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dabaron
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018
Posts: 2559
Location: Philly, mang
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 Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:22 pm Post subject: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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my 13 year old now thinks the Westy is super cool (esp since he had to do no work on it) and wants to have epic adventures with it. so here we go, the first "epic" adventure.
saturday morning we set out for Stairway Lake on the Schuylkill River near Auburn, PA. it was a leisurely paddle up river in an attempt to see the historic stone arch Reading Railroad bridge, but the river was simply too shallow and the mud too deep.
Stairway Lake was built as part of a mid 20th century coal mine runoff cleanup project. a dam was built near Auburn and a dredging works was setup to move the silt to impounding basins. this is the dredging barge.
as we heading up into the edge of the lake, the river formed a series of narrow passages thru the silt buildup.
it was very isolated and we felt far from civilization as we paddled up stream into a narrow gap in the trees.
thumbs up on the tight quarters kayaking on a river that ranged from deeper than my paddle to dragging bottom within a few yards.
after a fun time on the water, it was time for lunch. we let the sun and wind dry the gear and boat before packing it away to head to the next part of the adventure.
we ended up down river in Port Clinton to check out the happenings at the railroad. not much going on, but the summer excursion season is about to be in full swing. this area will be mobbed with people and trains soon.
we took a walk over to the AT trail as it cuts thru the railyard. i asked what he thought of an overnight backpacking trip on the AT "hike up that mountain, with camping gear, up that steep hill, for two days? no" we'll work on it.
the Reading and Northern Railroad runs a freight out of North Reading everyday at 1:55pm. that means it rolls thru Port Clinton at 2:35 and Molino (just up the road a piece) at 2:45pm. it was 2:25 so we had some time to kill. why not do it in style?
not a great photo, but here is the head end of the Scranton area bound NRFF at exactly 2:45pm in Molino, PA.
after the train passed we headed up the mountain to our campsite at the Port Clinton tract of the Weiser State Forest. i think he has the hang of chilling out. we got to do some bonding and apparently he likes my 90's funky acid breaks mixtapes. cool.
i made us baked ziti with spicy italian sausage and this guy seemed to want some of the action. after dinner we hung out next to the camp fire as the day drew to a close. at bedtime i heard him call out "dad, how do i get up there?" which made me laugh to which he replied "it's not funny!"
he tossed and turned all night and got his revenge as he shook the Westy each time he rolled over.
in the morning the adventure continued, west to Marysville, PA and the world famous Rockville Bridge. here is one of countless intermodal freights heading east over the Susquehanna on the nearly 3/4 of a mile long stone arch viaduct. "dad this is boring" wait, i thought this was the epic part?
we then dropped south to York where we met up with my ex-wife. from there it was a solo run back home on US 30 towards Lancaster and then onto the Turnpike. what's a road trip without a car crash and a traffic backup? well here it is, my 30 minutes of brake lights. lots of thumbs up from the cars around me as we leapfrogged in the stop and go.
i should have taken more pictures, but i was having a great time with my son. the Westy performed flawlessly, all gauges in the expected range and the gas mileage a very respectable 18 mpg.
looking forward to the next epic adventure with my son.
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo
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SyncroPedro
Samba Member
Joined: June 08, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:33 pm Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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Sounds like a great weekend, lots of time for bonding. And I was born in York!
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1990 Syncro Westy
1986 2WD Westy (Shasta) - sold |
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16501
Location: Brookeville, MD
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Schnippzle
Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2021
Posts: 288
Location: Swede in London, UK
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:12 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| Excellent times. |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22640
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:12 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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The window of time where you can do this with young adults can be very short. Pack those trips in,
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revolution337
Samba Member
Joined: May 23, 2009
Posts: 372
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:23 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| Quote: |
in the morning the adventure continued, west to Marysville, PA and the world famous Rockville Bridge. here is one of countless intermodal freights heading east over the Susquehanna on the nearly 3/4 of a mile long stone arch viaduct. "dad this is boring" wait, i thought this was the epic part?
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fun fact. the rockville bridge is the longest stone masonry arch bridge in the world. it claimed that title when it was built over 100 years ago, and still stands today.
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1982 Westfalia AEB 1.8t
2017 VW Golf Sportwagen
2001 Audi A4 4.2 V8 swapped
2000 BMW Z3 roadster
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space
Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2017
Posts: 673
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 6:17 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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Very Cool
We did an "epic eastern whitewater adventure" with the yung'ns several years back
We still speak fondly of it
T
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82 westy
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dabaron
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018
Posts: 2559
Location: Philly, mang
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:06 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| space wrote: |
Very Cool
We did an "epic eastern whitewater adventure" with the yung'ns several years back
We still speak fondly of it
T |
we are new to kayaking so we are working our way up in experience and confidence on the water. the plan is to hit the Lehigh Gorge and then the Yough Loop next season. my son said it best "now that the Westy is good, we can go explore"
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo
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Jake de Villiers
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Joined: October 24, 2007
Posts: 5911
Location: Tsawwassen, BC
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joetiger 
Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005
Posts: 5076
Location: denver
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:29 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| Jake de Villiers wrote: |
Awesome! I love your obsession with trains and bridges.  |
Agreed. That interest seems to give you motivation to visit remote places that most people know nothing about and would never consider traveling to. Back when I got into Vanagons, I mildly wished I was a geologist. It seems like those guys go to all kinds of cool, interesting, undiscovered places in their Vanagons.
It reminds me of this epic trip report (now somewhat graffitied with Photobucket watermarks) in which RFoubi was keen on old mining ruins:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...+ramblings
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Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron
"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond
Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
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dabaron
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018
Posts: 2559
Location: Philly, mang
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:39 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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i'm going to have to let my son know that epic is a relative term. that trip looks epic to me.
finding long forgotten relics in the woods while exploring is so fun. many lessons can be learned from a rusted out structure on the side of a mountain.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo
BiWerks Design, LLC |
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joetiger
Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005
Posts: 5076
Location: denver
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:51 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| dabaron wrote: |
many lessons can be learned from a rusted out structure on the side of a mountain. |
Much like a typical Vanagon breakdown. 
_________________
Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron
"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond
Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
www.josephtrussell.com |
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space
Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2017
Posts: 673
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:17 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| dabaron wrote: |
| space wrote: |
Very Cool
We did an "epic eastern whitewater adventure" with the yung'ns several years back
We still speak fondly of it
T |
we are new to kayaking so we are working our way up in experience and confidence on the water. the plan is to hit the Lehigh Gorge and then the Yough Loop next season. my son said it best "now that the Westy is good, we can go explore" |
Lower Yough is brutal (ran it a few years ago)
Very Rocky
T
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82 westy
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7466
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:32 am Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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| dabaron wrote: |
i'm going to have to let my son know that epic is a relative term. that trip looks epic to me.
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One of your best trip reports. Whatever is epic to your son is what matters. If he's like me, these trips outside with Dad will lead to a lifetime of memories and inspire me to get outside.
There's growing evidence that being outside - paddling muddy rivers, hiking a day on the AT, etc. - is good for us. 
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- Jim
| Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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buspor63
Samba Member
Joined: February 17, 2005
Posts: 1179
Location: Knoxville,TN Where America stops for gas
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:35 pm Post subject: Re: Trip Report: EPIC Adventure |
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Vanagons criss crossing the AT is what I wind up doing often. A couple of weekends ago, I crossed at Hot Springs NC and then at Max Patch.
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