82 Miles (mostly) On the Lehigh Canal

   During part of the Turkey Trek, I was riding with my friend Lee, and I was telling him how I wanted to ride the length of the D&L Trail from Mountain Top (about 7 miles south of Wilkes-Barre) to Easton, where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware. I explained that I had been trying to organize the trip with another friend for a while and was getting nowhere.
   He mentioned that I should have done it weeks ago, when it was not only warmer, but there had been more color in the trees up north. "I know!" I replied and explained the circumstances were beyond my control. Not that he should ever consider himself a second choice, but I asked if it would be something he might be interested in doing, and he seemed enthusiastic.

   In the back of my mind I wondered how much time he might be able to tolerate with me, but Lee is always a good sport, as he had teamed-up for the epic NYC-Croton Aqueduct Trail trip in the spring of 2022. Although there wouldn't be quite as much driving together during this trip, there would still be a bit of car shuttling involved in this excursion, and I promised that I would leave him to some quiet riding out in nature!
   We met early in the morning at the Northern Terminus of the Delaware Canal Trail (part of the D&L network), where I left my car, and we took our bikes in his vehicle up into the mountains. It is difficult to judge what to wear in the early autumn, as the morning air can be near freezing, but you just know you are going to feel overdressed as it warms up into the afternoon.
   Turns out I didn't have to worry at all about the crisp air, as Lee set the early pace, and we blew through the first ten miles into White Haven. I already had my jacket front unzipped to let the heat escape, and Lee later informed me we had set the second fastest Strava time on that segment! I told him that pace had better not last, or we wouldn't be able to walk very well later.

   Lee and I had brought plenty to eat with us, but there would have been ample opportunities to purchase a snack in White Haven, Jim Thorpe and eventually the more urban areas at the south end of the trail. Other than a bathroom stop in Rockport, we were able to just ride right through the gorge.

   Since the trees up in the northern section of the D&L were pretty clear of leaves by this time in November, we were afforded plenty of beautiful views of the rocky upper Lehigh River. We had been mostly pedaling alone so far, but the cyclist and hiker traffic picked up noticeably the closer we got to Jim Thorpe. Along the way we were treated to a couple passes by the scenic railroad trains.

   We noticed there were more leaves on the trees the farther south we rode, though they certainly were not a the peak color that draws so many tourists during late October. We crossed the new bridge connection at Jim Thorpe over to the east bank of the river and were able to see a section of the Lehigh Canal that looked to be in excellent condition. We could easily imagine mules pulling barges of coal down the waterway towards Philadelphia.

Just north of Weissport

   We crossed back over to the west bank at Lehighton and made an extended stop for a "comfort break", clothes adjustments and snacks at a park that was in view of the north portal of the Turnpike tunnel through Blue Mountain. I pointed out the scar across the mountain that was once the Lehigh and New England Railroad and mentioned that this was, incredibly, one of FOUR railroads that once served this area.

   Without the coal mining and zinc processing gone, it certainly isn't hard to believe that there is only (and just barely) one railroad remaining, since there is really no industry up here to feed the trains. I pointed out the abutments for a bridge that once carried the L&NE trains high over Lehigh Gap and told Lee about the derailment at Slatington that destroyed the large brick Lehigh Valley Railroad station.

North of Cementon

   I found it a bit hard to believe it was nearly a year ago when I was out here exploring some of the area rail trails (the Slate Heritage, Ironton and Nor-Bath, to be specific) connecting to this stretch of the D&L Trail. I recalled the less-than-perfect paving conditions through Northampton, but I had not experienced the primitive state of the canal trail through Catasauqua. There were so many rocks and tree routes bouncing us around, I was actually looking forward to the bit of street riding that I knew we had coming in Allentown.

   I came to regret my thinking when we were met with an unanticipated nasty climb near Overlook Park. Mind you, this hill probably wouldn't have been overly challenging during the average ride with my crew, but we had over 60 miles in our legs at this point and had just been beaten down by the gnarly trail section in "Catty".

   We made a final extended stop at the Allentown Canal Park to make a couple more clothing adjustments and refuel for the homestretch into Easton. Along the way we skirted the historic district of my hometown, Bethlehem, and caught glimpses of the dormant blast furnaces across the river.

    As we passed through Freemansburg, Lee and I were glad that an ominous flock of birds in a tree above us was crows and not vultures, but we were soon crossing the Lehigh River for the last time on an old, one-lane truss bridge near Hugh Moore Park and the National Canal Museum.

   We passed by a couple more railroad relics, including the bridge to the Lehigh Valley's Easton and Northern Branch (would be an excellent connection to the trails on the opposite side of the river) and the lower portion of the Valley's Easton passenger station. At long last we were looping around the trailhead lot where I had parked my car that morning.

   Lee offered to snap a couple of finish line photos as "evidence of the trip", and I should have been more with-it and offered to do the same for him. I'll blame it on 82-miles-worth of cycling fatigue!

By the way...

   Bundle up, decorate your bike with lights (not required) and bring your holiday spirit on our partly 31-mile loop. Starting at the Cycle Tech shop in Royersford, we'll head out over back streets and bike paths to connect with the Perkiomen Trail in Schwenksville. We'll pedal through Collegeville and Oaks on gravel sections, and reach the Schuylkill Trail, eventually following the canal towpath into Mont Clare. We'll hop back on the SRT through Phoenixville and Spring City to return. Hope you can join us!