A Wissahickon World Tour
By Amelia Marren, FOW Programs Manager
Have you ever been curious about circumnavigating Wissahickon Valley Park in one day? Well, I have! I’ve been a staff member with Friends of the Wissahickon for the past three years, and I have been on every trail multiple times, but never the whole park in one day. With the help of our fabulous, trained volunteers, FOW planned 15 guided hikes with various lengths for the All Trails Challenge, which together will take hikers across every unique trail in the Wissahickon. Find one that works for you on our events calendar.
There are plenty of fitness hikes to choose from, but Trail Ambassador, Susie Gettes, expressed interest for a LONGER hike. As it follows, Susie and I joined forces and planned the first ever Wissahickon World Tour! The plan was to hike the entirety of Yellow and Orange Trails, from Northwestern to Lincoln Drive and back to Northwestern this past Sunday, September 7th.
Our fearless hiking participants included Susie, Bailey, Linda, Sarah, and I. We started the day nice and early at 7:30 am. It was a rainy and sleepy morning in the park. After being out for eight hours and hiking for 17 miles, we saw it all! We reveled in the vast woods of the Yellow Trail and the cool rock formations and creek views on the Orange Trail. The recent rains brought an abundance of cool mushrooms! We encountered a box turtle, a toad, and a raccoon on trail! In fact, the raccoon was walking straight towards me on the orange trail, and I got so freaked out, I shrieked and scurried backwards towards the rest of the group. Luckily, the raccoon eventually turned off the trail. It was very cute hanging out in a tree stump.
Among the group, funny enough, everyone really enjoyed watching me get scared by the raccoon! Sarah loved seeing all the wildlife and learning about mushrooms from Bailey. Bailey loved how we got to experience the change in weather from foggy and chilly to sunny and warm in the afternoon, and she really enjoyed the raccoon spotting, of course, and seeing the earth star mushroom! Linda’s favorite part of the hike was exploring the yellow trail between Kitchen’s Lane and Lover’s Leap because she’s never hiked that section, and she loved experiencing the immense joy of finishing the hike back at Northwestern. Co-leader, Susie, loved the whole experience from making new connections, learning new mushrooms, seeing the whole route on her Garmin watch, and of course, the bragging rights!
The Wissahickon truly is an urban oasis. It is a great privilege to be able to hike 17 unique miles in one day in the sixth largest city in the United States. The hike made me reflect on how special the Wissahickon is for me and our community. Wissahickon Valley Park is a place for us to gather. On the hike, we created invaluable friendships. We were able to share stories, laughs, and memories that will last a lifetime! My favorite part about working for FOW is meeting all the wonderful and passionate people who love the park, and this hike was no exception! If you are also curious about hiking all of the Wissahickon, I encourage you to do it! Surprisingly, all of our bodies felt good post-hike, and we are looking forward to our next long hike. I know Susie is very interested in hosting another long hike soon, so stay tuned!
Photos courtesy of Amelia Marren