Valley Forge - North Side

Date of Hike: Saturday, March 7, 2015

Total Distance: 9.09 Miles

Avg speed: 2.49MPH

Avg moving speed: 2.74MPH

Moving Time: 3:18:39

Total Time: 3:38:47

Conditions:Partly Sunny, 39 Degrees

Difficulty: Moderate*

This past Saturday, I took a trip to explore the northern section of Valley Forge National Historical Park. It's been a while since I've been hiking due to the weather conditions and not having the proper winter hiking gear but this time, I decided to brave the snow and went anyway. As usual, the trip was well worth it and luckily, there wasn't much ice to worry about. 

My original intention was to explore the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove but they were having an event there over the weekend. The place was jam packed with people and any parking lots that were close to the sanctuary were full so I decided to forgo that for another day. Since I was already close to Valley Forge, I turned back towards Phoenixville and parked at the parking lot that's right alongside the Pottstown Expressway (Route 422). 

Approximate address is:
1303 Pawlings Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
GPS: 40.1141019,-75.4554758 

The parking lot is actually on Station Avenue which you'll easily see on your approach. If you don't want to park there, another parking lot is about a mile west on Pawlings Road (towards Phoenixville) alongside the Schuylkill River which will bring you to the same trails. Click here for the trail map of the northern section of Valley Forge. Note that there are some trails in this section of the park that are unmarked and are supposed to be closed to the public.

From the NPS website: Some former trails have been closed to public use. They were closed because they are unsafe and cannot be made safe, or because using the trails destroys natural or historic resources. If a trail is not shown on the map, it is closed and public use is not permitted. Please be a part of protecting your natural and cultural heritage by staying off closed trails.

If you're interested in checking out other sections of Valley Forge, those maps can be found here. 

Directly across the street from the parking lot on Station Road, a section of wooden fence was covered in ice.

*Like my previous hike at the Black Rock Sanctuary, there was only one reason for me marking this hike as being of moderate difficulty and that was due to the snow. Under normal conditions, this would have been rated easy since it's mostly flat with a few exceptions. As you approach the trailhead, you'll see this sign stating that there is no winter trail maintenance.

Pawlings Road Trailhead Map

When you start the hike from the trailhead, you'll be heading north for a short distance. It leads down a hill, then connects to the Schuylkill River Trail that runs alongside the Pottstown Expressway (Route 422 - also known as the Benjamin Franklin Highway) for a short distance.

This trail is definitely not maintained in the winter!

As you get to the bottom of the hill, you'll be on the Schuylkill River Trail. If you head north, the trail will lead you towards Oaks, PA and the Perkiomen Trail. Heading south will take you into Valley Forge and beyond (all the way to Philadelphia if you want to go that far!) which is the direction I went. During this leg of the journey, you'll be right next to the highway so if you're looking to enjoy a peaceful stroll, you're going to have to wait until you get further down the trail.

While it's said these trails aren't maintained during the winter, it seems there was a vehicle of sorts on the Schuylkill River Trail since it was well matted down and easy to walk on. I also passed a few cross country skiers along the way but I'm not sure they could have done that. It certainly helped that the weather was a mild 39 degrees. Strange to say that 39 degrees was mild but it's been a pretty chilly winter for good 'ol Southeastern PA. I brought one of my winter jackets along with me since the wind was blowing and it was a bit chilly out in the open but after a short distance, I took it off and was comfortable wearing my winter hiking pants and a hoodie.

Looking back on the Schuylkill River Trail

When you park at the Station Avenue parking lot, you're technically not in Valley Forge. A short distance after you cross under 422, you'll see this sign. Somewhere in this area, the Schuylkill River Trail also turns to the east.

I wish I could have been on this trail a day sooner. By the time I got there, most of the snow had already fallen off the trees.

There were animal footprints all over the place

23 miles to Philadelphia!

Looking down from the Schuylkill River Trail towards the River Trail and the Schuylkill River.

Once I neared the Betzwood Picnic Area, I turned off the Schuylkill River Trail and headed west through the parking lot towards the River Trail.

I'm not sure what this is or was at one time. It looks like they're grills and was on the River Trail a short distance from the picnic area.

I found a few pictures of the remains of this building online but unfortunately, was unable to find out any information about it. There was a small information kiosk close to these remains but I didn't think to look at it as I passed. I'm sure it has some historical significance and will update my blog if or when I manage to find anything out about it.

One of a several different bridges crossing streams along the River Trail

There were probably more than 100 geese in this area. The land close to where the geese are is called Catfish Island.

Looking back on River Trail towards the remains of the building I passed

More geese alongside Catfish Island

Looking back on the River Trail again

I thought this was pretty cool. It looks like the branches of these trees were frozen into the Schuylkill River until it had rained earlier in the week. Once the ice melted, the branches sprung upward and kept a bit of ice with them.

A small tributary running alongside the River Trail with the ice beginning to crack

Another bridge crossing over the tributary I was taking pictures of

Snow Angel! No, it wasn't me who did this!

The caption on this site marker is a bit hard to read, even up close. Here's what it says:

The Site of General Sullivan's Bridge Erected by The American Army 1777-1778. Destroyed by Freshets in the winter of 1778-1779. This stone is erected by the Historical Society of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. 

For those of you who may not know, the term "freshet" is another word for a flood. Since the bridge was built and destroyed during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), I thought it had something to do with the British. I was just a little bit off! 

There isn't much for historical information but I did find some on the NPS site. Before 1840, there was a red sandstone tablet that marked the spot where General Sullivan and his men had built the bridge. In 1840, a collection was taken up by Riverboatmen who replaced it with a white marble site marker since the red sandstone tablet had deteriorated. Although it doesn't say when, the white marble marker was destroyed by a flood and replaced in 1907 with the carved granite marker you'll see today.

The land on both sides of the Schuylkill River were considered so important to the Americans during the Revolutionary War that General Washington had ordered the bridge to be built. Sullivan's Bridge, made of all timber, was the only one built by the Americans throughout the entire duration of the war. Strategically, it would serve as a place to engage the British if they attacked from the north and a place to retreat and regroup if they attacked from the south (through Valley Forge).

The Site of General Sullivan's Bridge

I'm not sure what the deal is with the color but the snow wasn't pink!

Some goose tracks on the trail

And another goose just down the trail from all the tracks

Looking across the Schuylkill River, you can see the train station that's at Washington's headquarters. Years ago, the train station was not being used for anything and looking a bit on the beat up side but its since been renovated and is now open to the public.

This bridge is just down the tracks from the train station. Underneath the bridge, there's a walking tunnel and dirt path that leads to the opposite side where Washington's headquarters are. At one time, this section used to be open to the public but the tunnel is now closed off and cannot be accessed. I don't know exactly when it was closed but I believe the area was washed out by the floods from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. If you look to the left side of the picture in the snow, you can still see the remains of a fence where you could walk alongside the river for a short distance.

Another creek flowing into the Schuylkill River

After reading a portion of "A River Again" by Chari Towne, I discovered that these remains might have be one of two temporary dams that were built in the late 1940's or early 1950's during the Schuylkill River Project.

Another tunnel and I believe there's a stream flowing through there

At this point, I was getting close to the parking lot on Pawlings Road. I had hiked past the trail I wanted to turn on so I could get pictures of the tunnel and what I believe to be the remains of a dam. I turned back to head up the trail I had intended to take and this was where things got a bit more interesting. There weren't a lot of tracks leading up this trail which meant I would be trekking through unpacked snow for just about the rest of my journey.

The trail (Walnut Hill Trail) doubles back to the east towards the Betzwood Picnic Area. The below picture is looking towards the River Trail and the Schuylkill River. Between these two trails is a steep bank or berm which was built to contain the silt water during the Schuylkill River Project.
 

Like the basins at the Black Rock Sanctuary, this is an area that was used to dredge coal silt out of the river in order to clean it up after years of dumping (Schuylkill River Project). In this area is impounding basin number 21. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much information on it other than it's use for dredging the coal silt from the river. 

What I did find out however, was how it was done. In 23 different areas along the Schuylkill River, the silted water was dredged into the basins. Once they were filled, the water was left to stand until the silt and sediment settled to the bottom and the clean water was then slowly released back into the river. Once the basins were empty, the process was repeated and the basins were allowed to fill again. When enough silt and sediment was in the basins, any remaining coal was reclaimed for a variety of uses including charcoal briquettes. 

A little further up the trail is the Pawlings Farm which has a connection with Sullivan's Bridge and also played an important role during the Revolutionary War. This farm was a central hub for provisions (also known as a commissary) coming from many places including Bucks, Berks and Montgomery Counties as well as New York and New Jersey. Once the provisions were organized, they were brought across Sullivan's Bridge to the troops in Valley Forge. A market was also established at the farm to entice local formers to sell their food to the Americans instead of the British. 

Over time and due to muddy conditions and unsanitary practices of the troops at Valley Forge, they were moved to the Pawling Farm in May of 1778 and held camp until June 19, 1778 where they finally left the grounds to meet the British at the battle of Monmouth.

Also known as Walnut Hill, the Pawling Farm was acquired by the National Park Service in 1984. Walnut Hill was originally purchased by Henry Pawling in 1719 and remained in the Pawling family until 1826 when it was purchased by Samuel Wetherill.

In 1826, Samuel Wetherill built the barn and in 1845, it was doubled in size by his son, John Price Wetherill.

It's too bad there was a chain link fence blocking the view of this equipment, it would have been pretty cool to get some closer unobstructed shots.

I'm not sure what this little building is or was, perhaps an old refrigeration house or storage shed.

The earliest remaining portion of the Pawling Mansion was built by Henry Pawling II in 1743. After the property was purchased by the Wetherill's, it remained in their family until 1949 where it was purchased by Lyle Boulware. Boulware spent the next 20 years renovating the mansion until it was unfortunately destroyed by a fire in 1967. What you see here are remains of the mansion.

I took a walk around the mansion and shot off a few more pictures. The crooked awning made it look a bit on the creepy side and unfortunately, it was fenced off so there was no exploring the interior. Like the barn, there's no way to get inside unless you hop a fence...rats!

It looks like a section of the house is being renovated, scaffolding on the left side.

After circling around the mansion, I took another shot of the barn and was on my way back to the trail.

I walked past this field on my way in to explore the barn and mansion areas. Once done, I headed towards the wooded area on the opposite side. This is known as the Commissary Trail.

At this point, there was a trail that led off to the right to the top of a berm, likely part of the silt basin.

On the opposite side of the berm was this open field.

Trail on top of the berm

Once I reached this pond area, I realized I was headed directly back to the River Trail which I didn't want to do just yet so i turned back to the Commissary Trail and headed back into the woods below the berm.

Another bridge crossing

In the middle of seemingly nowhere, there were a few fences. I have to wonder what they were used for at one time. This very well could be a part of what used to be the Pawling Farm since at its largest, it spanned 700 acres.

I  followed the power lines for a distance until I located the trail I wanted to turn onto

Once I found my trail, I turned off and headed up this hill. At this point, I realized just how difficult it can be to hike in snow. Quite honestly, I don't remember the last time I went hiking in the snow only to say that I was probably a kid at the time...a long time ago! I discovered I had muscles that I didn't know were there until they started hurting!

As I reached the top of the hill, I made it back to the Schuylkill River Trail and was on my way back to the parking lot. The trail to the right (unnamed) was the one I was on.

Leaving Valley Forge...heading back to the car!

Almost back to the parking lot!

I don't think the "To The Hills" part was supposed to be a part of this sign!

That was it for my hike and it's safe to say that hiking 9 miles after a long layoff (only 2 hikes since December), my legs were tired and I was definitely ready to call it quits for the day. To top this off, I discovered during the last stretch of the hike that my "supposed to be" waterproof hiking shoes aren't waterproof. Thankfully, it was only during that last stretch when my feet got wet which would have likely been pretty cold by the end had it happened sooner. Hopefully some waterproofing treatment will help, otherwise I'll be back to shopping for yet another pair of hiking shoes! 

In all, exploring Valley Forge is a pretty decent treat giving the historical significance it has. I lived next to Valley Forge for over 20 years but never explored the trails since I was "there all the time". Yes, I was there a lot but rarely explored the trails. There were a few that I checked out but I wasn't as interested in hiking (and history) as I am now so what I had seen meant little to me. Now that my adventures take me to new places and peak my interest in historical information, I'll be returning to Valley Forge to check out some more of the trails. In all, there are approximately 28 miles of them so there's a lot more to explore! 

With spring just around the corner, I've been obsessing over trail maps and planning my routes again. I'm looking forward to being outside and enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer!  

In no particular order, here are my references for the information I dug up if you'd like read into it some more.

TwoFrog - Walnut Hill 
A River Again by Chari Towne
National Park Service - Why This Land is Important
Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area - Environmental Revolution  


Until next time, happy adventures and happy hiking!

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