Running the Schuylkill River Part II: Berks County Completed

(For the last piece of the river trail I did in southern Berks, go here. For the next piece on the way to Philadelphia, go here. I also went to the Berks County High Point and saw some other interesting stuff this time around. For other stupid running projects go here.)


The Schuylkill River Trail. For more detailed maps you can click on the individual sections at the SRT website.


I have now run along the course of the Schuylkill River through Berks County. Where the Schuylkill River Trail is complete, I ran it; where it's not, I ran on the pedestrian-safe roads nearest to the river. The division of the river into a Berks County section is not entirely arbitrary; the SRT Commission refers to Berks County and above as "the upper Schuylkill". In particular the northern point where the river enters Berks from Schuylkill County is not arbitrary, as it passes through the final gap in the Appalachians and leaves the Coal Regions.

For the full account of the southern half of the county which I did a year and a half ago, go here. Here I only provide pics and narrative for the northern half of Berks above Reading, starting in Reading and heading north to Port Clinton.

As always, running and in particular running on roads is dangerous and you run the risk of getting killed. My blog posts are not intended as a guide for running these routes and if you use them as anything but entertainment, you're doing so at your own risk.

I ran upriver from near the start of the SRT in Reading, also in turn near the Tulpehocken/Schuylkill confluence. The trail below only goes to Hamburg to the start of the John Bartram section of the SRT, because Google Maps doesn't recognize Bartram there as connecting to the adjacent road. It's an additional and very pleasant ~2.5 miles to Port Clinton from the end on this map. (Someone posted a great video of the Bartram Trail here.) Note: if you try something similar, you may wait a very, very long time for Uber or Lyft since these are not peak ride-sharing areas for the drivers.



Highlights of the run:

- I never cease to be amazed by the proximity of the Glenside housing projects, and the Berkshire Country Club. As a kid (and a pizza delivery driver) I'd always been warned against getting out of my car near Glenside, but it was very quiet, and actually pretty well-maintained.

- On the long road behind the airport, there is a lot of wildlife - cardinals, groundhogs and possum.

- Crossing under 222, turning right on Stinson then Leesport Road, and past Epler's Church. My ancestry in this specific area goes back more than 200 years. I saw a dead gopher snake (more of a gopher ribbon at that point as you can see below) and a turkey along this stretch. This part of Pennsylvania has a level of density that is unlike many other places - not really suburban, but certainly not deserted like we think of a rural area in the West. Just a lot of nice houses in a couple of acres.


- The Wall Street Bridge in Leesport is closed which means that there's a really pleasant traffic-free 2 mile stretch as I headed north out of Leesie along the west bank of the river to Dauberville. The bridge repairs are no doubt due to damage sustained by a dinghy ramming into the bridge pilings in May of 1991 (see this article, "Capsized Boat Found; Search Yields Nothing." No further comment.)

- It was at this point I began recognizing bridges and landmarks I had passed on three very ill-advised, poorly-planned and worse-executed raft trips with friends from age 16 through 21.

- Finally I made it to the modest hamlet of Mohrsville (first photo below) where I crossed the river and proceeded north to Shoemakersville.








In Shoey, I turned left at Ollie's Tavern and continued along Water Street and then Zweizig. At this point the Blue Ridge really began to rise up in front of me. In this area I saw a bald eagle and a bluebird.




Above: the Blue Ridge looms and destiny awaits! Below: now THAT is a Dutchy name for a road.












Next few: there was a very pleasant riverside park near Fisher Dam Bridge with some very nifty painted wood carvings. These really made my day actually! (Maybe just because it's a combination of outsider art and and Pacific Northwest style.) Also, if you're paying attention to the route - Google Maps will tell you that Fisher Dam Bridge is not open to vehicular traffic, but it very much is (and I reported.)




















Above: there was a lot of honeysuckle out and the trail smelled great. Below: the Blue Ridge looms still closer!




Above: I arrive at the foot of the ridge. Below: I knew these were "silt basins" but never stopped to think about what that meant. Turns out during the glory days of the PA Coal Regions, from the waste material dumped in the Schuylkill, there was so much fine-grained material that it would flow down the river to Hamburg where it would choke the river. Starting in the second half of the 20th century when the river started being cleaned up (using this de-silting basin), the removed material was actually compressed into charcoal briquets for public sale. From there it was up the John Bartram section of the SRT.








Above: classic PA mountain understory with rhododendron. Below: excellent interpretive signs along this portion of the SRT, including this one about the exposed rock layers.






Above: the junction with the Appalachian Trail, where it comes down to the Schuylkill River Gap from the west side of the Blue Ridge. Below: the rock trail down to the Reading and Northern tracks at Port Clinton.




Above: the river at Port Clinton - the border of Berks and Schuylkill County. Below: looking back at the bridge from Schuylkill County. You can see the AT blaze on the bridge. I entered Schuylkill County to the strains of Holst's Mars Movement.



There is more of the SRT already open to the public in Schuylkill County, so I will be running up to the source. Most of the SRT is open going south from Berks except for a few bits in upper Montgomery County.

As always thanks to the people and agencies that put resources online and maintain the trail, and most of all to my very patient wife who puts up with (and even supports) this nonsense.

Running the Schuylkill River, Part I

In the next visit after the one I describe below I finished the rest of Berks County, and you can read about this impressive and death-defying feat here.


The ultimate destination.
Image from the Constitutional Walking Tour website.
My goal in writing this up is to get more people to use the Schuylkill River Trail in Berks County (of which Thun Trail is one part.) In 2015 it was named the best urban trail in America. You should really check out the Schuylkill River Trail website, which maps the whole length of it all the way down to Philly. Originally my plan was to run the whole length of the river through Berks County while I was there over the holiday. But as of right now the SRT is only complete in pieces, and many of the country roads in northern Berks are really not safe to be running on for many miles at a time. So here I'm only describing from the confluence of the Tulpehocken to the Montgomery County line. (I ran around Blue Marsh and ran down to the confluence with the Schuylkill as well in another of my many ludicrous running projects.)

It's worth mentioning that the SRT in Berks would be an ideal location for a volkmarch. In Germany, people will set aside a day when you along with friends and family walk to a village in your valley a few miles away, have a pint in the inn there, then get up and walk another few miles to the next village...and repeat. Sounds like a blast, right? What's stopping us Dutchmen from continuing this tradition? And this trail is perfect for it! I picture it starting on a late spring day at Victor Emmanuel or Trooper Thorne, then stopping at Ridgewood Winery and the Fork and Ale...that would be a fun day. But until then...on with the River!

From the Schuylkill River Trail website,
where you can click on the subsections
READING SECTION
I started at the confluence with the Tulpehocken because of my Blue Marsh project. From there, it's on the road a little to the Route 183/Schuylkill Avenue Bridge. From here to RACC was easily my least favorite part of the run. Trash on the trail, vandalized signage, and total desertion even at 3pm on a warm winter day did not make me want to dawdle (plus the trail is obstructed where there is construction under the Buttonwood Street Bridge is under construction). At RACC things start looking up again. The converted pedestrian bridge across the river affords a vantage point I've never seen from the bypass. On the other side is an unpleasant but not terribly unsafe-feeling industrial area; then you're on the overpass right across from Queen City. There's a little 19th century graveyard right there which I never knew was there, despite driving right past it a thousand times when I lived in Reading. You're then running along 422, and there's an abandoned stone booth with some interesting graffiti; suddenly you're behind UGI and then Victor Emmanuel's (who seem dead set on stopping anyone on a public trail from hopping the fence to come to their restaurant. In the summer this would be awesome!) The Brentwood Trailhead on the Thun Trail (a Berks portion of the SRT) is just past that.


Above: there's an oddly placed iron rail bridge near RACC that used to be on top of a (now filled-in) canal.


Above: Reading skyline from RACC. All my pictures were taken in late December.


Above: on the pedestrian bridge over the river. An interesting angle on the city you've probably never seen before.


Above: a little grim northeast industrial winter. Would be good for a metal album cover.


Above: graveyard between Route 10 and 422 near Queen City.
The oldest marker I saw dated to 1822.

READING OUTSKIRTS/CUMRU
From Brentwood, you quickly feel isolated (in a good scenic way) running along the river with Neversink to your left. In a few miles you come to a much higher, longer rail-to-trail bridge (this is the highlight of this section for me) and pass the old Titas generating station on your right. You cross under 176, and then cross 724 on foot. Ridgewood Winery is just southeast of here, and the newly-opened Gibraltar Hill State Forest, which has unexpected views of the Schuylkill River Valley and Neversink across the way, is up Ridgeway Road to your right here.



Going over the Schuylkill on the Thun. Image credit to user DWill320 at Panaramio.

ROBESON TOWNSHIP
The trail continues for a few more miles along the base of Gibraltar Hill, at the edge of fields until you reach Gibraltar. Nearby route 568 between 724 and Route 10 might be my favorite driving road in all of Berks. From Gibraltar you're on roads for a few miles, so be careful. The first is Old River Road - not heavy traffic, fairly straight so you can see what's coming, and enough lawn/shoulder so you can get out of the way. Very pleasant, lots of small houses and fields. Then you cross 724 (be careful) and you're now on Schuylkill Road, right next to the river. I liked this bit.

BIRDSBORO
Once you get to Birdsboro proper, you cross 724 one last time before picking up an actual trail again. This takes you right to Union Township Recreation Area, which has bathrooms (and the Fork and Ale is right there as well).


Above: bamboo stand between Morlatton Village and the Berks-Montgomery County line. Below: a friend I met on the trail near Birdsboro.



DOUGLASSVILLE AND POINTS BEYOND...
From here the trail is all rail-to-trail straight down to the Montgomery County Line - nothing really that special but a very pleasant flat jaunt through the woods next to the river. There is actually an official campsite along this stretch, and another converted bridge that's kind of neat. I saw plenty of people accessing the trail from Douglassville, and there's official access at Morlatton Village (oldest building in Berks). You pass under River Bridge Road and 422, and then there are two large stands of bamboo which struck me as odd. Finally you pass the small sign marking the Berks-Montgomery border, and arrive at the County Line parking area. There are a couple more miles of trail at this writing, but it ends in Pottstown. While you're in this area you might also want to check out Monocacy Hill, which has volcanic rock at the top.

Remaining sections for the future: Phoenixville to just past the Art Museum has been built so I'll start working on that next time I'm in PA. There are all kinds of other cool trails constantly being finished too like the Perkiomen, which meets the Schuylkill in Valley Forge. And of course up through the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, to the gap in the Blue Ridge where the Schuylkill emerges into Hamburg from the Coal Regions...which also happens to be where the Appalachian Trail crosses it. Another project?...

Running the Schuylkill River Part III: The Lower Schuylkill River Trail, Plus Other Southeast Pennsylvania Awesomeness

When last we left our illustrious hero, I had reached the Schuylkill County line up at Port Clinton, thus completing old Berks County.

Tl;dr I've now reached a point 25 miles from the mouth of the Schuylkill and I took some pictures and ate a lot of Italian food, but I forgot how much January in PA can suck. As always, thanks to the volunteers, local political leaders, organizations and voters who created and support the Schuylkill River Trail.



The Lower Schuylkill River Trail

On this visit I was planning to follow the Schuylkill River Trail (and surface streets where necessary) all the way to the mouth of the river by the old naval shipyards, but weather and family got in the way. That is: most days I was helping older family members with financial things, and I don't want my wife and kid stuck in the hotel while I play this stupid game, and a rideshare back and forth to the Philly suburbs is expensive. Also, twice the windchill went below zero and I'm not running in that nonsense. During my most recent visit, I got to the Schuylkill County line up at Port Clinton. Two visits ago I reached the border between the "upper" and "lower" Schuylkill River at the Berks-Montgomery County line. At the time I actually found this terminology offensive. "Upper" implies the dark interior of the continent, an undeveloped, backward, godless country filled with hostile and superstitious natives. And Dutchmen aren't THAT superstitious anymore.

(I make jokes about the land of my birth, but to regard PA with unalloyed positivity would be exceedingly un-Pennsylvanian. Still, I do love it, and it was actually nice running in the winter at least when it wasn't way too cold, looking at wildlife and seeing areas close to where I grew up that I never knew about. Winter doesn't shut down outdoor activity completely, even in Pennsylvania.)

So this time, I started at the Berks-Montgomery line in Stowe. (Note that I consider Stowe to be the Leesport of Montgomery County.) Very quickly the official trail ends and I ran a good chunk of 724. Not recommended! Do not do this based on this be g or for any other reason, or you risk getting hit and killed (and if you sue me this sentence will be "Exhibit A".) There was ice on the branches where they touched the river as you'll see below, but no "floes". I noticed a lot more cardinals along the trail than I remember seeing as a kid, not just along the SRT, but everywhere in the area. The next group are from around Pottstown.












Above: looking upriver from the Hanover Street Bridge. Below: looking downriver, with Limerick visible in the distance. It's starting to get pretty metal at this point along the route.


See? As I progressed toward the nuclear plant, it got so metal bro.








Notably, a bridge had collapsed at Dairy Road in Parker Ford and I'd read before my trip that they'd closed the trail there. So, I magically teleported across without trespassing through the closed part! Amazing! Note, I consider Parker Ford to be the Leesport of Chester County. Below that: some very metal-looking industrial structures in the area too. I think the section between Spring City and Phoenixville at the Cromby Trailhead is the most metal section. I feared I'd been transported to Silent Hill, but Centralia is actually near PottsVILLE, not Pottstown.




The SRT is overall well-marked, although the mile markers you can find upriver from Phoenixville (like the one above) disappeared below Phoenixville.






Real mature guys.


The next few are from Phoenixville, which has become the local hipster paradise (must be delayed effect from exposure to the Blob.) Phoenixville does have a remnant of the old canal, partly frozen on this day, and the last working lock. The river was very high and fast with lots of debris after all the rain the day before. French Creek near its mouth on the Schuylkill is actually quite a steep-banked little tributary, almost like a small canyon. Might have to kayak that some time! If you look closely, along the canal you can see one fellow sitting and waiting, who by the looks of him has been waiting a long time.









The area around the mouth of the lower Perkiomen Creek it turns out is also really pretty; years ago I often drove through upper Montco from Reading to Lansdale and found that area (e.g., around Schwenksville) dark and depressing, which is why this surprises me (note: also drove through Schwenksville on this trip. Not as bad as I remember. Did that have to do with my own frame of mind at the time? Nah, couldn't be.)









Old painted mile markers around Valley Forge (if that's what they are) seem to use the distance to the very mouth of the river at the shipyards, and therefore don't match the mile markers above Phoenixville. Also, as it warmed up this day I repeatedly heard ice cracking around me and decided to help it along like the eight-year-old I am.








I saw some wildlife I wasn't expecting including the poor squished fellow you see here, who probably wasn't moving fast enough in the frigid temperatures to avoid bicycle tires. I keep seeing stands of bamboo along the trail as well (like the one below), as far north as Berks, all the more conspicuous for remaining green in winter. Prediction: in 100 years bamboo will be a major invasive up and down the East Coast. (It's not a secret. Articles about invasive bamboo in Philly in 2014 and 2016 here and here.) Twelve years ago I saw a patch of it, ironically, on the battlefield at Yorktown, Virginia.



On the way back we hit Sly Fox Brewing (the one by the airport in Pottstown, though they're adding locations.) Not only are they a SRT sponsor, they have awesomely named beers, like the HAL 9000 Hoppy American Lager - "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't brew that." Also, great article here at Philly.com about the booming PA microbrew scene. Frankly, San Diego has been a little stale and full of itself for a year or two now (YEAH I SAID IT.) No really.


Other Berks County Adventures

I also got around Berks while I was there, and finally got to a few places that I'd wanted to visit. But first, food recommendations: of course I got back to Oakbrook Brewing, maybe my new favorite brewery, that I made it to at my last visit. Two new restaurants I made it to and highly recommend were Anthony's Trattoria in Pennside (used to be Spazio's) and Say Cheese, a brunch place on Penn Ave. in West Reading - delicious, but watch out for check creep! I wanted to meet some friends at Schaylor Brewing on 222 south of Shillington but the snowstorm took care of that.


Above: Leesport. I consider Leesport to be the Leesport of Berks County. Next two below: the Conrad Weiser house. His remembrance:significance ratio has to be about the worst of any figure in early American history. Read about him. (It doesn't help that Franklin unfairly ignored Weiser's contribution in his account of the French and Indian War in his famous autobiography.)






Above: Pennsylvania winter sunrise. Below: my mom remembered this hole-in-the-wall soft pretzel place that was in Reading on Laurel between 6th and 7th, near the old Joe's Restaurant. It's on maps and there's a sign there, but it just looked like someone's house. (Added later: they've closed after 74 years. My timing sucks.) Disappointed, you can see I then went to get beer at a Weis Cafe just after 8 a.m. Thank you Weis - you have proven PA is no longer under shariah law with respect to alcohol (since you can get a beer at 9am in Morocco, which actually is a Muslim country - see end of the post here.)



One night I went up to Mt. Penn and from Skyline Drive got some nice shots of a clear winter sunset over the city, and of course the Pagoda. The sunset was fantastic, not unlike a California sunset, likely because, as in California for most of the year, there was little moisture in the air. Of course nothing pleasant in Pennsylvania ever comes without a price, and this low absolute humidity only happens when it's five degrees Fahrenheit, which was the case when I took these pictures.






Above, you can just make out five distant contrails of planes heading southeast.












Not sure if it counts as alpenglow if it's on trees.


















Above, the white-out squall as seen from Flying Hills. I saw two bald eagles over Flying Hills on this same day - another sign of comeback (I even forgot that I saw one in northern Berks back in May!) This squall is the one that caused the 27-car pile-up on 222. Below, after the polar vortex had passed over, the winter sunset with the Philly skyline. Below that, the remains of my squid-ink pasta at Ristorante Pesto on Broad Street in South Philly, which you're only hurting yourself if you don't go there. In fact it was so good that I showed my compassion by not eating a particularly obstinate clam (and I show mercy toward mollusks, bivalves or otherwise, only rarely - lest you doubt my mollusk-torture credibility, please see the end of this post, or partway down in this one.)




FIN