An Unplanned Visit To Riverview Park In East Penn Township And Another, Short, Hike Along The Lehigh River.

I was back hiking along the Lehigh River on Saturday morning,  at the Riverview Park in East Penn Township in Carbon County. This was not were I planned to hike  on the first day of Winter. During the week I planned  to explore the Wild Creek and Penn Forest Reservoirs in Carbon County on Saturday.

However a cold front and snow arrived with the Winter Solstice. Three inches of snow fell at my home in Hazle Township Luzerne County. The road were snow covered and icy in Hazleton . I decided to  see how they were in Carbon County  since I would have to drive on some back roads to get to the reservoirs. My plan B was to drive to Walnutport where I hoped there would be less snow. Well the roads in Carbon County weren’t to bad and I was going to head to the reservoirs.  However the information panel  on my Jeep showed the right front tire was low, and  slowly getting lower. I got air at a gas station near Weissport but decided to play it safe and so I drove to the Riverfront Park  in East Penn Township near Bowmanstown.

I had visited the Riverview Park before but always in the warmer months.  In addition top the park along the Lehigh River there is a primitive campground  here and I’m sure a great place to camp on a warm  Summer night. Well, it wasn’t Summer and it wasn’t warm.  The temperature was around 25 degrees when I parked my Jeep  with a strong northwesterly wind and about 2 inches of snow on the ground.

I walked to the main road and followed it to the  Delaware and Lehigh Trail. This trail is part of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, which, as stated in their website   “preserves, interprets and leverages the nationally significant history of the over 165-mile transportation route between Wilkes-Barre and Bristol, Pennsylvania.” I am on a civic group in Hazleton and we hope to connect to the corridor through our  Rails to Trails. I walked on the trail  along the Lehigh River, as I often point out,  one of the three great rivers I am blessed to live near, the other two being the Schuylkill and Susquehanna.

The Blue Mountain, or  Kittatinny  Ridge towered above the trail to the south and west.  The Lehigh Gap is about five miles south on the trail and I imagined Benjamin Franklin hiking through the gap and   along the river on his way to build Fort Allen in Weissport in the Winter of 1756. More on that in my previous blog. Well back to my hike, and my mission, to find and share the beauty of our planet, especially wildlife.

I hoped to see some water fowl on the river and sure enough I did a pair of common mergansers were swimming in the cold waters of the Lehigh River. The would be the only birds I saw on the river.

I walked past a dog park and, after about  3/4 of a mile I left the main trail and followed the Three Ponds Trail.

It took me into a  Winter wonderland.  I used to love snow in my younger years. I  sledded, ice skated, skied and just loved walking and rolling in the snow and cold. Not anymore. It’s hard to walk through and the cold bothers my old bones and muscles.

But, I will have to admit it was a nice scene I was walking through.

I walked down to the ponds and found  one frozen,

but another ice free. I was hoping to see some ducks on the ponds but it was quiet on the ponds and in the surrounding woods. I only heard and saw a few  northern cardinals on the Three Pond Trail.

The winter scenery got even prettier when the sun broke through the clouds again.

I walked  through the trail and through some wetlands,

and under some pine trees.

The pine cones,

and red winter berries added to the Christmas  like scene. 

I hiked back to the Delaware and Lehigh Trail. It was snow covered but that didn’t stop a few dedicated  folks from running  on the trail. A few other  folks were braving the cold and walking their dogs.

I only hiked  out about 1 1/4 mile on the trail since I wanted to check my Jeep’s  tire pressure. It was a lot colder walking back into the strong northwesterly wind.

Along the way I saw a lot of oriental bittersweet berries along the trail. It was an aggressive and damaging invasive species, crowding out native species, but it does provide a food source for our Winter resident birds.

And I soon saw small flock of dark eyed juncos, or appropriately, also called  snow birds,

and white throated sparrows feeding on the berries.

As is often the case, especially in Winter, different species of birds flock together for protection. I heard, and saw a pair of Carolina wrens singing in the trees along the trail,

I love their cheerful songs, which echo in our woodlands on the coldest and snowiest days of Winter.

Their feathers were fluffed  as a protection from the cold and strong winds.

I also saw a few American goldfinches feeding on the oriental bittersweet berries.

I walked back to my Jeep and checked the tire pressure. It was lower but I felt I could drive it to the gas station in Weissport so I walked another mile. This time I hiked to the Mountainview park located across the road. I did not know this park existed.

I walked down top a small stream where I saw, and scared about a half dozen mallard ducks.

I also saw a couple of northern cardinals feeding on some more oriental bittersweet berries.  It would be the last bird I saw on my hike. Here is a link to a gallery  on my blog website with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike. Riverview Park birds December 21 2024.

The trail followed the creek and through a disc golf course.

I hiked back up to the trail,

and finished my shortened three mile hike. I decided to drive to Weissport , fill my tire and drive home. I made it safely and believe it wasn’t a tire issue bu rather a sensor issue or both. But whatever it was I was a little disappointed I couldn’t hike more along the Lehigh River. But. as always, I was grateful I was able to hike the few miles I did, and was able to share some of the beauty of nature I found. And I was grateful the Winter solstice was here and that meant longer days, and the arrival of, hopefully, an early Spring.  Here is a link to a gallery  on my blog website with some more photos from  my hike. Riverview Park  December 21 2024.

“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
― Percy Bysshe Shelley,

fskokoski@gmail.com

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