HAPPY NATIONAL TRAILS DAY!Today was the Get Out Lehigh Valley Walk on South Mountain. It began in Emmaus at the Rodale Gate entrance. These walks are advertised for 10, bu never really get moving till 10:30. I left at 9:50 and was plenty early.
We did the level trail — I think they call it the Homestead Trail— to the Alpine Street Lot. Then took the Alpine Trail into the woods. Then back again.
As always we learned environmental tidbits along the way. And saw a birds nest that was blown out of a tree. It looks like it was empty. No egg shells, than goodness.
Because of all the rain the weeds were high, so I did a good tick check when I got back.
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Update:
The three moles I had removed—including "ugly mole" on my leg—were benign.
Miles/Steps: 2-ish.
Bathrooms: none. Though they did say there were some in Boroline Park on Alpine Street
Wildlife: Noisy birds, squirrels, chipmunks
Weather: Mid 60s and clearing to sunny. It rained until about 9:30.
$ Found: Zip
Extras: I had always wondered what these orange rocks were. It turns out they are minerals, and they are Jasper. Apparently the Lehigh Valley is rich with them. According to ExplorePaHistory.com "Archaeologists working in the 1890s uncovered nine ancient jasper quarries in the Lehigh Valley region. These sites typically consisted of shafts dug ten or more feet into the ground, accompanied by refuse piles of soil, rocks, and stone tools and chips. Judging from jasper discovered at village sites in the bottom lands of the Lehigh Valley, ancient Indians set up "mining camps" near these quarries, and then carried the jasper down into their homes in the valley, where they worked it into various goods. ... The jasper quarried in the Lehigh Valley accounts in part for the paths through this region that connected local Indians with other groups living in New Jersey, New York, and New England." Honey (my orange), tan, and red are the most common in this area.
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