Hickory Run State Park, 6/30-7/5/2006

Dave B. was the first to arrive, and he discovered that the torrential rains earlier in the week had washed out a section of Route 534 leading to Hickory Run State Park. He had to backtrack to Interstate 80 to reach the campsite. He then called me on Friday evening, and Denise and I called all the other people who had signed up to tell them the new route. I reached Price as he was driving on Interstate 80 before he reached Pennsylvania.

Janu and I were the first two to arrive on Saturday morning. I led everyone down to Mud Run and was amazed to find that the rocks from which we usually viewed the river were under water. Quiet Mud Run was now a cold and raging stream, but that didn’t stop Janu. He was up to his neck in the water within minutes.

Most people arrived on Saturday including 6-year old Lina, which greatly pleased 6-year old Jeana. After dinner on Saturday, we built a campfire and took a night hike without using our flashlights. Hickory Run is heavily wooded and the road was very dark--to follow it, we had to feel with our feet whether we were still walking on gravel.

A few more folks arrived on Sunday. After breakfast, we walked along the Orchard Trail to Hawk Falls. Again, Janu proved to be the most daring soul and was soon under the waterfall. In mid-afternoon, a ranger drove down the gravel road and stopped at our site. I greeted him and we listened together to an announcement on his radio that severe thunderstorms were expected nearby. The group cancelled a hike to Boulder Field and rushed to set up our large tarp. By the time the rain started, all 18 of us were comfortably underneath it.

I waited for the rain to stop before making dinner. After dinner, a couple of chess sets came out and four of us played a series of games. Later, several carloads of people drove to Boulder Field in the darkness and scrambled over the boulders by flashlight.

On Monday, people started leaving. Five of us hiked on the "Shades of Death" trail and found an amazing blueberry patch at the end of it. We then drove to Sand Spring Lake and joined some people who had already packed up and were ready to drive home. I found the lake to be very cold.

The five "Shades of Death" hikers remained on Monday night, but three of them left on Tuesday. Walter and I, the two diehards, strolled down to Mud Run in the early afternoon and later walked on the Sand Spring Trail to the railroad tracks at the western edge of the park. We came within sight of the Lehigh River and tried to find the Gould Trail going back. Although it initially seemed like a trail, we were soon bushwacking and looking for a place to cross Hickory Run (another stream). We found a bridge that was heavily damaged by the floods and decided not to take a chance crossing it. Eventually, we came upon the Hickory Trail which led us back to Route 534 where my car was parked.

After dinner, many games of chess and a roaring campfire, Walter and I called it a night.

When we arose on Wednesday, it was raining. Although the rain stopped in mid-morning, everything was wet. We packed up a wet tarp, two wet tents, and were gone by noon.

David Levner