Cover photo: Leaf-covered hiking/biking trail at the Quemahoning Dam, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania

Fall color is unrivaled at the Que. This is the eastern side of the Quemahoning being lit up by the late afternoon sun.

     “A lick in the pines,” or possibly, “stream issuing forth from the pine lick” is what the Native Americans meant when they uttered the word Quemahoning. A lick is a place to which animals go to lick exposed natural deposits of salt.

As I mentioned in my introductory post, “Why Travelmorphosis”, I believe that everyone who is stressed (who isnt?)  needs to make sure they schedule regular intervals of time for themselves. My prescription is this: give yourself an hour a day, a day a week and a week a year. My one hour spots of time are mostly spent at a nearby lake, the Quemahoning Dam. Of course,  my local posts may be out of the range of travel for most of you to fit these specific spots into your daily or weekly schedule, but try to find a go-to place near your home for you to find peace, solitude and happiness. The Quemahoning is just such a place for me.

See my kayak hiding there? I hide here too, a lovely moss-carpeted spot, to which no road can bring you.

MY QUEMAHONING
I moved away from my roots when I got married, several states away. But I was fortunate enough to return here to live many years later.    I disagree with the famous saying, you can’t go home again.  Coming home to live near the people I grew up with, being near my family again, and having the solace of my familiar woods, streams and pastures was a great comfort to me.  I compare it to the comfort food you loved from your younger years. During my youth, I vowed that I would never leave my childhood companions: the nearby mountains, fields and the beautiful Quemahoning, but I did.

While I lived away, I cherished my trips back home. My sweet husband actually included in his proposal to me that he would make arrangements for me to visit my family back home once a month to ease my homesickness. That was certainly appreciated, not just because I missed my family, but also the Quemahoning and other nearby places. When I would revisit the Quemahoning, I would be taken back to when I had bicycled around it with my best friend, my brother, who I lost when I was at the tender age of 15, he 16.  It brings back memories, too of when I fished here with my dad and my siblings for as long as I could remember. I came here with my horse after I had worked enough in my late teens to afford to buy one, and ridden right into the lake on his back. I even remember approaching the forbidden Bethco Pines gatehouse with a friend, to inquire about entry, knowing full well that only the Bethlehem Steel Company’s “higher-ups” were allowed into the posh county club atmosphere there on the banks of the lake.  But at least we had gotten to the entry gate halfway down the stately pine-lined driveway, closer to seeing the forbidden world behind the gates than we ever had before.

This was taken from my favorite stretch of the new hiking/biking trail at the “Que.”

In all but the very worst weather, I enjoy driving around the lake counter clockwise so I can easily spot whatever birds might be there that day. I have a scope that I can mount on a car window, bringing the migrating waterfowl close into view.  I’ve also seen eagles, osprey, gulls, herons, owls, pheasant, grouse and lots of smaller birds, such as warblers there. In fact, if you consult Ebird.org, you’ll see that there have been 187 bird species recorded as seen there, and of those, I’ve seen 174.

“QUE” HISTORY

The history of the Reservoir being made here was that the company of  Bethlehem Steel needed a water supply. At the time of the construction of the dam on Quemahoning Creek in ‪1911‬, it was the largest man made body of water in PA. When they repaired the spillway years ago, you could walk in and explore the remaining foundations of homes, a church, a mill and a hardware store. It is believed that there was a Native American village at the lowest point. They’ve unearthed some artifacts recently at a rock shelter found near the Quemahoning Creek that they feel dates back thousands of years.

For many years, abandoned mine drainage, farm run-off and sewage heavily polluted Quemahoning Creek and the Dam.   But pollution abatement projects were put in place and have restored the natural beauty and wildlife of the area. One of the projects by Boswell is said to  remove 160 tons of iron a year. There is an very interesting little museum at the Quemahoning Family Recreation Park. When I visited, there was an account there of a man who grew up in nearby Davidsville, with a water supply to his house from the Quemahoning and before the time that the pollution abatement projects were in place.  He tells of how someone in his family left a washcloth on the edge of the tub overnight, which had some of the Quemahoning water on it,  and it took the finish off the tub. The museum also tells about the history of the Dam and its relationship to Bethlehem Steel, with pictures from the heyday of Bethco Pines, the exclusive club that was located at the Dam.

Just this year a hiking/biking trail is being constructed around the perimeter of the Dam. I have walked the total length of the finished part, and it is spectacular! You can see a map of the proposed trail here:

http://www.cambriasomersetwater.com/QueRec.html

 

Moonlight over a rocky outcropping that juts out into the lake. I call it “The Point”.

 

YOUR “QUEMAHONING”
What makes for a perfect hour-a-day destination? The most obvious thing is that it is nearby. Optimally, it should be less than 15 minutes away. Now, if you truly only have one hour, which is sometimes the case, then you still have a good 1/2 hour at your go-to place for a stroll, a drive, or short bike ride once you get there and you can listen to a good read on audio on the way there and back, or just have some time to think while driving . But on a more perfect day, you can squeeze enough time out of your schedule to spend a full hour at that special getaway place.

Be careful though: no double or triple-tasking with this time you’ve carefully saved for yourself! It’s just for your enjoyment and inner peace, no checking emails or running errands, you’ve worked hard to have this snippet of time for yourself, don’t let anything chisel it away. And that includes worry and negative thinking. Enjoy the moment and regain some love of life. This is not to say that you would shirk all responsibilities during your time to yourself, there are some emergency situations that must be dealt with, but as a rule, you’ve worked hard to get this time, so don’t let it be made valueless by unnecessary intrusions.