We once again chose a trail-only weekend hike, I’m not sure even how we got turned on to it, but it is really worthwhile if you are in the area and looking for a nice, moderate hike. This one started in Lehigh Gap, near the Lehigh River, at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. There’s a nice little building there and from there, you head up the hill to where it meets the Appalachian Trail. We passed quite a few hikers, all going in the other direction, as we walked up to the side trails associated with the Gap.
If you take the blue trail off the AT, you head up, not at too bad a pace. Eventually you’ll see two ways to go – if you go to Devil’s Pulpit, someone has chalked or painted it on a rock, you’ll come to a very nice vista to sit and enjoy a snack. A lot of people seem to choose this spot for lunch on the trail if they know about it. We then rejoined the blue trail and kept on the ridge of the mountain, around some communications towers, and wow, if you want to see the rocks of PA trails without too much threat or hazard – this is a great trail. We passed probably six really nice vistas, and the trail was a little weird in that it was like every ecosystem you can imagine. Fields of ferns, fields of wild blueberries, thick forest, almost jungle like, it was wild.
This was also the first – and last – time I tried hiking in shorts. I figured it didn’t have the sun exposure that it turned out to have, but I also didn’t expect trekking through a lot of plants. I’m a little bit allergic to almost everything that’s green outside. Still, we trudged on, and the hike was really worth it. It didn’t seem very strenuous coming uphill, but when you rejoin the AT and start going downhill – wow, was that decline tough on knees that aren’t too happy to begin with. We followed the trail across the river just to see the view. There was a small shelter on the AT that has, as many of them do, a little sign in book where people can record their experiences and different things, their hometowns and whatnot. Several entries we saw as we paged through, referenced the trail to the east, that it was not for the faint of heart. We weren’t about to challenge their opinion. By the time we got to the river I was looking forward to just getting into the car and blasting the AC.
There are some much easier trails, that are good for families, that hug the river, and this really was only moderately challenging. Of course, me being me, I had to bring home some issue, in this case, this wild rash that popped up later that night on my exposed legs. It most looked like poison oak, which, yeah, lovely, but a day of oral antihistimines and topical benadryl gel – love that stuff – cleared that right up.
All in all this one was a very nice day, a very nice trail, and a nice outing if I can ignore the pain in my feet as we got to the end. This was still only my second or third time in my hiking boots in I can’t even guess how many years, which took its toll. But if you have a couple hours, I’d highly recommend this one. Just pack out what you pack in, it was really a shame how much glass and other detrius were left along the blue trail.
I know, no sarcasm, right? Just wait for the next one, I’ll make up for it.
The Handicapped Hiker 