River Trail, VFNP, 1/15/12

This past Sunday, I had some work to do and some errands to run, but I also had time to squeeze in a short hike. As my work was very close to Valley Forge National Park, I decided to hike there. The River Trail, which follows the north bank of the Schuylkill River, seemed like a good candidate for a short and pretty hike.

The day was cold (right around the freezing mark) and brightly sunny, with a light breeze. I got to the Betzwood Bridge parking area shortly after noon, and started on the trail around 12:15. The trail is multi-use (open to hikers, joggers, and mountain bikes), and is a wide packed-dirt trail. (PDF trail map is here.)

I was dressed for the cold - I had long-johns under my cargo pants, and on top I had a short-sleeve polypro shirt, a long-sleeve cotton t-shirt, and a flannel shirt. For outerwear, I had a medium-weight coat, my thick Roots Canada scarf, a baseball cap (I had a fleece cap in my pocket if I needed more than a baseball cap), and the wool gloves that Eric had given me the night before.

The trail isn't strenuous at all (and by my own definition is more walking than hiking), but it's very pretty. It's always in sight of the river, where ducks and geese are quite active. I went at a fairly aggressive pace, as my time was limited, and I also felt like stretching my legs. The sign at the trailhead said it was three miles to the Pawlings Road trailhead, and I had time to do the whole thing if I made decent time - so that was my intention.

At one point I noticed mountain bikers on the other (south) side of the river, very close to the water - closer than the train tracks. I didn't know there was a trail there (and maybe there isn't - maybe it's an unofficial path that the mountain bikers know) - but I'm intrigued and will investigate as soon as I can.

I noticed the many large logs in the water at the river's edge, and I smiled to myself at the memory of bringing my girls here on a sunny spring Saturday morning years ago, when there were turtles sunning themselves on every log. I'll have to ask them if they remember that day - they loved throwing stones in the water, and seeing real live "wild" turtles was magical to them.

I felt like I was dressed perfectly - my face was a little cold, but not so much to be a bother, and I didn't need the fleece cap.

I got to the Pawlings Road trailhead in about 50 minutes, which is faster than I expected. As I started back, I guess I was fully warmed up, and I was hot enough to start thinking about getting rid of layers. I unbuttoned my coat and loosened my scarf - then took off the scarf completely.

I spent a lot of the return trip looking at the trees - and resolving to myself (again) to learn to identify more trees. I know the most common trees - oaks, maples, birches - but I want to know more. There are a number of absolutely enormous white oaks along the trail - trees that three or four people couldn't reach around.

I got back to my car at the Betzwood trailhead, and my GPS said I had covered the 6.16 miles in 1:38, or an average speed of 3.8 mph. I had always heard (and used as a rule of thumb) that 3mph is average walking speed, and I'm surprised that I was well above that. I was walking purposefully, but not speed-walking.

It was a lovely hike on a cold bright afternoon, and I was energized and ready to continue my day. Maybe when spring comes, I'll bring my girls back here to look for turtles.