Trip Report: Day trip to the Lehigh Gorge

[dabaron]

i took a much needed day off of work and had a Vanagon adventure to the Lehigh Gorge in northeastern Pennsylvania. it's about 1.5 hours from my house and is mostly Turnpike the entire way.

about 8 miles of the trip was on lesser highways, here 209 cuts thru Lehighton. not much traffic today, but this area is very congested on the weekends in summer, even during the pandemic.

dropping down into Jim Thorpe, PA, i was stuck in traffic coming down the mountain and got to see the only rafters of the day.

i parked in Glen Onoko State Park which is at the southern of the Lehigh Gorge. i planned to ride my bike about 15 miles to Buttermilk Falls and back with a few stops along the way. a mile up the gorge i passed this sign and it made me chuckle. with the amount of crowds here during the weekends, no sane bear is hanging around.

for a little more than 6 miles the trail parallels an active railroad. actually, two active railroads, there are two sets of tracks, Norfolk Southern and the Reading and Northern (they use the alignment of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad). at this point the trail is on what was once the Central Railroad of New Jersey line to Scranton, PA but in the 60's the Lehigh Valley and CNJ merged their PA operations to save costs on maintaining parallel lines.

6.6 miles from the start, the trail switches abandoned right of ways at Penn Haven Junction. at this point, the merged lines opted to follow the "new" Lehigh Valley line over the river as it saves some distance and lessens the grade via a tunnel. the "old" Lehigh Valley route which became the CNJ was originally a canal and in places that history is evident.

the Lehigh Valley route clings to the hillside in places and there are many cascades and waterfalls to enjoy. the second photo is the Buttermilk Falls which is a roughly 60 fall. the mist from the water felt great.

a view from an outcropping of the gorge looking north. i'm glad i picked a weekday, as most weekends this scene would be filled with rafters and kayakers.

i rode 16 of the 22 miles thru the gorge, the trip northward was a steady climb, just under 400 feet of ascent over that distance. the railroad engineers created a compensated grade due to the high percentage of curvature to tangent track. this meant at times it was easy hands free pedaling as the grade lessens entering and exiting many twists of the route. it felt great to be a kid again, arms outstretched in the in breeze.

on the return trip, i timed it perfectly to catch Reading and Northern train NRFF crossing the Lehigh River at Penn Haven Junction. as a railfan, i knew roughly when to expect this train at this location. i waited less than 10 minutes which gave me just enough of time to find a decent angle for the photo i had in mind and to have a snack.

the Vanagon in a nearly empty lot. when i was getting ready for my bike ride, i came to the realization the Vanagon is the perfect outdoor adventure vehicle. i was rocking some Lee "Scratch" Perry dub music while getting the bike ready, was able to change from my street clothes, and attend to some bike prep. i wish i had a Vanagon in the late 80's-early 90's when i was racing bicycles, it would had made life so much easier.

back on the road and for nearly the entire distance on the lesser highway i was followed by a tow truck. no pressure.

overall a great break from my existence in the pandemic where i rarely leave my house and spend the bulk of my free time working on my Westy project. it's good to get out and use the tin top and recharge the excitement level for not just driving the Vanagon, but using it for adventures.

hope everyone is doing well and is able to get out in some way with their beloved bus(es).
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
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"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

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[mikemtnbike]

Rail/plane fans. Amateur archaeology. Ham radios. I wonder what other esoteric hobbies overlap with vanagon ownership at an unusually high prevalence? Thanks for sharing, dabaron.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[dabaron]

[sanchius]

Great pictures, looks fun. Trains and bikes, my kind of trip!
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[dobryan]

Fun! Glad you had a great day.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

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[shadetreemech]

Beautiful. Jealous of all that water.

Dan
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'84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "MZDRTHY"

[SCM]

Thanks for the TR.

I grew up in NEPA and used to mountain bike ride around Jim Thorpe. It was poised to be the Moab of PA until (as I understand it) the Game Commission made many of the trails off limits for some reason.

I miss the greenery and fall foliage sometimes.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[AZ Landshaper]

Ive spent some time there in the past. Looks so nice from here where monsoons are late to arrive and heat has been overbearing. Glad you had a fun and successful trip.
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85 Weekender w/ EJ22
Previously
64, 71, 72, 73, 76, 81, 84, 85 & 87 Campmobiles and Westfalias
and a 67 bug.

[jlrftype7]

Thanks for sharing. I spent 4 years near Philadelphia in a boarding school for High School. Occasionally we got out . Away from Philly, and saw how lush and pretty Pennsylvania was.
Brings back memories.
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[jimf909]

Thanks for a great trip report of what looks like a wonderful day. Your bicycle looks nice. Is that something you assembled?
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- Jim

[Vanagon Nut]

Thanks for the report!

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[Gnarlodious]

It should surprise no one that a disproportionate number are pilots or aircraft mechanics.
— K5ZN

[dabaron]

[jimf909]

[calo1956]

Awesome post! I likes the photos along with description. It was nice to follow along for the ride, thanks!
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Enjoy the ride....
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