Another canal hike trip report

“Did a 10-mile round trip on the Delaware Canal on a sun-splashed day yesterday. Started at Durham Furnace (Lock 21) and hiked downstream for five miles, a mile or so short of Upper Black Eddy. The hike went past Nockamixon Cliffs, which are picturesque in spite of three power lines crossing at that point.

It was a good day to be out and about. Not a lot of wildlife except the damned geese and one blue colored heron (not the big one, but a smaller version).

The river is continuing to recede to summertime levels. But there's still more water going down than in the past half-dozen summers.

There was a lot of anthracite coal along the towpath from a dredging operaton about five years ago. Coal often fell out of canal boats as they made their way downstream. There are probably a few tons in sediments in the canal bed. When coal is encountered on the towpath, it's a connection to the past and the reason the canals were built. They were the interstate highways of the early 19th Century. That was how goods were moved.

Coal was hauled from the anthracite region of eastern Pennsylvania via the Lehigh and Delaware Canals to Philadelphia and points south, and via the Morris Canal or Delaware and Raritan Canal to New York and points northeast.

The coal, of course, heated homes in the city and powered the industrial revolution. Philadelphia, as recently as the 1950s, was a major manufacturing area. Because of that, and home heating with coal, the city was almost always enveloped in the haze of coal fires. No telling what health issues still must be reckoned with because of all that coal smoke.

No pix from this trip. Forgot to take my camera (doh!).”

“Nice trip report Geo.
Thanks for the history bits.”

“Aw shucks, I thought this was going to be about a carnal hike trip.”

“I know how you get, Tom, so I left that part out to save your heart!”

“It was a beautiful day along the Delaware, for sure! Dare and I went tubing down the river, near Point Pleasant. It was a nice time, just swimming and floating along. We saw an osprey and possibly a bald eagle, though it was hard to absolutely sure since we had no binocs.

The canal path is a great place for biking (And XC skiing in Winter).

Have you ever stopped in at that little country store deli, near Upper Black Eddy? They have great sandwiches and homemade ice cream!!
:o)”

“You did good, hiking 10 miles, Geobeet. It was a beautiful weekend with fairly cool temperatures for the summer. Yesterday was even cooler.”

“Yes, I've partaken at that store in Upper Black Eddy. Good spot for lunch. I did not expect to walk as far as I did Sunday, but realized that I had to turn back a mile or so short of UBE. In time.”

“By the end of the hike, tubing seemed like a viable option!”