Berks County.  From the outlook, you can see for miles in any direction, including three counties, and enjoy some rest from the rocky trail that brought you to this vantage point.

Two miles later is Pulpit Rock.  We took in the sights there, spoke with a young family from Hamburg, and then descended about 800 feet to set up camp at the Windsor Furnace Shelter.   Wyatt and Tom hunted for firewood while I hunted through my belongings for inchworms.   We enjoyed turkey dogs, corn, and s’mores before turning in for the night.

The Sunday hike was 6 miles--starting with a 600 foot climb and ending with a 1000 foot descent.  At the outset we passed the site of the old Windsor Furnace, which was built in 1768 by Valentine Eckert.  At one point, there were more than 500 of these iron furnaces operating in Pennsylvania, and most no longer exist.   Perhaps the most famous is the Cornwall Iron Furnace, which is now a museum.  More info can be found here http://www.cornwallironfurnace.org/

There were no thru-hikers evident to us over these two days---it seems that it will be a week or so before “the bubble” reaches this portion of Pennsylvania.  We were glad to note, however, that Sweet Tea and Moe---two thru-hikers we met last year—appeared on the list of those who completed the trail in 2014. Good for them!

Except for a flat tire on the way home (Thanks to Tom for assisting with the tire change), it was a perfect two-day hike on the AT.  We have about 60 miles to go!