OWL-DRAGON

Long Run - Valley Forge and the Perkiomen Trail


Don’t you love fall. After many dreary days, Sunday was just beautiful. Temps in the 70’s may have been a little warm but it was breezy enough to compensate. I needed a long run so I headed out to Valley Forge. I had planned on starting at Conshohocken and running to Valley Forge but the first few miles out of Conshohocken are pretty much industrial wasteland and I didn’t want that today. There is a section of the Schuylkill River Trail where the trees form a canopy that is quite lovely so I began my run running from VF toward Philadelphia. The recent rains had knocked a lot of leaves off but there was still plenty of cover. The old Betzwood Studios have been rehab as the Lubin Office Complex which is nice, but what wasn’t so nice is the huge apartment complex they have built adjoining the trail. It’s obvious trees have been cut down even along the trail. I hope the architect and engineers have a good flood water management system because this area is flood prone and when Floyd went thru the area was under a couple of feet of water. This was a brownfield and I suppose the developer O'Neill Properties deserves some credit but I can't help thinking all that impervious surface is going cause trouble downstream.

After three miles I turn back reentering the park and picking up the Perkiomen Trail. This is a rail to trail project which runs twelve miles north out of Valley Forge National Park. A couple of miles parrell Rt. 422; not my favorite section but, I suppose because this part is treeless and the path warms, there were scores of grasshoppers and wooly caterpillars. The grasshoppers seemed lethargic and you could almost step on them before they would jump; the caterpillars just bustled along on some mysterious mission. I hope not too many were bicycle road kill. You then cross the Perkiomen Creek, take a sharp S curve down and run along this large stream. This section is really quite beautiful. At one point the trail hugs a rocky cliff with great vistas of the Perkiomen and the surrounding countryside. The colors are all the rich reds, oranges and yellows of fall. The wet summer has given this bonanza of color. This is definitely a trail I will revisit. About five miles into the run the trail skirts some private property. Someone had place two bikes along the trail with a sign that said “Free Bikes”. I must say I was quite tempted to take one and see if it was in working order. I ran a little more than an hour and reluctantly turned back for the return trip to VF. I thought the return trip would drag but the miles seemed to fly by. When I got to the edge of Valley Forge Park I took a trail that led to the Schuylkill River and completed my run on this lovely path.

I wasn’t conscious of sweating or water loss but I was salt crusted and was glad I had taken my camel pack despite the weight.

Even the ride home was nice. The Schuylkill Expressway itself glowed and the exit for Gulph Mills was stunning in the parade of color presented as you wound down to what will become Montgomery Avenue.

Did I tell you – I love fall.