4 Short but Steep & Strenuous Miles – Difficult
For the adventurous or the just plain foolish, we will climb the 2322 foot, 29 degree Mount Pisgah Plane of the former Switchback Gravity Railroad, in Old Mauch Chunk (aka Jim Thorpe), Carbon County. This long climb, though strenuous, abounds in history. The Switchback was Pennsylvania’s first railroad, and the second in the USA. We will see the remains of the original “wagon road” and continue down Packer Hill into town for lunch. The group may split up here depending on size, meeting an hour later in front of the Mauch Chunk Opera House. After lunch it’s up Broadway onto the former, now abandoned “bus road”, returning to the parking area. This hike is short, but steep and strenuous and is rated difficult for that reason.
Meeting place: 10:00 am, at the parking area at the top of Hill Road, Jim Thorpe.
Directions: Hill Road is the only right hand turn off Broadway heading west from downtown Jim Thorpe, and is located right next to the Mauch Chunk Opera House.
For further information and directions, contact: 610-921-3252