My 5th 10-Mile Hike

Dad bought me a pair of brown knitted gloves since it was so cold.  Dad said he planned to go to Nay Aug Wells but wanted to take a different route.  Sunday, after I come home from services, we took off up Gibson Street to Prescott, then over to Myrtle.  When we came near the Petersburg Silk Mill, we crossed the high bridge over the D&L tracks.  I could see the large buttonwood tree where we would cook next to the brook near Tunnel Springs.  Pudgy walked across the tracks with Dad.  It was a beautiful day.  The snow packed nice for snowballs.  There was a cat on a porch railing and I tried to get Pudgy after her but she couldn’t see the cat.  She was too busy smelling other scents.  I noticed that I lost one glove and I went back as far as the railroad tracks but I couldn’t find it.  As we walked, Dad showed me Bob Smith’s house.  There was a large stone in front of the house with his name on a wooden plaque.  It spelled “Schmidt.” I thought was strange since we always called him “Smith.”  We climbed up to the Erie tracks.  I t was slipping a lot because of the fresh snow. 

We walked to the mine opening and took our flashlights for a good luck around.  I was disappointed.  One end is closed up and another end has a very low roof.  Dad asked if I was satisfied.  I guess mines aren’t as interesting as caves.  We stayed on the tracks and didn’t turn off at #7 but followed the tracks around the bend through the switch yard.  We could now see where we had been in the dark last week.  Dad showed me the brickyard and the road that leads to Elmhurst.  The road was overgrown with bushes and trees.  We crossed the trestle.  There was ice on it and I had to hold tight to the railing.  I still think it is a long way down but I have to admit it looks beautiful.  We walked up the tracks further than the last hike because Dad said we had taken a shorter route.  We dropped down to the creek, below the Elmhurst Dam, built a fire and cooked.  There is a thick metal cable going up into the hill.  We didn’t notice it last week and it doesn’t show on the map. 

We left before dark and Dad started timing us between milestones.  We were doing a mile in a little more than 20 minutes.  It started to get dark and we stopped to watch the stars coming out.  

We weren’t paying much attention and before we knew it we somehow took a spur track and Dad said we were at #6.  He said if we kept on going, we would come out on Grove Street.  We walked through the Erie Railroad Yard in Dunmore and saw a couple of diesels.  We went down Grove Street  to S. Blakely to the Navy Reserve, down Popular Street to Quincy Ave and on to home.  We arrived home at 6:30 and had plenty of time to get ready for a night at the cloak room at the JCC. 

I would have like to look around that brick yard in Dunmore but Dad said maybe some other day.