May to June Rides and Paddles

Time and events fly by too fast to get regular updates in, so let's get a post out there with roughly a month's worth of fair-weather activities.

Tara and I paddled our first kayak overnighter of the year on May 28th-29th on the Delaware River. The overall route was from the Bushkill access point to Smithfield beach. We essentially witnessed Summer arrive overnight, as the weather transitioned from temperatures in the 60's and cloudy the first day into the sunny 80's the next.

Tara looking back

Gray first day

Yet another hammock contraption to try out

Camp for the night at Hogback sites

2nd day cast off, always lighter

We camped at one of our favorite sites on the river, which is a roomy plot on the first bend of the Hogback. Going back in time a bit to May 14th, we had a nice group ride on Glen Run. We hit some singletrack that was new stuff to me. Here's the embedded map below.




The section that was new to me was fast and flowy, definiUnfortunately, this was my last ride for roughly two weeks. I came down with some kind of cold/flu/allergies that went on for 10 days, at least. Three of us on this ride ended up with the same affliction, makes you wonder if we were infected by some heinous alien fungus. Anyway, here's a shot of the group below.

I'm not affiliated with The Loft, but some of these folks are

I've sprinkled a few more rides in this month at Glen Run and my "backyard" dirt in the recreational area. On the latter, I finally hooked up on a ride with another local dirt pusher who showed off the super secret stash of singletrack in the park.

Trailhead at local stash

Fubars are niiice

Summer if full of steam, barreling along, almost every weekend is booked and the projects are piling up. I'll have to hold on and find the time to do as much of these fun-but-necessary-for-my-sanity activities as I can. If you drink 5 5-hour energy tubs, do you get an extra day?

-cheers

McDade HQ, hills and 20k Taco

There's a little bike trip on the McDade Recreational Trail that is short of distance, but packs some climbing alongside a great scenic view. I take the Riverview parking lot up to the park headquarters, which requires a couple hundred feet of climbing to the HQ and ride back the way I came. It's a my fitness ride, of sorts, that only works because I enjoy the view the entire way. You see, I'm not really that big a fan of fitness for fitness sake. More like FFS, the typical interpretation of that.

Beware of the mastodon, at park HQ

There is a good little extension on the way back to add more elevation, in that you can take the spur up to Turn Farm and back to climb and descend about 100 feet. If you're feeling froggy, you can pass Riverview, where you're parked, and head towards the Smithfield access to extend your trip, maybe get some sun on the way in the corn fields. Sometimes there's corn in the fields, I should say.

I completed the ride by driving up the dirt road by Zion church, only to realize that my Toyota Tacoma just surpassed 20,000 miles, which begged for a photo op.

20,00 miles, still cherry, not even broken in for a Tacoma

This dirt road is an easygoing bit of offroad that carries you near the top of the ridge on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware. Take a left at the "Y" and you'll roll onto the unpaved portion of Mosier's Knob Road, which travels along the top of the ridge. There are a number of fields and an abandoned farmstead along this road, with some views of the river valley sprinkled in.

Mosier's Knob dirt road empties onto it's paved rendition, and that takes you back nearby Shawnee on Delaware. It's a nice little piece of "out there" driving to finish up a ride. Although, I do have to start remembering to bring a growler with me to fill it up on the way home with some Shawnee Craft brew at the Gem & Keystone or the brewery itself at Shawnee.

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