Notes
Nathan told me he'd like to go for a hike and living in PA, using the AT is a no-brainer. He's seen a lot of cool stuff on the AT and I was looking for a spot he hadn't experienced yet. The climb at the Lehigh Gap came immediately to mind. Zinc Smelting ravaged the mountain tops in the Palmerton area from 1898-1980 and someone thought it would be a good idea to have the Appalachian Trail climb away from the Lehigh River up and over one of these mountain tops. Yep, the trail passes right through the Palmerton Zinc Superfund site. There are 2 trails to the top, one straight up the boulder pile and the other is a more gentle route meant to circumvent the rocks in the winter when they're covered in snow and ice. The 2 trails make a nice loop, up the rocks and back down the easy switchbacks of the winter route. The opening upward route is not for the faint of heart, parts of the rock scramble are completely exposed to weather and I believe it rises up about 1100' in the first half mile. 360° breathe taking views make it all worth while. Unfortunately this morning I had a tough time keeping the fog off my lens, but here are a few photos from our short trek.
NOTE: The former town jail, below Palmerton's City Hall, is now a hostel for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. When I backpacked this section, I tented on the adjacent hill top, I didn't go to jail. :-)