Joy and Misery at Valley Forge

Washington's Headquarters during the Valley Forge encampment

With the end of the recent federal government shutdown, Kali and I were able to visit Valley Forge National Historical Park again - seemingly along with half the population of Philadelphia - on the second beautiful autumn Sunday in a row.  Although Valley Forge is criss-crossed by public roads, the park's own trails and internal roads were closed during the shutdown; a "trespassing" runner made the local news when he was slapped with a $100 citation for running through the park when it was closed.

Kali and I have come to enjoy the fairly strenuous 4-mile Mount Misery-Mount Joy loop hike.  We usually climb and descend Mount Misery first, cross Valley Creek (which separates the two hills), and then return by climbing and descending Mount Joy.  However, last Sunday, I suggested that we complete the hike in reverse.  At the end, Kali said that she didn't have much of a preference for direction.

Barren understory with stiltgrass

Valley Forge is notorious for its dense white-tailed deer population.  The animals, desperate for food, spread out into the suburbs surrounding the park and are frequently killed on the roads.  In addition, the deer have eaten everything they can reach within the park, so the understory is barren with no shrubs and no saplings to replace the aging trees.  The only plants growing within the deer's reach are non-native, invasive species like stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum).

Autumn colors - though most trees remain green

Kali passing a large rock slab on Mount Joy

Once we had descended Mount Joy, we crossed Valley Creek on a wooden footbridge (though there's an historic covered bridge a few hundred feet downstream).  Valley Creek, mostly spring fed, is cold enough to support trout - the only trout stream in the Philadelphia area.  However, the creek's headwaters were polluted by PCBs dumped in a railroad switching yard, so the trout can't be eaten.

Valley Creek downstream of the footbridge

Valley Creek upstream of the footbridge

Scott captured on the footbridge

On the west side of the footbridge the park service maintains a large grassy area.  During a flood, Valley Creek washed recently mowed grass off the floodplain and the clippings got caught up in the roots of streamside trees - natural artwork of sorts.

Wrapped Roots

Downed trees in the woods along the Mount Misery Trail

Autumn leaves at the base of a maple tree

Near the north end of the Mount Misery Trail, there's an industrial ruin in the woods.  Though the stone wall looks ancient, it is accompanied by decidedly more modern-looking concrete walls nearby, so I don't think the complex is extraordinarily old.  Water gushing from a spring in the hillside runs through a portion of the ruin, suggesting that whatever purpose the building served, it relied on large supply of fresh water.

Awash in Blue

Trail bridge and bluebells

On Sunday afternoon, Kali suggested that we walk the Schuylkill River Trail in Valley Forge National Historical Park.  The trail parallels the Schuylkill River for three miles, with plenty of river and riparian woodland views.  The absolute best time of year to walk the trail is mid-spring when the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are in bloom, as they were last weekend.  The floodplain is covered in a carpet of blue in all directions. 

Virginia Bluebell

Spring-beauty

Other wildflowers were still blooming; Spring-beauties (Claytonia virginica) were nearly as abundant as the bluebells, but much smaller and more demure, casting a pink haze over parts of the floodplain.

De-silting basin wall

The headwaters of the Schuylkill River drain the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania.  When coal mining was at its peak, the river ran black with suspended coal sediment.  At the same time, long stretches of the river were used to transport coal.  The river was dammed in many places to create deep, slack water and mules pulled canal boats along the banks of the river between the dams.  Locks allowed the barges to get around the dams.  Because the river was so fouled with coal sediment it had to be de-silted frequently to maintain navigation depths, so the navigation company built de-silting basins along the shore where the black muck could be dredged from the river and allowed to dewater.  One of the de-silting basins - built, but never used - is located in the park along the trail.  This de-silting basin traps water between the uphill side of the basin and the constructed basin wall leading to the development of valuable forested wetland habitat inside the basin.  Even de-silting basins along the river that were used for sediment removal have subsided over time and offer wetland habitat. 

Bluebells amid Ostrich Ferns (Metteuccia  struthiopteris)

At the far (upstream) end of the trail, the pathway is bordered by huge colonies of pawpaw shrubs (Asimina triloba).  I've never seen a fruit on the bushes; I suspect squirrels or raccoons harvest the mushy, banana-flavored fruit when it's ripe in the autumn.

Pawpaw flowers

A young family cruising the Schuylkill River

Who needs a yellow brick road?

Spring Fever in Valley Forge

Opening day of trout season on Valley Creek

Today (Saturday, March 30) was probably the nicest day so far this year, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s. Because rain is forecast for tomorrow, Easter Sunday, Kali and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and repeat the circuit hike we enjoyed earlier this year (see February 4th post) which involved ascending (and descending) Mt. Misery and Mt. Joy in Valley Forge National Historical Park.  Lots of other folks had spring fever, too, because the park was crowded and parking spots at a premium.

A view back down the Mt. Misery Trail we had just climbed

There were no signs of spring in the woods, and the forest looked much like it did when we hiked here a few weeks ago, so I didn't take any new pictures in  he woodlands.  But midway along the hike, we reaches the bank of Valley Creek, a cold-water trout stream--a rarity in our area.  Fishers were using the nice weather to cast for brown trout on the opening day of trout season.  Valley Creek is catch-and-release only because the water is contaminated with PCBs.

All of the green on the hillside above the fisherman is...

...Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria), an extremely aggressive riparian invasive, just beginning to bloom

Playing on a log over the creek

A local sportmen's club has planted riparian buffers on the banks of Valley Creek in the the park.  The plantings have to be fenced to keep the park's superabundant deer away from the newly planted trees and shrubs.

The dogs didn't seem to mind, but the female half of this fording duo was squealing about the "cold water"

Valley Forge topography - that's wooded Mt. Joy, our next goal, in the background

An infected red maple tree

On the crest of Mt. Joy, we came across this solitary red maple (Acer rubra) infected with a fungus that causes these burls, carbuncles and swollen growths.  The tree was still very much alive and its leaves were ready to burst open any day now.