My walks at Lehigh Gap

When I headed through morning traffic onto the PA Turnpike, I wasn’t sure where I was going to work.  Sometimes I like to just stop at the rest stop and work there.  Call me weird.  But it has wifi and I like the large open space.  On a weekday morning there aren’t many people.  Hickory Run is especially good.  I just needed a change of environment.

One thought was that I’d head west to Hamburg, park at Port Clinton, and walk to the Pinnacle.  But when I leave the house, I need the randomness that takes me to someplace new.  Anyway, I had lots of work and not a lot of time.

In the past I’ve hiked and biked from the Lehigh Gap Nature Center north of Slatington.  And this time, I crossed over to the east side of the Lehigh River and decided to hike the ridge for a bit.  There’s a nice parking lot, and the Appalachian Trail has a quick asset through the woods and then up some rocks.

I saw quite a large rattlesnake under a rock a few feet to my right.  The weather was cool, and another hiker said they don’t move much this time of year. The temperature was in the 50’s.  Along the ridge, there was some milkweed and a lot of caterpillars.  The views to the north looked over coal industry and woods and farms in the distance.

Coming back, I took the Winter Trail. It was less rocky and pretty nice.  Here’s a map I made. It took a lot of manual effort, but I like the result.  

Below is milkweed, and I saw woolly bear caterpillars.