Hiking in the Rain at Tyler State Park

Date of Hike: Saturday, August 23, 2014

Total Distance:7.27 Miles

Avg speed:2.67MPH

Avg moving speed: 2.88MPH

Moving Time: 2:31:34

Total Time:2:43:22

Conditions: Rain to Cloudy, 71 degrees

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Today's hike wasn't about taking pictures although I did manage to get a few. For more than half of my hike, it was raining which was my intention this time around. On April 30th of this year, I hiked around Tyler State Park in the pouring rain to give my waterproof gear a test run. It didn't fare so well and by the time I was done hiking, my legs and feet were soaking wet. I was lucky enough to have a double shelled jacket on as it leaked through the first layer but not the second. It was between 45-48 degrees that day and I would have frozen my butt off. No hypothermia for me, thanks.

To be fair, it was literally pouring. We had about 5-6 inches of rain that day so I wasn't really expecting my equipment to withstand that much but it was fun trying it out. I took a few screenshots of the Doppler radar, the first was about an hour into the hike and the second was when I arrived back at my car. If you're not familiar with Doppler, the tints of orange are very heavy rain, yellow is moderate to heavy rain, and the green is lighter rain. 

 
After that, I treated all of my "supposed to be" waterproof jackets and pants with Nikwax Tech Wash (washing agent), then Nikwax TX Direct (waterproofing) and since then, it hasn't been raining much on the weekends so I haven't really had the opportunity to give them another test run to see if the stuff actually works. More on this after the tour!

Like I always do when I go to Tyler State Park, I parked in the fisherman's parking lot since the trail head (one of them) is right there. 

Approximate address:

1440 Newtown Richboro Road
Newtown, PA 18940
GPS: 40.223819, -74.966256

In the first leg of my journey, I took a few of the equestrian trails. I started my hike heading west and wasn't able to take any pictures until after I made it past the covered bridge in the northernmost part of my track. It was unfortunate because I saw about 4-5 deer and about 10 wild turkey before the rain let up. Shortly after the covered bridge, I was able to take my camera out.

This little guy was in one of the windows of the covered bridge

View from covered bridge looking up the trail I had just hiked down

Even with the recent rains, it hasn't been enough to have any effect on the Neshaminy Creek. Waters in this part of Pennsylvania get very muddy with enough rainfall.

Slowly clearing up with the clouds rolling out of the area

Most of the trails I was on were paved. Usually, I'll do my best to avoid paved trails but all of the "real" trails were understandably muddy. By this time, I had also taken all my waterproof gear off except my boots of course.

My favorite kind of trail...flat, paved and straight!

One of the few trails I took pictures of and there was a reason for this. First, it was one of the few that I was on after the rain had stopped and second, during my last hike at Tyler State Park, I had stated that I had my doubts that this trail existed even though it's marked on the map. I had tried finding it on a few previous occasions but ended up going in the wrong direction. It turns out I had missed it, or more accurately, walked right past it a few times. Well, I finally "found" it. In the area where this trail is, there are other trails that aren't marked on the map which ended up being the ones I took thinking it was this one.

The trail was a little wet!

Crossing over Porter Run

Looking upstream on Porter Run

And downstream on Porter Run

One last shot of the trail before I got back to pavement

That was it for my adventure. I'm thinking I'll eventually invest in a waterproof camera so I can take pictures in the rain but that won't be happening anytime soon. This summer has been relatively mild and the weekends have been beautiful for the most part. I recall in an earlier post how I had mentioned that in this area, there had been 9 straight weekends in a row where the weather had been beautiful. Even since then, we've had very few weekends of bad weather. After this past winter and how bitter cold it was, it's been a nice trade-off and I'm glad to say that I've enjoyed getting out on the weekends to do two of my favorite things...hiking and photography!

A little something to note: most of the equestrian trails in this park are not well maintained at all. If you decide to go hiking there, make sure if you want to take these trails that it's not wet and that you wear long pants. That, or just stick to the paved trails. As much as I dislike them, this was part of the reason I stuck to the paved ones for the most part this time around too. 

Back to my original subject matter, the testing of my waterproof gear. As of right now, the jackets and pants I own are all Columbia brand. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the actual names of them. The pants say they're Omni-Tech waterproof breathable...more on this in a moment. I believe they're called the Regan pant but I can't be sure since I bought them at least a year ago. The jacket I was wearing however, has no information on it and I bought it a few years ago for my fishing expeditions so I couldn't even tell you the name.

How did the waterproof gear fare against the elements? I think they did fine. My problem with the gear I was wearing is that for the jacket, both the shell and inside lining are 100% nylon. What this means is no matter where it's coming from, moisture isn't getting in, nor is it getting out either. Another words, it's not breathable fabric. The pants are said to be breathable but I have my doubts about this too. Within 30 minutes of my hike, I had covered just under a mile and a half and within that time, I was so hot and sweaty that I was forced to take the waterproof gear off or pass out from heat stroke (not really but I was hot). Instead of getting soaked from the rain, I was soaked from sweating. Essentially, this is a catch 22. Either get wet from rain or get wet from sweating.

Luckily it wasn't raining that hard and I was able to stay warm without the waterproof gear on but it defeated the purpose of trying to protect yourself from the elements. I suppose if it were cooler outside that perhaps it might have been slightly easier to test but with a very thin long sleeve shirt on under the jacket and my Columbia hiking pants under the waterproof pants, it was too much. Perhaps next time, I'll wear a short sleeve shirt and shorts under the gear to see if it makes a difference. My concern was being cold but that wasn't a problem. Chalk another one up to trial and error and place it in the memory bank for the next time out. It might also be a good idea to look for another waterproof jacket that has breathable fabric!

My hiking boots (Timberland Chocorua) also didn't fare too well in the wet weather either. By the time my hike was over, I could feel my right foot getting wet. They're drying now and I sure hope they're ready for Sunday's hike but that's not a very good sign for boots that are supposed to be waterproof. I'll be treating them with waterproofing soon to see if this helps.

A few days ago, I made a post about ways to protect and preserve your maps and mentioned that I had used a clear self-adhesive shelf liner to laminate them. While it was raining, I purposely kept the map in my hand so it would get wet and I'm happy to report at least one item was able to withstand the elements. We'll see what happens when I'm out in a more significant rain storm but I'm happy with the results. Hopefully I can save some paper and not have to re-print them every time I head out.

Until next time, happy exploring and happy hiking!

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Southeastern PA Hiking

Tyler State Park

Date of Hike: Saturday, June 28, 2014
Total Distance: 9.78 Miles
Avg Speed: 2.15MPH
Avg Moving Speed: 2.34MPH
Moving Time: 4:11:18
Total Time: 4:33:33
Conditions: Mostly Sunny, 85 degrees 
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
 
After contemplating where to go, I finally decided to stay local and headed to Tyler State Park for the day. I've been there a number of times to go hiking as well as fishing but I rarely took my camera with me. As usual, I'm glad to bring it along since there's always something interesting to take pictures of. The summer has been good to us this year with mostly sunny weather on the weekends and it hasn't been too hot even though we're now headed into July.
 
I parked in the fisherman's parking lot just off Newtown Richboro Road (Route 332) and from there, crossed the bridge and headed north alongside the eastern side of Neshaminy Creek. For the most part, the terrain at Tyler State Park has some nice rolling hills but nothing real steep unless you're alongside the creeks. There are a lot of paved trails for those who would like to bring their mountain bikes for a leisure cruise through the park. Dogs are also permitted.
 

 

View of Neshaminy Creek from bridge on Newtown Richboro Road

 
I went hiking on April 30th in the rain to test out my waterproof gear. On May 2nd, I returned to take a few more pictures and the river was still well above normal.
 

Neshaminy Creek from bridge on May 2nd, two days after heavy rainfall

 
If you're a Frisbee golf fan, there's a course at the park. This bridge that crosses over a small creek  is part of the course.
 

 
There are a few clearings alongside the Neshaminy Creek where you can get to the water. Watch your step as some of the areas are steep.
 

View of Neshaminy Creek and Newtown Richboro Road bridge

As you walk a little further upstream, you begin to approach the dam.
 

 

Dam at Neshaminy Creek just upstream from the bridge

 
Below pictures are from May 2nd when I hiked the park, two days after a heavy rainfall. 
 

 

 

Neshaminy Creek dam on May 2

 

Trail heading upstream to the boat launch and main part of the park

 
Walking alongside the creek, there was a log in the middle where there were some turtles and birds basking in the sun. 
 

Hard to tell from this distance but these look like they could be Midland Painted Turtles

 

Double-Crested Cormorants basking in the sun

 
As you approach the main part of the park, there's a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Neshaminy Creek. This is also where you can rent a boat and paddle upstream.
 

 

 

Pedestrian bridge over Neshaminy Creek on May 2

 

Just upstream from the bridge is another dam and a launch area if you want to rent a boat

 
When you get to the bridge, there's a pavilion with a small concession stand and the boat rental office as well as the restrooms. There are also some barn swallows who have made their homes under the pavilion roof. 
 

Barn Swallow

 
I took the main park road and circled back to the bridge on Newtown Richboro Road. There wasn't much to take pictures of in this stretch but I did snap a few.
 

Tree Swallow

 

Bindweed or Morning Glory

 
I crossed back over the Newtown Richboro Road bridge and headed north on the western side of the Neshaminy Creek
 

 

View of dam from the western side of Neshaminy Creek

 
I took the equestrian trail alongside the creek and discovered the hard way that it's similar to the trails on the eastern side of Lake Nockamixon. Safe to say, I'm beginning to have a slight dislike for trails that are meant for horseback riding. There were several areas throughout the trail where the mud and water were above ankle deep. At the beginning of my hike, I decided to take the sleeves off my pants which was ok on the eastern side of the creek but I should have put them back on before I did. As I approached one of several parts of the trail that were wet and muddy, I attempted to skirt along the side of them which for the most part I was able to, but I also ended up walking through thorn bushes, some poison ivy (thankfully didn't get any), and stinging nettle. I ended up with a few scratches from the thorn bushes and the stinging nettle reminded me what long pants were for.
 

One of several spots on the trail that were wet and muddy

 

 

Stream bed leading down to Neshaminy Creek

 

Pedestrian bridge from the western side of Neshaminy Creek

 

Dam from western side of Neshaminy Creek

 

Dam from western side of Neshaminy Creek on May 2nd

 
Not all of the equestrian trails were bad...once I got north of the Dairy Hill Trail and stayed alongside the creek, there was less mud. I also ran into some woodland creatures as well.
 

Eastern American Toad

 

One of the nicer sections of the equestrian trail

 

Cabbage White Butterfly

 
As I followed the equestrian trail north, I approached the covered bridge.
 

 

 

 
When you walk over the covered bridge, there are windows you can look out of on both sides. On April 30th, we had about 5 inches of rain in Southeast Pennsylvania which was the same day I decided to test out my waterproof gear. I wish I had been able to take more pictures during the rainstorm but I didn't want to ruin my phone and for obvious reasons, I didn't bring my camera that day.
 

View looking upstream from covered bridge

 

View looking upstream on April 30th

 

View looking downstream from covered bridge

 

Trail leading down to the covered bridge on April 30th

 
I stopped on the other side of the covered bridge for a while to take a break and grab a quick snack, and also to find some shallow water to clean my muddy boots off. While I was there, I snapped a few more pictures.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Once I finished eating and cleaning my boots, I continued north on the equestrian trail. While this wasn't as bad as the trail closer to the dam with the deep mud, it's not well maintained and is overgrown with weeds and tall grass depending on what part of the trail you're on.
 

 

 

 
When you get to a point where you can no longer go north (you'll see a fence and several private property signs), you end up walking through what looks like a trail alongside a field of tall grass. The only way I could tell this was part of the trail in some parts was because it was matted down from previous horseback riders or hikers.
 

 
I snapped a few more pictures during this section of the hike.
 

Japanese Wineberry

 
As you walk through Tyler State Park, you'll see some places where there are residents living. How cool would it be to live inside a state park? I can imagine how peaceful it is to wake up in the morning to nothing but the sound of birds chirping.
 

 
After getting the picture of the farm front, I didn't take any more pictures. I continued south on White Pine Trail, then headed west on the Dairy Hill Trail. My intention was to head west to the College Park Trail, then head back to the fisherman's parking lot from there. Instead, I chose to take the Hay Barn Grass Trail since I was beginning to get tired. When I got to the Lane Trail (Number 1 Lane Trail), I ran into a couple who had a child with them that was maybe 3-4 years old and were lost so I guided them alongside the stream (Porter Run) back to the boat launch area then went back to the parking lot from there. The trail I took them on is not marked on the map of Tyler State Park but it is there.
 
What confuses me is that on two separate occasions (once before on a previous hike), I attempted to shoot straight across Porter Run to a trail on the opposite side that also runs parallel with the creek but each time, I ended up being turned around. In my attempt to assist the couple with the child, I tried to guide them across this same trail but we ended up walking alongside Porter Run back to the boat launch area. While it worked out in their favor, I'm beginning to have my doubts on if this trail exists even though it's on the map. I'll have to double check the next time I go there. If and when I do, I'll update accordingly.

Update - August 24, 2014: I finally returned to Tyler State Park  and this time was able to locate the trail. I had actually walked past it a few times in previous adventures!
 

 
My objective has been to reach 10 miles in a single hike and on Saturday, I fell less than a quarter mile short. Had I taken my intended route, I likely would have reached that objective but I got tired and the couple with the young child needed assistance. While the equestrian trails are a bit of a nuisance, in all it was a good hike as usual. 

Until next time, happy hiking and happy exploring! 

Southeastern PA Hiking