With rain and cold temperatures settling into Vermont in mid-October, we headed south, seeking to find both milder temperatures and peak fall colors. Unfortunately, cold, wet weather seemed to follow us south, but we found good hikes, lots of waterfalls, and a geologic oddity in Hickory Run State Park, located in the western foothills of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
Hickory Run is located in the anthracite coal region in northeastern Pennsylvania. First mined in the 1700’s, anthracite is referred to as the “hard coal” because it has the highest amount of carbon and energy density of all types of coal. Thus, it is highly sought-after natural resource for power producing facilities throughout the world. As mines opened in the areas around Hickory Run in the early 1800’s, new transportation avenues, first a canal, then a railroad, also opened to carry the coal out of the region. The development of these transportation avenues led to the harvesting of another natural resource: the old growth stands of white pine and eastern hemlock. The woodlands of the Hickory Run area were clear cut for lumber and the tannin found in the bark, which was used by tanneries. Lehigh Tannery, located adjacent to the current Hickory Run State Park, was once the largest tannery in the United States in the 1860’s. Today, only foundations remain of this former tannery.
The degraded landscape around Hickory Run in the early 1900’s did not seem like a good candidate for of a state park (Niagara Falls State Park, established in 1885, was apparently the first “state park” in the United States). But Harry C. Trexler, an entrepreneur who lead the Trexler Lumber Company, the Lehigh Portland Cement (one of the largest cement companies in the early 20th century), and Pennsylvania Power & Light, had a vision in the early 1900’s. According to the Lehigh County Historical Society, Trexler said at the time:
“We are only a short distance from the anthracite coal region where there is scarcely a blade of grass growing. In the not too distant future, the men will be working shorter hours and they will have more leisure time. Rather than have them loafing in pool rooms and saloons fomenting anarchism, I would like to see Hickory Run developed into a state park where families can come and enjoy wholesome recreation.”
(“The General and His Captain,” 1984)
Trexler used his wealth to purchase vast quantities of land in northeast Pennsylvania in the early 20th century that today have become the park.
After Trexler suddenly died in 1933 in a car accident, his will specified distribution of his assets to a wide variety of relatives, charities, and other entities. But, the will did not mention all of the Hickory Run lands, so there was uncertainty regarding its future. Ultimately, the National Park Service acquired the Hickory Run land in 1935 and developed it as a National Recreation Demonstration Project. Depression-era programs, such as the Works Progress Administration and The Civilian Conservation Corps, resulted in many laborers descending upon Hickory Run and constructing many of the roads, bridges, trails, and other park facilities still in use today. In the mid 1940s, the Hickory Run land was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and became Hickory Run State Park, fulfilling Trexler’s vision.
We viewed some colorful leaves lingering on the trees as we drove into the state park, but the most colorful features observed were the blaze orange caps and vests worn by the many deer hunters hanging out by their pickup trucks alongside the road. At the park’s visitor center, we learned hunting was permitted in vast portions of the park, so we donned the most colorful jackets we had and limited our hikes to the most popular trails where hunters were not likely to venture.
Our first hike was on the “Shades of Death” trail, named after the dark patches of forest present in the area. An out-and-back trail, we began our hike at the park’s visitor center and hiked downhill along Sand Spring Run, periodically crossing the waterbody while walking through dense groves of fir trees or large rhododendron bushes. The trail passes two waterfalls flowing over dams constructed by the depression-era workers as well as numerous small natural cascades. While the trail is very popular, on this chilly fall day we passed less than a dozen other hikers. We successfully completed the 2+ mile hike with no wet feet and no visions of our early demise.
This hike was also an introduction to the many waterfalls present in the park, which allowed me to practice taking long exposures with my camera. Here are a few examples:
In addition to many picturesque waterfalls, Hickory Run State Park is home to a boulder field, a nearly flat 16 acres of boulders. This field consists of red sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate boulders, typically less than 4 feet in diameter, but some as large as 25 feet in diameter. The field is reportedly about 12 feet thick. Like many geologic occurrences, there’s uncertainty about the origin of the field, but one theory goes like this. During the last glaciation (about 20,000 years ago), the terminus of the glacier was nearby. The exposed bedrock in this area, the Catskill Formation, underwent many freeze/thaw cycles as the glacier slowly receded, and large volumes of meltwater flowed off the glacier. These erosional processes broke apart the sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate to create boulders, and a mass of boulders accumulated near the glacier’s terminus. Near the end of this accumulation time period (many hundreds of years), meltwater and rainwater carried fine-grained material (like sand and clay particles) away from the area to leave behind the boulder field, with its relatively flat, but choppy surface. Frankly, I think the concept behind this theory make sense, but I still scratch my head as to why all the fine-grained material flowing off a glacier were washed away from this area.
Walking across the boulder field is like traversing a flat talus slope. Each stride is a different length and most surfaces are uneven and sloping as one bounds from boulder to boulder. Many boulders are firmly in place, but the occasional loose boulder rocks when one’s foot lands on it, testing one’s balance and causing sudden spikes in heart rate as visions of falling fill one’s mind. Likely many ankles have been twisted here over the years as folks explore the area.
The diversity of the Hickory Run area was fun to explore, and in conjunction with the nearby Lehigh River Gorge, popular for its white water rafting and lengthy rail-to-trail, creates a great atteaxtion for outdoor enthusiasts. I think Henry Trexler would be pleased.