Hiking Pennsylvania: Devil's Pulpit, the Appalachian Trail, and Lehigh Gap
Along the North Trail to Devil's Pulpit. |
The Appalachian Trail (AT) passes right through the Lehigh Valley region, and if I hadn't spent some time in the Lehigh Gap Nature Center after our hike, I'd never have guessed the area's history. Decades upon decades of industrial pollution left a large chunk of beautiful Lehigh Valley land barren and/or contaminated. The affected areas in and around Palmerton, Pennsylvania, including a slope on beautiful Blue Mountain, were added to the National Priority List for cleanup in the early 1980's and much work has been done to re-vegetate the defoliated land.
Now, the Lehigh Gap Nature Center (LGNC) owns nearly 800 acres in the Lehigh Valley between the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Trail, dubbed the Lehigh Gap Wildlife Refuge (LGWR). The LGNC is a non-profit, member-run conservation organization, and Nature Center itself opened in 2010. The area's master plan notes that local groups continue to work with the EPA to restore and revegetate the land, and the Nature Center's parking lot was the starting point for our seven mile hike.
Not what I'd expect the area around a Superfund site to look like, but exactly what I expect of the AT in Pennsylvania! |
After departing from the Nature Center, we took the Prairie Warbler and Woodpecker Trails straight up to the AT, heading west. The PA 309 to Lehigh Gap section of the AT is also accessible via a small parking lot near the intersection of Route 873 and Paint Mill Road, but we opted for the starting point with a larger parking lot. Also, the Nature Center team has interpretive signs posted identifying plants and trees in the area, and both short trails are great options for us learn about the LGWR's flora without venturing far from the Nature Center.
Along the North Trail on the opposite side of Kittatinny Ridge. It looked so different! |
A bit less than two miles past the first intersection with the blue blazed 1.5 mile North Trail, we picked up the North Trail at its second intersection with the AT to begin our loop back toward the car. And boy am I glad we did. I tend to prefer loop trails in general because you get to see different terrain, and we saw some pretty incredible changes in scenery along the North Trail.
After a quick stop at Devil's Pulpit, we continued south along the North Trail and reconnected with the AT, then retraced our steps back to the Nature Center.
Huge thanks to TerraMar for letting me co-lead the hike, and for a great time! Pro tip: make sure to stop in the Nature Center; they had fresh local honey and a great collection of books as well as beautifully done interpretive exhibits.
If you're looking for a longer hike, Backpacker Magazine has great descriptions of the PA 309 to Lehigh Gap section of the AT, which is part of where our hike took us, and the Lehigh Gap to Wind Gap section east of our destination. Have you been on any part of the AT in Pennsylvania? Which parts? Would you plan an adventure at a Superfund site? We'd love to hear from you!
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