tatankas/Devil's Pulpit hike/solo hike/curb dogs/into the footlocker
Renningers finds. Since this was the one day he didn't have 37 varieties of ropes, bungees or straps in his car, Brian probably spent more money on ropes to tie it to his roof than on the actual sign. AF shirt for $1? SOLD!
we started the dog walk at the old Kutztown BMX track. Brian, Matt and I did a ride here on our mountain bikes in '96 and it was already pretty overgrown then. now you can just make out where the track was. here is the view looking down from what used to be the starting gate/hill.
Mazzy is standing on what's left of the old starting platform and you can see the old black starting gate between her and Hawkeye.
as you can see it's pretty well grown over now but you can still make out where the jumps used to be
looking back toward the starting hill
berms?
when we were in college there were some older bike dudes that would still ride the track on mountain bikes. where's Heath?
winner's platform? judge's stage?
we bushwhacked up the hill and came face to face with the elusive herd of K-town Tatanka!
My extensive research led me to believe that some of these could have been the same buffalo I last saw in 1996
the iPod selection would be a no-brainer on the way home. great tunes, no shame.
for everyone's sake, the hounds were tied off a safe distance back where they wouldn't see the herd
left to right: the Old Main clock tower, the water tower we were told was off limits during the freshman orientation weekend and the big water tower kinda by where the university held their Earth Day festivities.
the radio tower in the distance is where Brian found the metal pieces used to make this box. (it was sessioned heavily for years but that was the only documentation I had). I was walking home from class and he pulls up in the Subaru and asked if I could help him grab some metal bars he had found on a bike ride. I remember it vividly 'cuz we had to walk for what seemed like a mile across an open field to get to the radio tower and it was windy and cold and since I was coming straight from class I was not dressed appropriately for carrying long metal bars while walking a mile across an open field on a windy and cold day.
Breakfast Club at the plaza
the sun came out just in time for our hike to Devil's Pulpit which I hadn't actually stood on since Boy Scouts.
enlarge to see the vintage, Walk Among Us throw up
the first section was easy enough
as soon as the Pulpit came into view we turned left off the trail and just headed straight for it. this was fun. and steep.
Mike and Justin were amped.
Matt eyes up the objective for today's nature hike
I've never walked on a mountain of arrowheads but that's pretty much what it felt like on this approach. small, loose rocks as far as you could see.
looking down. just to be on the safe side, I kept my "Ahoy down there!" to a whisper
looking up at what we still had to ascend
everybody was still accounted for
Lore's Leap. this was as close to edge as Justin would get
looking north toward Palmerton. I'm pretty sure at least a few people reading this have heard that story before.
Matt makes the final approach
Iron Cross graffiti...gotta be the Lehigh Valley
"Dude, is this the right way?"
"Fuck this"
always enough room for a group shot
better shot of the final approach
it's really not a very long hike to Devil's Pulpit and Matt and I wanted to see where we used to camp in high school (photographic evidence to follow) so we continued up the mountain. here's looking back down at the pulpit.
looking directly down onto the pulpit
possible insert photo for the "Lorus of Disapproval" ep
Firm Standing Lore, "I am Justin!"...(man, sometimes this shit just writes itself)
on top. this is about where we used to camp in high school but it looks a lot different now.
natural rock formation shaped from millions of years of hippies
been there!
I make it a point to visit as many authentic Native American dwellings as I can
parking lot session. don't forget your roots.
standing hard
I just wanted some documentation of my angle getting poached!
as thick as blood
Kyle keeps the fire lit. skate or die.
over the years, on numerous hikes and camping trips in scouts or with friends, I'd always see a switchback trail zig zagging straight up the side of the hill just before you get to Palmerton. here's a Google Earth pic of it.
it always looked kinda gnarly and mysterious. it wasn't super high. the hillside was pretty barren save for some lone trees but towards the top it got pretty "foresty". it just looked kind of weird and random. anyway, when we were on the Pulpit this last time we could see people walking up it so we knew it was accessible. long story short, I decided to head up and check it out. so saturday morning I drove up, found a place to leave the car and started walking in the direction of the hill. this is looking east across the river to Devil's Pulpit and the slope we climbed the previous weekend.
access road which I hoped would lead to the trail
phew!
onward and upward
looking back. see the red hill with the house on top in the middle of the pic? more on that later (as if anybody actually reads this tripe)
totally lost the trail within 15 minutes. where's my compass?
when lost, always make note of visual markers to use as reference point. done!
I bushwhacked back down to the access road and walked south to explore the big rock face. this is looking north back up the river (Slatington on the left, Palmerton on the right)
directly below the big, vertigo inducing Misfits piece
ended up walking the road back to the trail head and starting over
here's where I screwed up, somehow I blew right by this left turn and continued straight and off the trail. I blame the lack of blazes!
In all honesty, I was too busy trying to get an artsy picture of the drainpipe (which I did not achieve) that I didn't even see the trail turning left. plus, I mistook the rock pile in the lower right as a step to get up to the spring. Whoops.
easy mistake right?
back on track
made it to the top and came across the scorched earth aftermath of a lightning strike!
at first I thought it was just this one small section
up around the bend showed signs of a much larger burn zone
the ascent's incline had me shedding layers so I snapped a quick one for Russ while I was taking a breather.
signs of the burn
heading back down
looking straight across at Devil's Pulpit. Note the people in the bottom right for a qauge the height
Here's the House on the Hill which has a pretty interesting history if you care to read about it. Admittedly I'm biased since it's "local" and I grew up seeing it and being fascinated by it but trust me, before it got renovated, it fit the definition of "haunted house" to a T. I tried to find an image of it online in it's decrepit state but no dice. I'm in the camp that likes to believe the color of the hill is red because of the blood.
waking nightmare/sleeping death
Hawkeye meets a horse
afternoon reading. it's alright, I know.
fire walker
truth seeker
Ok, so originally I was just looking for some old pics of us camping on the ridge above Devil's Pulpit but of course once I started digging in the footlocker I just started yanking stuff out. from here on down it's all "old stuff". these first few are from the aforementioned camping trips. Brian and Matt weren't always early risers.
Chris, Matt and Scott.
Bortz and I. We're probably discussing our favorite Jean Claude Van Damme films.
now we're getting into just the randoms. take for instance the time we decided to play soccer on the hottest day in the history of the world.
or the time we played "Dress Up Ray"
somehow, taking a group photo in front of Chris's mom's Christmas tree became a holiday tradition.
In keeping with the Holiday theme, here's our 56 Noble St. Christmas Party. (it was voted unanimously that the housemates would all wear Turtle Necks)
Chris and Andy pulled Santa duty at one of the holiday Bitchfests on Sumac Street
Po at Baconfest II
Ami with her turn in the Bacon suit
Pensyl and Gleason at Baconfest I. wow, the design of the bacon suit improved by leaps and bounds since it's first unveiling. nice work Brian (and Tif)
Tif (whose sewing machine was used to construct the Bacon suit), Brian and Deanna at the Bitchfest with the pie toss booth
a young Klint, Ryan and Bucky came out for the festivities
Ray gettin' aggro!
"once a year" party vices for some of the ladies
New Years '02
sticker printing and weight lifting session before leaving for a weekend of shows in Canada
Chuck and Ray at about 4:30 am in Jeremy and Lisa's driveway in Wilkes Barre. Next stop was Toronto
Jar Jar in Toronto
load in at Nigro's house for an Atari, Rancor and Javelin show at Sea Sea's
breakfast in DC after a show at American University
the warehouse in East Falls. this whole area is artist lofts and boutiques now.
Brian had the biggest room on Noble St. so it usually became the rumpus room whether he was there or not. Nigro would stop by just to play with all the Nerf toys we had.
Justin, Brian, Matt (and Jake!), Chris (with another Nerf toy) and Nate on the Noble St. stoop
Tif & Ron help us pack up the valuables before summer break
one of my fave pics from the G Spot prom
Jeremy, Brian and Tom super psyched to be waking up at the Budget Beach during Senior Week.
Kyle, my and about 5 other people's room. Budget Beach = bring your own sheets.
judging by the shirt and hat, this must have been from this day
Umbros and jorts for these beach bums
bath time in the neighboring hotel's pool
10 years later. same beach, same shenanigans
visiting Aaron in Myrtle Beach. Chris always volunteered for the dickhead seat
who remembers the nosegay story? who actually reads these captions? (I love how "college" the refrigerator was)
169 prom kitchen couch hang. I hope someone still has that picture of Adam.
west coast trip
Chula Vista pool from the same trip
Tijuana. getting serenaded in our iced out street vendor chains
sleep over at Nate parent's house. Chad remembered about halfway home that he left a porno in the living room VCR. I miss those shoes. We skated the Barker Barrett rail that weekend.
Matt and Scott's dorm room at Paul Smith's. Fun visit!
1994 bowling night with Kyle, Erica and Scott
Aaron makes friends with the homeless in Montreal
Dyer's ramp in West Philly
BBQ on the Crippler
Snotrag liens one in the living room
I think Ray was home on leave for the summer or it was his first summer out of the Navy but that was when everyone was skating. I hope Jamie still has his 8.5" Alchemy with 129 Indys set up.
Easton courthouse
Hechingers was the hot spot for awhile and the late night sessions were always fun
classic "pissed" Jamie
classic "PU" Andy
classic Chris in Pank mode in Montreal
classic spots! Weis Bank in flourescent orange Chucks. Ray will disagree but it's really not as good now.
the "Air Bank" in red Chucks
Brian
Bortz. he was one of those lucky bastards that was just a natural on a skateboard and he really made me want to step up my game.
throw on grinds the day after watching this. it's still there for any takers.
the grass gap right down the alley from the Air Bank. H Street John Sonner and my red Clawz
Roastbeef to rock and roll was my go to on the back patio. Natas SMA, red rails, red Chucks
front board on a flipped over bunk, Cape Henlopen, DE on a scout trip. I think that's Tommy Webb lined up to go next.
Vooz's ramp. masonite and PVC were a prerequisite on ramps in those days.
Photo 1 at EHS. when a 15 year old Andy is in your class you know it's gonna be a memorable quarter. What ever happened to Marissa?
Chris and Mark show their support for Homecoming '94. Chris's Greenbay hat got lost at the '94 Youth of Today reunion at City Gardens and the fate of Matt's Nuggets is still a sore subject.
en route to see Trans Am at the 40/40 (or was it the Rotunda?) in west philly. we left after a few songs 'cuz it was 8 million degrees inside. this was mid "hair bet"
Gleason and I went to Ohio for a weekend once
Akron park was surprisingly fun. that's the Goodyear blimp hangar in the background
no admittance without a ticket
I made a bunch of different variations but this was the only Redemption ticket I could find
did I ever tell you about the time Junior and I met Bill Clinton?
Renningers finds. Since this was the one day he didn't have 37 varieties of ropes, bungees or straps in his car, Brian probably spent more money on ropes to tie it to his roof than on the actual sign. AF shirt for $1? SOLD!
we started the dog walk at the old Kutztown BMX track. Brian, Matt and I did a ride here on our mountain bikes in '96 and it was already pretty overgrown then. now you can just make out where the track was. here is the view looking down from what used to be the starting gate/hill.
Mazzy is standing on what's left of the old starting platform and you can see the old black starting gate between her and Hawkeye.
as you can see it's pretty well grown over now but you can still make out where the jumps used to be
looking back toward the starting hill
berms?
when we were in college there were some older bike dudes that would still ride the track on mountain bikes. where's Heath?
winner's platform? judge's stage?
we bushwhacked up the hill and came face to face with the elusive herd of K-town Tatanka!
My extensive research led me to believe that some of these could have been the same buffalo I last saw in 1996
the iPod selection would be a no-brainer on the way home. great tunes, no shame.
for everyone's sake, the hounds were tied off a safe distance back where they wouldn't see the herd
left to right: the Old Main clock tower, the water tower we were told was off limits during the freshman orientation weekend and the big water tower kinda by where the university held their Earth Day festivities.
the radio tower in the distance is where Brian found the metal pieces used to make this box. (it was sessioned heavily for years but that was the only documentation I had). I was walking home from class and he pulls up in the Subaru and asked if I could help him grab some metal bars he had found on a bike ride. I remember it vividly 'cuz we had to walk for what seemed like a mile across an open field to get to the radio tower and it was windy and cold and since I was coming straight from class I was not dressed appropriately for carrying long metal bars while walking a mile across an open field on a windy and cold day.
Breakfast Club at the plaza
the sun came out just in time for our hike to Devil's Pulpit which I hadn't actually stood on since Boy Scouts.
enlarge to see the vintage, Walk Among Us throw up
the first section was easy enough
as soon as the Pulpit came into view we turned left off the trail and just headed straight for it. this was fun. and steep.
Mike and Justin were amped.
Matt eyes up the objective for today's nature hike
I've never walked on a mountain of arrowheads but that's pretty much what it felt like on this approach. small, loose rocks as far as you could see.
looking down. just to be on the safe side, I kept my "Ahoy down there!" to a whisper
looking up at what we still had to ascend
everybody was still accounted for
Lore's Leap. this was as close to edge as Justin would get
looking north toward Palmerton. I'm pretty sure at least a few people reading this have heard that story before.
Matt makes the final approach
Iron Cross graffiti...gotta be the Lehigh Valley
"Dude, is this the right way?"
"Fuck this"
always enough room for a group shot
better shot of the final approach
it's really not a very long hike to Devil's Pulpit and Matt and I wanted to see where we used to camp in high school (photographic evidence to follow) so we continued up the mountain. here's looking back down at the pulpit.
looking directly down onto the pulpit
possible insert photo for the "Lorus of Disapproval" ep
Firm Standing Lore, "I am Justin!"...(man, sometimes this shit just writes itself)
on top. this is about where we used to camp in high school but it looks a lot different now.
natural rock formation shaped from millions of years of hippies
been there!
I make it a point to visit as many authentic Native American dwellings as I can
parking lot session. don't forget your roots.
standing hard
I just wanted some documentation of my angle getting poached!
as thick as blood
Kyle keeps the fire lit. skate or die.
over the years, on numerous hikes and camping trips in scouts or with friends, I'd always see a switchback trail zig zagging straight up the side of the hill just before you get to Palmerton. here's a Google Earth pic of it.
it always looked kinda gnarly and mysterious. it wasn't super high. the hillside was pretty barren save for some lone trees but towards the top it got pretty "foresty". it just looked kind of weird and random. anyway, when we were on the Pulpit this last time we could see people walking up it so we knew it was accessible. long story short, I decided to head up and check it out. so saturday morning I drove up, found a place to leave the car and started walking in the direction of the hill. this is looking east across the river to Devil's Pulpit and the slope we climbed the previous weekend.
access road which I hoped would lead to the trail
phew!
onward and upward
looking back. see the red hill with the house on top in the middle of the pic? more on that later (as if anybody actually reads this tripe)
totally lost the trail within 15 minutes. where's my compass?
when lost, always make note of visual markers to use as reference point. done!
I bushwhacked back down to the access road and walked south to explore the big rock face. this is looking north back up the river (Slatington on the left, Palmerton on the right)
directly below the big, vertigo inducing Misfits piece
ended up walking the road back to the trail head and starting over
here's where I screwed up, somehow I blew right by this left turn and continued straight and off the trail. I blame the lack of blazes!
In all honesty, I was too busy trying to get an artsy picture of the drainpipe (which I did not achieve) that I didn't even see the trail turning left. plus, I mistook the rock pile in the lower right as a step to get up to the spring. Whoops.
easy mistake right?
back on track
made it to the top and came across the scorched earth aftermath of a lightning strike!
at first I thought it was just this one small section
up around the bend showed signs of a much larger burn zone
the ascent's incline had me shedding layers so I snapped a quick one for Russ while I was taking a breather.
signs of the burn
heading back down
looking straight across at Devil's Pulpit. Note the people in the bottom right for a qauge the height
Here's the House on the Hill which has a pretty interesting history if you care to read about it. Admittedly I'm biased since it's "local" and I grew up seeing it and being fascinated by it but trust me, before it got renovated, it fit the definition of "haunted house" to a T. I tried to find an image of it online in it's decrepit state but no dice. I'm in the camp that likes to believe the color of the hill is red because of the blood.
waking nightmare/sleeping death
Hawkeye meets a horse
afternoon reading. it's alright, I know.
fire walker
truth seeker
Ok, so originally I was just looking for some old pics of us camping on the ridge above Devil's Pulpit but of course once I started digging in the footlocker I just started yanking stuff out. from here on down it's all "old stuff". these first few are from the aforementioned camping trips. Brian and Matt weren't always early risers.
Chris, Matt and Scott.
Bortz and I. We're probably discussing our favorite Jean Claude Van Damme films.
now we're getting into just the randoms. take for instance the time we decided to play soccer on the hottest day in the history of the world.
or the time we played "Dress Up Ray"
somehow, taking a group photo in front of Chris's mom's Christmas tree became a holiday tradition.
In keeping with the Holiday theme, here's our 56 Noble St. Christmas Party. (it was voted unanimously that the housemates would all wear Turtle Necks)
Chris and Andy pulled Santa duty at one of the holiday Bitchfests on Sumac Street
Po at Baconfest II
Ami with her turn in the Bacon suit
Pensyl and Gleason at Baconfest I. wow, the design of the bacon suit improved by leaps and bounds since it's first unveiling. nice work Brian (and Tif)
Tif (whose sewing machine was used to construct the Bacon suit), Brian and Deanna at the Bitchfest with the pie toss booth
a young Klint, Ryan and Bucky came out for the festivities
Ray gettin' aggro!
"once a year" party vices for some of the ladies
New Years '02
sticker printing and weight lifting session before leaving for a weekend of shows in Canada
Chuck and Ray at about 4:30 am in Jeremy and Lisa's driveway in Wilkes Barre. Next stop was Toronto
Jar Jar in Toronto
load in at Nigro's house for an Atari, Rancor and Javelin show at Sea Sea's
breakfast in DC after a show at American University
the warehouse in East Falls. this whole area is artist lofts and boutiques now.
Brian had the biggest room on Noble St. so it usually became the rumpus room whether he was there or not. Nigro would stop by just to play with all the Nerf toys we had.
Justin, Brian, Matt (and Jake!), Chris (with another Nerf toy) and Nate on the Noble St. stoop
Tif & Ron help us pack up the valuables before summer break
one of my fave pics from the G Spot prom
Jeremy, Brian and Tom super psyched to be waking up at the Budget Beach during Senior Week.
Kyle, my and about 5 other people's room. Budget Beach = bring your own sheets.
judging by the shirt and hat, this must have been from this day
Umbros and jorts for these beach bums
bath time in the neighboring hotel's pool
10 years later. same beach, same shenanigans
visiting Aaron in Myrtle Beach. Chris always volunteered for the dickhead seat
who remembers the nosegay story? who actually reads these captions? (I love how "college" the refrigerator was)
169 prom kitchen couch hang. I hope someone still has that picture of Adam.
west coast trip
Chula Vista pool from the same trip
Tijuana. getting serenaded in our iced out street vendor chains
sleep over at Nate parent's house. Chad remembered about halfway home that he left a porno in the living room VCR. I miss those shoes. We skated the Barker Barrett rail that weekend.
Matt and Scott's dorm room at Paul Smith's. Fun visit!
1994 bowling night with Kyle, Erica and Scott
Aaron makes friends with the homeless in Montreal
Dyer's ramp in West Philly
BBQ on the Crippler
Snotrag liens one in the living room
I think Ray was home on leave for the summer or it was his first summer out of the Navy but that was when everyone was skating. I hope Jamie still has his 8.5" Alchemy with 129 Indys set up.
Easton courthouse
Hechingers was the hot spot for awhile and the late night sessions were always fun
classic "pissed" Jamie
classic "PU" Andy
classic Chris in Pank mode in Montreal
classic spots! Weis Bank in flourescent orange Chucks. Ray will disagree but it's really not as good now.
the "Air Bank" in red Chucks
Brian
Bortz. he was one of those lucky bastards that was just a natural on a skateboard and he really made me want to step up my game.
throw on grinds the day after watching this. it's still there for any takers.
the grass gap right down the alley from the Air Bank. H Street John Sonner and my red Clawz
Roastbeef to rock and roll was my go to on the back patio. Natas SMA, red rails, red Chucks
front board on a flipped over bunk, Cape Henlopen, DE on a scout trip. I think that's Tommy Webb lined up to go next.
Vooz's ramp. masonite and PVC were a prerequisite on ramps in those days.
Photo 1 at EHS. when a 15 year old Andy is in your class you know it's gonna be a memorable quarter. What ever happened to Marissa?
Chris and Mark show their support for Homecoming '94. Chris's Greenbay hat got lost at the '94 Youth of Today reunion at City Gardens and the fate of Matt's Nuggets is still a sore subject.
en route to see Trans Am at the 40/40 (or was it the Rotunda?) in west philly. we left after a few songs 'cuz it was 8 million degrees inside. this was mid "hair bet"
Gleason and I went to Ohio for a weekend once
Akron park was surprisingly fun. that's the Goodyear blimp hangar in the background
no admittance without a ticket
I made a bunch of different variations but this was the only Redemption ticket I could find
did I ever tell you about the time Junior and I met Bill Clinton?
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7:12 AM
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