21 miles on the Perkiomen trail (well, sort of)

in #runningproject6 years ago (edited)

I don't often spend too much effort on finding a route for my weekend long run. I have been pretty happy with going to the Schuylkill on South St., running north on the trail until Fall bridge, then get onto the MLK until half way and then turn back.

Daniel is pickier. He would do research before every weekend run to make sure we have a nice fun long run. His research this past weekend suggested we do the Perkiomen trail, and so we did. The complicated logistics this time made the run consume our whole day, but I personally never ran one way this far, and the trail's beautiful foliage the whole way through was completely worth it.

We first drove to Green Lane Park which is the north end of the trail and attempted to hitchhike down to the other end.
image.png
It was windy and cold. After a while, someone drove by and told us we would get better luck if we moved closer to the highway (I know!) so we hopped in the bed of his truck to get to a gas station near an intersection. Here, it was still cold and windy. Luckily, after 45 minutes or so, a nice gentleman named Randy stopped his white truck to pick us up. We had a nice conversion about food and traveling during the 45 minute car ride.

After saying goodbye to Randy, we talked to a few bikers and learned that the trail was closed due to flooding from heavy rain the night before. While I was a nervous and irritated with the ongoing delay to start the run (I mean, it's 12:30, we only had breakfast, and still have 20+ miles ahead of us), Daniel was extremely psyched about the flood (just like anyone would *cough*). Anyhow, we start running and encountered this:
image.png

We turned to the road for about 2 miles, then found our way back to the creek. (Dear reader -- Do you think we should go back and do this trail again when it's not flooding?) I have to say though, back on the trail, it was quite neat to run right next to the vigorous flow:

ezgif-4-4c74d6b67a12.gif

Shortly after a water break at CVS, we bumped into this incredible photo op:
image.png

I waved to all cyclists who cycled by. One of them yelled out "Wow! Shorts in this chilly wind!" which did make me more aware of the brisk that particular moment. Temperature went up and down, and my core stayed hot while the skin felt cold the whole time. We were running at a relatively fast pace (for me anyway) from mile 15-19, but I got quite hungry and exhausted quickly after mile 19. Note to self: bring more gus next time. Anyhow, here's a photo of us at almost the end of the trail:
image.png

This is an overview of our effort (from Valley Forge to Green Lane Park):
Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 8.17.47 AM.png

On the way back, we drove by and had to stop at the Francis Kaufman House, a nice BYOB restaurant that used to be a cigar factory (circa 1850).
image.png
I love being welcomed with warm and sweet air after a long cold run, and this place did just that... except the fact that they charged us $2 for the empty glasses to pour our beer in.

We only have 12 miles tomorrow, which seems so short! @dhimmel had planned out the route on ViewRanger we just need to figure out which portion of this Pennypack trail we want to run.

Until later!

P.S. I should also mention that there are a few water stops along the way besides CVS, if any dear reader would like to run this trail at some point in the future. However, I was glad that we brought two water bottles with us to fill up along the way.

Sort:  

I guess you haven't found any cigars from 1850s laying around in that BYOB restaurant. Petty! It would be priceless! Great trail once again, @dhimmel and @trang.

Ah I wish @zorank!

More flood pictures

The flood of Perkiomen Creek was extraordinary.

IMG_20181103_142114.jpg

MVIMG_20181103_143149.jpg

Not pictured: pumpkin carried away by the flood waters!

The flood can be visualized with the data from the USGS:

USGS.01473000.121488.00065..20181102.20181109..0..pres.png

We stumbled upon the right day (November 3) to run!

Incredible find!

You guys have spent an awesome day, despite flooding situation. @trang and @dhimmel, you are true adventurers.

except the fact that they charged us $2 for the empty glasses to pour our beer in

Yes you must say "Please do not bring us any glasses" such that they don't charge you this outrageous "glass fee", which in our case was far more expensive than the beer we drank.

"Please do not bring us any plates either! We can eat the food off the pan with our fingers."

Awesome! I hope that I will run like you in the future ^^

It all started with 10 minutes of jogging one day for me. If you can jog for 10 minutes you will definitely "run like me" in the future ^^

Very long run! I bet it was very beautiful in such sunny day with those autumn colors 😍 🍂🍃

Posted using Partiko Android

Thank you Javier! It was indeed!

You are a real braveheart, wearing shorts in the chilly weather, @trang! @dhimmel has been more cautious there.

@mariaserena aw thank you! We actually both wore shorts. Leggings are just way too warm during the run.

Next time go there and run forth and back ! 😂😂😂

Posted using Partiko iOS

Dai ca @quochuy set bar cao qua anh a em khong voi toi =))

Hahahah
Anh mà chạy thì chắc chỉ chạy được 21 meters thôi đừng nói là 21 miles 😰

suc khoe cua tuoi tre anh oi :D Em dao nay muon di tap vo lai nhung ma troi bat dau lanh va toi nhanh qua. Chua ke la may nay mua am i nua hic.

Em tập võ gì?

Posted using Partiko iOS

chị Trang tập Aikido đó anh :) Hồi nhỏ chị Trang thi đấu đối kháng môn Taekwondo được huy chương vàng nữa ạ. In my opinion, Taekwondo seems to be more cardio-related whereas Aikido is much more flexible and synonymous with yoga.

Oh wow! That’s great. Nên học tiếp đi vậy 😊

I grew up about a mile from the Perky, in Audubon, just off of Egypt road. I can't make out where the flooding is in your photos, but the section near the intersection of Egypt Road and Pinetown Road used to flood all the time, and one time I fell through the ice when I was ice fishing there and had to hoof it back home before my jeans froze. ; -)

Everything looks different now, though. I'm pretty sure the Perkiomen Trail didn't even exist back then. Neither did the section of 422 between Valley Forge and Oaks. I was a teenager when they built that section of highway. No idea when the trail opened. Must've been after I went to college.

Anyway, sounds like you enjoyed a fun excursion through a nice area! Running has never been my thing, so "hats off" to you.

The flooding was exactly there! We started just a bit south of Egypt and Pinetown intersection and had to re-route west on the highway. We were wondering the exact same thing as we ran by: how often do people in this area have to evacuate because of the flood?!

Wow falling through the ice must have been quite an experience! Glad you were OKAY! Where are you now? Perhaps you should come back to visit because the trail is REALLY nice!

I thought that might be where it was. Couldn't be sure though. Not sure what is near that intersection now, but when I was growing up there was only one house that was effected by the flooding. The others were up-hill far enough that they usually stayed dry. There was a flood plain on the other side of Pinetown road that someone was constantly filling with dirt, and it had "for sale" signs up for years. I haven't noticed if they eventually built there or not. I always wondered how that one house dealt with the flooding though. It must have been a real pain.

I'm still in the general area, we're in West Chester now, about 45 minutes away. We drive through the area every once in a while, but yeah, it might be fun to take a walk along the trail and see how things have changed!

Chúc mừng @trang, bạn đã nhận được một upvote 25%. Tôi là con bot của cộng đồng Việt Nam trên Steemit. Tôi được tạo ra bởi nhân chứng @quochuy và được uỷ quyền, tín nhiệm bởi các thành viên Việt Nam, hôm nay tôi vote cho bài của bạn để ủng hộ bạn. Tôi hi vọng sẽ được thấy nhiều bài viết hay từ bạn.

Chúc bạn vui vẻ, và hẹn gặp lại một ngày gần đây.

Congratulations @trang! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You made more than 3000 upvotes. Your next target is to reach 4000 upvotes.

Click here to view your Board of Honor
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:

The Meet the Steemians Contest is over - Results are coming soon ...

Support SteemitBoard's project! Vote for its witness and get one more award!