Total Distance: 8.28 Miles
Moving Time: 3:09:51
Total Time: 3:29:47
Average Speed: 2.37MPH
Average Moving Speed: 2.62MPH
Conditions: Sunny, 79 degrees
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Since April, I've been hiking different sections of Nockamixon State Park, this past Sunday being my fourth trip out there and a beautiful day to do so. My eventual objective is to cover the entire lake wherever there are trails I can walk on.
I usually take a different route to get to Nockamixon since I previously hiked the western or southern parts of the lake. This time I approached the lake from the north (Route 611) on South Park Road and I was glad I did. What I didn’t know (I knew it was there but wasn’t aware of the magnitude) was the size and how beautiful the waterfall is at the emergency spillway. As I drove past, I saw it out of the corner of my eye…it’s hard to miss anyway but when I saw it, I pulled over to take a look. If you end up in this area and want to check out this waterfall, there’s plenty of room to park on either side of South Park Road.
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| I snapped a few pictures then went on my way to my starting point. |
1976 Stover Mill Road
Perkasie, PA 18944
GPS: 40.446675, -75.234715
Unfortunately, while I still enjoyed it, the trails in this area aren't the best for hiking, especially after wet weather. It seems to me that the water on these trails doesn't usually dry up as I noticed there were a lot of frogs living in the puddles. We had a lot of rain earlier in the week so it’s no surprise the trails were soggy but this was downright messy. If you plan to hike these trails, make sure you're prepared with the proper waterproof gear (gaiters, waterproof boots, etc.) or something to protect your footwear and several inches above the ankle, the mud is deep and impossible to avoid! It's a shame the cabins are in this area of Nockamixon instead of being closer to trails that are more easy to navigate, it would make a perfect weekend getaway for a hiker.
Perhaps it's coincidental timing but it seems that every time I've been hiking at Nockamixon, the ground is wet and soggy. In this area, it was worse than the others I had hiked. I didn't mind the challenge of trying to navigate around (and through) the deep mud and puddles but I don't think I'll be returning to this part of the park anytime soon. In my opinion, these trails are more geared towards horseback riding and after hiking them, I can understand why. I joke but I think this place should be renamed to Nockamudson, that or the trails should be renamed to properly warn people of the conditions. I think I now understand why these trails get little mention on the DCNR website for Nockamixon.
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| One of several areas throughout the Church and Mink Trails where the mud was deep and virtually unavoidable |
There are also parts of the trail that are not well maintained and are becoming overgrown with weeds and thorn bushes. If you plan to hike these trails, it might be best to do so earlier in the season and/or make sure you wear long pants to help prevent getting cuts as well as having some of those eight legged vampires known as ticks hitching a ride. While I did notice some, there wasn't a lot of poison ivy but it's better to err on the side of caution.
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| Section of the Mink Trail overgrown with weeds and thorn bushes |
Ok, I'm done complaining about the condition of the trails. While it was difficult navigation and slowed my progress, not all of it was bad. The terrain was relatively flat with the exception of a few hills on the Mink Trail, there was plenty of nature to be seen and of course there were the views of the lake and the waterfall. During my hike, I saw a cat hanging out on the trail, plenty of birds, a deer, a groundhog, and a bunch of great blue herons at the waterfall. As always, there are also chipmunks all over the place. I wasn't able to get a picture of the deer but it was no more than about 20-30 feet away from me and took off running before I could even think about raising my camera.
Since I stopped at the waterfall before my hike, I decided to also make it my objective to reach once I arrived at the Stover Mill Road parking lot. I was hot, sweaty and tired by the time I got there, but the payoff was the spectacular view and well worth it. Although it isn't shown on the map of Nockamixon State Park, the Mink Trail doesn't end at the Mink Road parking lot. It loops around to the front part of the spillway and pushes further downstream on the Tohickon Creek. How far, I don't know because once I reached the front of the spillway, I turned back.
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| Wood Thrush |
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| Cliffs opposite of spillway |
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| Great blue herons at the spillway |
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| Section of the Mink Trail |
My new hiking boots seem to be breaking in fine with only a few minor blisters. Perhaps it may be time to look into different insoles that are more stiff as I noticed when walking over rocks that I could feel them through the bottom of the boots. After my hike through this part of Nockamixon, I think they need a bath!
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| Wash me please! |
In all, it was a good day. I'm still getting used to distance hiking and this is the first time I've been able to hike more than 6 miles without having to deal with as many blisters since my last pair of hiking boots were too small (see my post about fabulous footwear). I'm learning as I go along and have realized that I definitely need to build up some more endurance. As I mentioned, the terrain was mostly level ground and I was pretty tired at the end of the hike. I'll be returning to Nockamixon again to check out some more of the trails but I think it's safe to say I'll be avoiding the Church and Mink Trails in favor of ones that don't have such deep mud...I hope!
Happy adventures and happy hiking!
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