The trip that started it all- The Delaware River

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The trip that started it all- The Delaware River

This will be the longest post for the shortest trip that has been documented via “blogging” on this site. To be honest, any trip that I have taken or will take, at least in my mind, ultimately stems from traveling to the Delaware. I owe sincere credence to Ralph Stover State Park, High Rocks Vista, and Tohickon Creek (from its source at Lake Nockamixon above, to where it offers its flow to the greater river below). From the time I was old enough to swing a rod my father brought me to these places and taught me fly presentation and how to fish what seemed like big water to me. When my older brother qualified for a Pennsylvania drivers license, the river was the only destination of choice. Then our youngest brother and oldest brother would join us, as well as our father, from time to time, and we would fish, waterfowl, trap, track, hike, photograph, and orienteer along the hillsides and stream beds. We learned history, biology, geology, religion and any other subject deemed questionable. I was told Ralph Stover owned the mill, and his family donated the land in or around the time of the Great Depression. I was also told that Tohickon means "deer bone," but I've never found out for sure. Indeed, the river was very much so the Walden to the Concord of my childhood. It was only a short distance from home, but mentally it was an area of preservation. Now I go there by myself or with a friend, because my brothers either moved away or had kids. In my Falcon Guide to PA Hikes there is a designated trail that is 7.3 miles round trip- good for biking, walking with a sweetheart, or going at it alone. In reality, you can wander anywhere you please. At a bend in the creek High Rocks Vista settles into the hillside with sunning Turkey Vultures dotting its face, and modern tattoos of pot leafs and peoples names in every shade of spray paint, and every shape of etching. You can walk the base of the cliffs, climb them, sit atop them, or climb back down them. The railing is a formality, though it is most definitely a hundred feet or higher then where you would land if you fell. From atop the Vista, you can see for a mile or two- before you lays part of the official Ralph Stover Park and part of the land that rich people buy up and build large homes so they have more space, never realizing the space they used up during construction. The Vista is also where people sit and watch the sun cross the sky, with Turkey Vultures flying high and low in their line of sight. It proves a very photogenic spot. Further down stream are two interesting historic sights: Washington's Crossing, and Bowman's Tower/ Wild Flower Preserve. Old buildings, old Pennsylvania forest, just like old times, you could say. They offer similar views to the Vista, and a similar aura to Stover's old mill.

I think everyone comes to these places to appreciate nature. To a point, it is difficult to go there and not be forced to admire nature’s craft work. That being said, I cannot understand why anyone would leave behind Budweiser cans, Aquafina bottles, cigarette butts, and spray-painted sweet nothings on the rock faces themselves. Such is the nature of our culture, I suppose. If we could deface the sky, we would do so at the expense of the sun’s view. If there is an expensive railing, outhouses, and parking lots- why no trashcans? If you hate litter, take a trash bag and join the cause. I carry whatever trash I can to the dumpsters usually parked in the Tohickon parking lot, shortly before Tori Road, which takes you to the Vista. If you go just for pictures and sightseeing, appreciate old-Pennsylvanian Beech and Oaks, as well as the deer, porcupines, squirrels, vultures, songbirds, frogs, and fish. They are all friends of mine. They’ll treat you well when you
need it most.

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