The Delaware and Lehigh Trail (D&L Trail) is 142 miles long. We will do two sections of it over the next two days.Today we parked at the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station and rode north to Jim Thorpe (the borough, not the man). The Appalachian Trail runs through here as well and is within spitting distance of our parking lot! Brought back memories of my month on the trail with my cousin, Sara (a.k.a. Cushy Life) and all the friends we met along the way.
The railroad was founded in 1853 to more efficiently transport anthracite coal to market. The trail is now flanked on one side by the river and on the other by a canal with numerous lock ruins.
Before we could get going, Beth had to fix a flat. We haven’t had many flats (knock wood!) and I think that is yet another advantage of riding the rails trails over riding on the roads. There was plenty to see and lots of people out using the trail. I finally snapped a photo of a Canada geese family — I’ve seen many of them and realized that I only ever see adult geese in Colorado. Cute little buggers!
At one of the parking areas that had a boat launch Randy found a solar recharging station for phones, complete with cords for a variety of phones. Nice touch but we didn’t stay long enough to use them. We were on our way to lunch in Jim Thorpe!
For me, a highlight today was seeing a house being restored to its original stone exterior. The stone work in Pennsylvania is incredible and unfortunately I have been driving when I’ve seen most of it and unable to take pictures of any of it that is off-trail.
The town of Jim Thorpe is very quaint. I’m sure you’re wondering like I did, why is it called Jim Thorpe. Well, I’m going to suggest you Goggle it or go to Wikipedia because it is rather long and involved. But, I will tell you that Jim Thorpe had NO connection to the town Mauch Chunk before he died and that his Native American nations are seeking to have his remains returned to his ancestral lands in Oklahoma. Curious now?
In our search for a restaurant, when we asked someone for a recommendation they mentioned a local pub. Beth then asked if there were any healthier options — one that offered salads perhaps. His reply –“Salads? That’s not food….that’s what food eats!”. Clever.As you can see, I found a salad (of sorts….)
The return trip was slightly downhill and a breeze! Today’s snake was seen making its way down river in the canal. I’m pretty sure it is a harmless water snake. There are some poisonous snakes in the area, like the copperhead, but this wasn’t one of them!
Lastly, here are some photos take from the side off the Hot Diggity Dog food truck parked at the trailhead. Talented artist and a nice depiction of trail use.
