Switchback Gravity Railroad Winter Run

I knew I had to get out and run to start the weekend.  I knew it would be a cold day too, but I needed to be tough.  I didn't want to travel much, so I decided to head up to Jim Thorpe.  I haven't run there in a few months.  I'm slowly getting to know the trails up there.  I have some maps and I'm gradually figuring them out, piece by piece.  There are miles and miles of trails in the area.

One of the reasons that I opted to run there was because I didn't want too much elevation on this bitter cold day.  I wanted mileage though.  The weather was already in the teens when I started, around mid afternoon.  There was some wind too, but it wasn't crazy wind, like we have seen lately.

I wore my ColdGear top and vest.  I also had on tights, thick gloves and a headband.  I was a bit chilled from time to time, but overall I was comfortable.  I don't mind this time of year at all, as long as it isn't super windy.

My plan for the day was to run the Switchback Gravity Railroad.  Last year, I started at Mauch Chunk Lake Park and lost the trail after a couple miles.  I now know how to take the route.  This time, I was going the opposite way anyway.

The trail is an old railroad that used gravity to transport coal between Summit Hill and Jim Thorpe.  Now, it is open for recreation.  I crossed the road from the park and was on my way.  I saw a steep trail that I assumed might connect to where I was heading.  I continued on along the railroad grade though.  I ran in front of a few houses.

There is an intersection about a mile out.  I had the option to go out to Summit Hill or back toward Jim Thorpe.  This time, I was going to Jim Thorpe.  The trail was covered in a light snow.

I ran up the gradual incline.  It was like running on a rail trail, with a slight incline.  I knew this part was about 4.5 miles long.  My trail shoes worked well on this amount of snow.  I would've liked to have tried on my Microspikes, but I figured I might end up doing a bit of road running later on.

The trail wasn't bad, but in general, I found it rather boring.  It was a long, gradual climb that seemed neverending.  On the plus side, it was easy, fast and runnable.  I was clicking off miles.

As I got higher up, I could see pretty well through the trees.  I could see Mauch Chunk Lake and the ridge of Flagstaff Mountain.  That was neat.  There were a few large boulders along the trail, but not much else to look at.  In the beginning, there were no tracks, but farther out I saw some footprints.  There were animal prints in the snow all through out.

At one point, I noticed that the trail split.  I stayed on the higher path, wondering where the lower one went.  I quickly found out, as I came to a cliff type section.  I had read about this part, but didn't realize that I would come to it so soon.  Although the cliff looked slightly dangerous and there was a safer route below, I opted for the cliff.  This part did slow me down.

I was back on my way though and getting closer to Mt. Pisgah.  I was about a mile out from it now.  There were a couple interesting side trails up the mountain.  I might try them in the future, but I didn't want to waste a lot of time exploring today.

Eventually, I came to the top of Mt. Pisgah.  I found the lookout to the north and got some stunning pictures.  There were a few decent views to the south at the top of the incline plane too.  Going downhill was steep and rocky.

It turns out I actually took Wagon Wheel Road to the bottom, not the actual inclined plane.  I wasn't sure though and I had followed snowmobile tracks.  I couldn't believe that a snowmobile made it up those rocks, but I guess someone did.  I saw no people during this entire first half of the run.

I didn't study the maps beforehand.  I knew my way back on the roads, if I had to use that route.  I should've looked at the directions closer.  I ended up running down the roads for about 2 miles.  It was awful.  There was a couple uphill segments.  I was also getting beat by the wind.

I nearly missed a turn to get back on to the trail.  Luckily, I found a parking area and signs for the trails.  I followed them through an awesome section of woods.  This was beautiful and felt much warmer too.  I was very happy to be off the road.  I went over a bridge above a small creek.

Eventually, I came to the Switchback Trail.  I was thrilled that I now knew exactly where I was at.  This section was very flat, much like a rail trail.  I cruised along.

I was happy to come out to Mauch Chunk Lake.  I took some cool photos of the frozen lake.  I continued on.  I was amazed to see that I would actually finish up at 11 miles.  That was what I originally planned, but with some of the turns, I was expecting it to be longer.  I finished up near the park entrance, with a short out and back.  The run was a little under 2 hours.

It was a great day and some good exploring.  I battled the weather again and made it through.  I'm getting to know Jim Thorpe little by little.  I think eventually, I'll be able to make a giant ultra run along the perimeter of all of the area's trails.  That would be epic for sure.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to run again.  I'd love to go to Trexler and run two of the 10 mile loops.  That may be tough though.  It is supposed to be a bit warmer out, I believe.  That would be nice for sure.

11 miles - 1:51:19 (10:07) 1,096 feet of elevation gain