| Hike #13 April 1999 Portland-Washinton Again we were fortunate enough to have a crew of six, including my beloved Catherine (Fisher), my brother Tea Biscuit (on his first Helbing Hike), Ron, Bill Bill, Buck (Andy Brosonski, who last joined me on hike #2) and myself. This time was a particular treat for me because I got to bring along both my girlfriend and my brother for the first time. Cathy had done a great deal of my shorter hikes, as did Tea Biscuit, and it was nice to finally bring them out on a 20 miler. Everything proceeded normally, in a mellow comfortable fashion. We took more time out for breaks and such. In Manunka Chunk tunnel I carried Cathy on my back. Also of interest, it is noteable that the railbed as it traveled through what is now the sandpit northeast of Route 46 by this time had become more of a hassle to cross than ever, and was becoming such even on hike #12 in March. We made it through 75% of the sandpit with no problems (although Ron looked like he was about to fall once...) until we reached where we were to descend to the railbed from atop highly piled sand and debris. At this point Buck lost his footing and fell into a nasty roll down the stony, muddy embankment, coming to an abrupt stop as his back hit a tree trunk. Miraculasly, he stood right up with no apparent injury. He had been wearing a backpack that must have somehow padded his fall. Later, after stopping for lunch at the deli in Oxford, Buck felt unable to join Bill Bill, Cathy, and myself through the Oxford Tunnel, so Ron accompanied him over the mountain through Van Nest Gap. The railbed outside the tunnel was particularly muddy this time, and my shoes (a generic cheap pair given to me as a gift from Andrew Hughes back in 1997), having been through many an ardous hike, were falling apart. Upon entering the tunnel, I put Cathy on my back and began walking. However, this time the ground under the more than knee-deep water was not solid and had a suction effect that held my feet in. One of my shoes' soles then came loose and twisted almost off, and Cathy and I fell into the water. I tried to pick her back up but it only served to immerse us more. I left my shoes upon a rock outside the north portal, when we decided it would be best to go over the tunnel. We cut through someone's yard to Rt. 31 and followed it back to the railbed south of the tunnel. Buck and Ron, understandably wishing to get to Washington, as it became much colder as the day went by, went ahead to finish the hike before us, but not before leaving walking sticks in the "Tree of Three". Cathy, Tea Biscuit, Bill Bill, and I went on to the Warren Hills High school where we attempted to call my mom to pick us up..without success. Tea Biscuit went back with Bill Bill to his house for his car. Cathy and I (in pain) met them in Washington. Hike #14 Portland- Washington Having the opportunity to get dropped off in Portland for an extra hike, I called Ron up and asked him if he'd like to go again. Immediatly he said "yes". The first noteable difference was the great deal of growth over us just south of Manunka Chunk tunnel. We were forced to wald hunched over so far that we, in some places, nearly had our faces to the waters of the stream which flows through the railbed. Also, this hike marked the first time Ron walked through the Oxford Tunnel. By this time we had done the Portland hike enough that we were ready to scale off some all new hikes. Hike #15 Ramseyburg-Washington The first new Helbing Hike in quite some time. Ron and I were dropped off by my grandmother in Ramseyburg, NJ, along the road to Hope where the D,L,&W railroad once crossed (this is also a part of my Portland hike). We followed this railbed to the north portal of Manunka Chunk tunnel where we began walking the also |
| abandoned Belvidere and Delaware Railroad on it's branch to Belvidere(where the track is still used). The Bel Del's railbed was still easily walkable (not so easy as the D,L,and W, however) up till the former route 46 crossing. There, the tracks are fenced into the large Roche Vitamine plant. The first fence directly opposite route 46 we were able to get by as it did not pass further than the north railroad embankment. From there we were able to follow the railbed to the road that traversed further into the plant beyond the second fence. As not to be seen, we ran across to where the tracks once followed the Delaware river closely. We were forced to walk just west of the railbed because the Roche access road was built on it's right of way. Along this stretch there were two staircases that ascended to the river's edge. We went down one and up the other, which proved to be smart because just above was an opening in the trees where Roche's workers could easily see us. At the bottom of the first staircase was soil covered in net like material, which we had a hard time crossing; the river was only a slip and fall away. Further up was an opening where there was a large concrete basin; also a place where we would be easily visible to Roche's employees (note please that we mean to cause no problems to the Roche company, but that we are merely a group of enthusiasts that enjoy walking abandoned railroad rights of way, one of which happens to cross Roche's lands. We apologise if any problem has ever come out of our hiking). We ran past this section, finally making it to the point where Roche's inner fence turned eastward. There was still an abundance of delapidated fences that we maneuvered by easily. The next problem was finding the railbed again. There was a paved, level graded road which extended southward, so we assumed it must have been the track. Soon, this road split into two, one paved, the other not. We opted to follow the more level paved road, until we came to another split. This time with 90 degree turns left and right, and an overgrown straight. We first turned left, following no more than a mile before turning back to try another route. We decided to take the straight route through the brush. This surprizingly was still a paved grade which appeared to have once been a street. Further on, this road connected with other paved streets, and even water pumps. We even found a fire hydrant deep in these woods. I would later be informed that this was once owned by the Hercules powder factory which was in opporation during the wars. It is possible that these forgotten streets may have been a part of a plan to have Hercules' workers live on premises, much like was done at Bethlehem steel, or perhaps simply a planned growth development for the town of Belvidere that never came to be. Either way, this proved to be an interesting long trek. Ron, having lived in the area knew the land to an extent, got us to the river where we found what we believed to be the railbed. We followed this road for some time before reaching another fence. Fortunitely, Ron knew of a trail around it (the area is supposedly used for small game hunting) which took us reletively clearly through the woods, and across more abandoned paved roads. The trail took us out on a dirt road, which we followd to another fence with a gate, which we climbed over, ending our walk through private property. Just after the fence we met back with the Bel Del railroad where it is still in use. We followed it through Belvidere, across the bridge over the two raods and Pequest River, then left the tracks to break at Skoogy's Deli. After the brief stop and a couple Snickers bars, we met back with the tracks at my grandfather's vacant lot (he owns the foundations of the old Belvidere creamery.) We followed the Bel Del rr. south until we came to the juction with the Lehigh, and Hudson River Railroad (this track at one time connected with the Bel Del further north, but that track is now almost impassable, so we opted to use the easier one a half mile further south. The tracks are still in place on no more than the first mile of the L&HR, and they are overgrown(The L&HR was built in 1881 and abandoned around 1985). It was pretty clear walking up until just after the creek crossing outside Belvidere. There the railbed was ripped apart by some construction going on. We walked across the site avoiding workers. After crossing the next road the railbed was easily passable. This section took us through some woods and a long stretch of farmer's field. The section where the tracks went is marked by black dirt. Next, we passed by another sandpit near bridgeville (the glaciers stopped almost on what is now present day rt. 46, so there is an abundance of sandpits.) then had to leave the tracks because of a fenced in area around a junkard. In Bridgeville we asked a woman for directions and she told us we could probably re-meet the tracks further up the road. Surely enough, we crossed the river on the Edison Road bridge and remet the railbed at the filled in underpass. We then followed it behind Hot Dog Johhny's to Buttzeville where we met the D,L,&W and followed the Portland Route to washinton. |