Lehigh Preserve

Little late in covering this event.  Oh well.  This happened the day after my Trexler run.

My lack of planning got me again.  There are some instances where thinking ahead is needed.  Instead of my original intention I ended up staying local and exploring a new area.

Now I have to admit my legs were sore.  It had far less to do with running and more with the introduction of squats back into my workout on Friday.  Resting or taking it easy would have been the best approach had it not been such a nice weekend.  I might not enjoy the heat but seeing the sun is something I will miss as winter approaches.

You wouldn't know it but across the river among the trees is a series of trails.  There are no designated parking areas.  There are no guides.  You won't find the trails on a Google map.  I first found out about this hidden secret on a Pennsylvania trail website.  Strava users confirmed it.  Yet I never ventured over.

It's awesome to live in an area that has this sort of access to trails and parks.  What a difference a mile or two can make.  After crossing the hill to hill and making an immediate right, Brighton curves towards the river before the hospital.  It's a stark change from the bustle of 378.  A sign warns of no trespassing from the company tucked around the way.  Hop the curb and hang a left and enter the Lehigh Preserve.

I had no intention of exploring the whole thing.  That can be saved for a cooler day when I am more rested.  My objective was to find my way to the top of the hill where there is a small park, then run down through Fountain Hill.  Virtually all trails I use are multipurpose in some form.  Many like rails to trails are wide, perhaps paved and family friendly.  Others like the Appalachians can be quite narrow.  All tend to be maintained by some type of organization.  As far as I know the trails in this woods were created by mountain bikers.  It keeps the wooded area quite dense.

With few markings and trails that circle and cut through each other I found my way to the top without issue.  That alone was pleasing.  The vegetation did a great job at keeping in the heat and humidity along with not allowing in a breeze.  Needless to say I didn't see any people or deer in my short exploration.  Part of the fun in this route is getting to view Bethlehem from the streets of Fountain Hill.  It's a different perspective and not one you normally get to see.

Well worth future exploring.  It also adds another spot to go to that is accessible from my front door.

Here is a look at the area on a map.

  

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Trexler Preserve

I've traveled across much of eastern Pennsylvania in search of new trails whether it be for running or biking.  Some how this hidden gem eluded all those searches.  It wasn't until someone else had heard from someone else about this area full of trails to explore.  It was so off my radar that when I heard this I couldn't comprehend what amazing trail system was hiding at Trexler Park.

What makes this more intriguing is that the first ever organized running event I did was four years ago at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.  I finished 9th in the 5k which had over 250 people.  Not bad for a first race.  The rest is basically history as I've been trotting around ever since.  I've never been back to that race since that day even though I probably should.  The reason I mention this run at the zoo is because it is in the heart of the preserve.  The same preserve I basically never knew existed until today.

I had no game plan for today.  In fact by the time I decided I needed to go outside I briefly planned on a different destination before considering the drive time was not worth it.  Trexler Preserve was now the spot.  I chuckled thinking as I got ready that even on a Saturday I was heading for Rt 22 west.  It was far less funny when I was atop the overpass on 378 and did my normal glance down to the highway below.  It wasn't moving.  This is a Saturday at noon.  So as quickly as I got onto the highway I immediately got off, headed north and then snaked my way west which included stops near the Lehigh Valley mall.  An hour later and I had found my desired parking spot.  Not off to the best start.

I already knew the route I was taking.  It would be roughly nine miles of trail that bordered the boundaries of the park.  Terrain would be mostly rolling hills with a decent amount of elevation changes.  The one concern when tackling an unknown trail is if it is marked well (and now bears).  Thankfully this one was.

Normally I would not hit the trails in the middle of the day especially with warm temperatures.  As I said earlier this was not in my plans.  The elevation changes happened quickly.  With my legs feeling fairly decent early on I tackled the first hill hard.  At the same time there were about ten Asian hikers coming down.  A few in the middle didn't notice me as they were focused on their footing.  Since the trail in that section was wide enough for one person I went up on the grassy side clearly startling one woman.  The border trail wasn't well shaded in many spots and it wasn't long before I started slowing down in the heat.

Before I continue in what I promise won't be a detailed outline of every mile, I have to note that I have a great ability no matter what trail, path or street I am on to be able to spot wildlife especially deer.  Even within Bethlehem I have seen one jogging the river path, in my own neighborhood and on the Lehigh campus.  Yet I've never seen one while driving.  Today was no exception.  As I came down off one of the hills and into a more vegetated, marshy area I looked to my left and looking right back at me was a baby deer.

Of course by the time I got my camera out he turned away.  But I did get another picture when he retreated to a safer location to monitor this unsuspecting visitor.

Between mile 5 and 6 I came up very quickly on a buck under a tree.  I saw him before he saw me but unlike this younger deer as I went for my camera he noticed me and took off.  With my great knowledge of wildlife the first thing I thought when I caught a glimpse of him standing there was, holy crap a moose.  In my defense you are running through a preserve and zoo so who knows what animals might be near by.

I continued on my journey along the ridge of the park and was able to snap these views from the trail.  One facing north and the second looks into the preserve.

Near the four mile mark I came across a river crossing I was unaware of and quite happy to see.  I used this crossing to my advantage to cool me off.  Also good to know this is here because had this been a different time of year I would have been wading through chest high water instead of the shin high amount today.

Either the cooling water or excess shade provide me an extra boost for the last half.  I took time to stop and take one last picture of the trail in a more colorful section.

About a mile or so from the parking lot I once again passed the same group of Asian hikers that I had passed on the hill when I first began.  At this point they appeared stunned as one smiled and gave me a thumbs.  It just so happened that at both points I passed them I was running at a decent clip.  I probably walked a third of the trail.

I haven't kept decent records of my own but I'd have to think this is one of the more up and down trails I have ever done.  I would have to go back to some of my Appalachian runs near Hamburg to find similar elevation changes.

PERSONAL NOTE

When I gifted myself the current watch I'm using at the end of 2013 I figured it would help keep me active since it records various information that I find interesting to look at.  There is also a website that keeps your personal statistics.  Since the first day of 2014 all my runs and biking trips have been recorded.  With the almost nine mile run today I official went over the 1,000 mile running mark since I began using the watch.  That's the equivalent of driving from Philadelphia to Orlando.   

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End of Summer

Is it really the end of summer?  The first week of September would have you guessing otherwise.  Perhaps it all depends on the part of the country you live.  The meteorological calendar would tell you summer has ended.  I believe many of the local school students would agree too.

After much debate within my own head I came to the conclusion that locally the easiest way to separate the seasons is using the four seasons, three month approach.

Summer = June-July-August

Fall = September-October-November

Winter = December-January-February

Spring = March-April-May


Sure you could make some arguments.  September can clearly be labeled as a summer month especially the first half.  The same argument could be made for winter and March.  The first snow surely will occur in November, but I hardly consider the week after Halloween to be winter.  Maybe it's not as clear cut.  Even now I find myself debating whether the above is true.  Does our weather more resemble something like this?

Summer = June-July-August-September

Fall = October-November

Winter = December-January-February-March

Spring = April-May


I must be truthful.  This was not my objective when I started this post as I now feel the latter might be a better representation of our seasons.  I think I'm going to have to do some tracking to determine averages.  I'll save that for another post.


Here's the real reason I decided to spend a Thursday night blogging.  If we can agree that summer is over, or at least basically over, what would qualify this as a "bad" summer.  We hear the phrase bad winter and even great summer.  So what is bad?

11
15
29

I will get back to those numbers.  

I've never been a big fan of summer and probably never will be.  I don't do well with warm temperatures and can sweat on a 50 degree day with ease.  Don't get me wrong, winter can really harsh the mellow too.  Fall might be close to perfect.  At least for some.  Others want the heat.  If you've been watching the local news (New York or Philadelphia) you probably think we have been getting slammed.  There's a reason for that assumption.  This is where we dig a little deeper.

I generally follow Philadelphia media outlets.  They mentioned the abundant amount of heat waves this summer which caused a red flag to go up for me.  What heat waves?  The summer has felt like summer but did I miss something more?  Turns out the answer was no.  Many weather publications and the weather industry tend to favor the count of +90.  Basically they count how many times a city hits at least 90 during the course of a summer.  Some count +95 and/or +100.  All depends on where you are.  In our area three consecutive days of above 90 temperatures is an official heat wave.  Time for a little research.

Here is where you see the difference a few (or more) miles can make.  All readings locally are taken at airports.  In this scenario I will be using Philadelphia, Reading and Allentown of which none are located in these cities.  Philadelphia airport is south of the downtown area.  Reading's from Penn Street is about 3.5 miles to the northwest, and Allentown's is almost 4 miles north northeast of the monument on Hamilton.  Take this for what it is worth.  Side note.  I live 3.5 miles from the Allentown airport which is why observations there could be just as accurate for Bethlehem.

Among larger cities in PA these three in relation to each other and their reporting stations are the closest.

Philadelphia to Reading - 51.8 miles
Philadelphia to Allentown - 54.9 miles
Reading to Allentown - 33.6 miles

Back to the numbers of summer (June-July-Aug).

Allentown/Bethlehem hit the 90 degree mark 11 times this summer.

Reading hit the 90 degree mark 15 times.

Philadelphia broke 90 a total of 29 times.


There is a huge difference between 11 and 29 even if one hit 89 when the other hit 90.  The magical number of 90 is what continually gets reported.  And to what I was able to find, the average for Philadelphia is closer to 20 for a season.

So was it a bad summer?  Numbers alone would tell you Philadelphia suffered.  By the way, neither Reading nor Allentown hit 95 while Philadelphia did four times.  At no point would I have said this summer has been oppressive.  Here's the kicker.  If you compare the average summer temperatures of each city, Allentown has been the warmest.

More to come.  Keeping following at the new Lehigh Valley Living as this will become a mix of weather and local culture. 
     

 

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