Today's GOLV walk is in Monocacy Park. No great excitement here, it's three miles from my house on foot. I could walk there and back. Oh well. Lydia is working and I forgot to contact Debbie so I was on my own.
For those of you who don't know, in 2017 Wildlands Conservancy did a major restoration of the stream in Monocacy Park — removing rock dams that prevented fish movement, removing unhealthy trees, and planting native flowers and shrubs for riparian buffers. The mill, built in 1856, was a grist mill until 1915. From 2001-11 Liberty High School students restored the building and created an environmental center at the mill which is owned by the City of Bethlehem. The mill os now an event venue, as well as offices for the Appalachian Mountain Club.
We began the walk headed towards the waterfall built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. We did not walk on the path but along the creek. A few weeks ago the city removed all the "locks of love" but a few were back. After using the restroom, we headed back on the other side of the creek to the parking lot. After reassembling, we continued into the more "natural" area of the park. I had email Christine after Lydia and I were there a few weeks ago to tell her about fallen trees and eriosion on the trail. Two places were pretty impassable. They walked the trail in advance. The city had cleaned up the trees, and in the one eroded spot Bill sood in the hwhole and helped people balance as they walked across. the other we avoided totally because they made a runaround thru the forest.
After crossing the railroad tracks, we headed thru the new meadows and climbed the hill to the pool and dog park, and then continued on the path back down to the main trail. In this section there are ruins of the industries that helped spur the Industrial Revolution in America. We turned down another small path toward the creek to see the pond. An a pond of toxic polluted water. It looks pretty, but don't swim, fish or drink the water. Upon returing to the trail, some continued on to Burnside Plantation. The rest of us turned back. When we reached the natural area, we had to go back the way we came. The non-creek part of the loop trail was flooded and muddy.
We returned with a bag of trash.
Miles/Steps: 3
Weather: 70, sunny, 63% humidity
Bathrooms: I didn't go in
Wildlife: about 20 mallards, 2 white geese, swallow tail butterflies, bees. The normal things.
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