Is there anyone else InSide the Back Mountain who remembers that “back in the day,” usually in the elementary grades, our very first writing assignment for September’s new school year was usually a short essay titled “What I Did on My Summer Vacation?”
My 2024 summer vacation has consisted of exploration, education, and many hundreds of painting hours, all involving Game Lands No. 57! This past spring my dear friend Roberta Schmied finally convinced me to drive with her through Game Lands No. 57 from Noxen to Ricketts on the old Bowman’s Creek railroad bed. Roberta is in her early 90s chronologically, but she’s only 40-something in spirit! Besides, Roberta is a walking encyclopedia of science, able to identify every single ground plant and nearly every tree. Our trips up that mountain have been, for me, educational tours with a woodland expert.
The old Bowman’s Creek railroad bed has a fascinating history, and I thank Ray Mancke of the Back Mountain Railroad Club for sharing it with me. The Trout Run Trestle at Carverton Road solved a huge logistical problem of railroad access to the Back Mountain. By December 1886, Albert Lewis’ Wilkes-Barre and Harveys Lake Railroad (purchased by the Lehigh Valley Railroad a year later) had reached as far as Dallas. By 1891, tracks had extended to Harveys Lake, through Noxen and Stull, up to Mountain Springs, Ricketts, and on to Bernice, Dushore, and Towanda. It's hard to comprehend that route if we only consider today’s roadways, but a map shows precisely how the railroad opened vast acres of wilderness. Those acres were rich in lumber needed for the huge Wyoming Valley anthracite industry; ice for refrigeration; animal hides for shoes and clothing; hemlock bark for tanning the hides; and transportation for the many goods needed by the tiny communities scattered throughout those mountains. By 1891 a railroad bridge at Port Bowkley from Forty Fort to Plains guaranteed easy rail connection to Wilkes-Barre and beyond.
But its heyday was limited. Mechanical refrigeration ended the need for ice after 1913. By 1936 there was no real need for passenger service since the automobile was far more convenient. Due to advances in leather substitutes, the Noxen tannery closed in 1961. In 1963 the track was closed from Dallas to Noxen and in 1964 the Carverton trestle was demolished. Today, parts of the old railroad bed serve as the Back Mountain Trail.
In my opinion, the old Bowman’s Creek Railroad bed from Noxen to Ricketts, located mostly InSide the Back Mountain, holds the crown jewels of NEPA’s natural world. From the single-lane roadway, one can view huge ledges, steep drop-offs, winding tributaries gurgling down mountainsides in their eagerness to join Bowman’s Creek, flora and fauna galore, impressive railroad bridge abutments formerly used to span a major gully, and of course a large bear or two!
Artistically, that entire area is a world I have only just begun to explore.
After our first trek in the spring, I painted a watercolor of bright red trilliums balanced on a mountain ledge. Recognized by their three beautiful red petals, Roberta explained that trilliums are also called “Stinking Benjamins” because they smell like rotting meat in order to attract pollinators!
Following another ride through this glorious wilderness, I depicted a yellow tiger swallowtail butterfly clinging to some daisy fleabane blossoms. First I quietly stalked the butterfly in its environment and shot over 20 photos with my phone. After choosing my favorite, I printed the photo and gridded it with one-inch squares. I then gridded a piece of cold-pressed Arches watercolor paper in larger squares, drew the major shapes, and painted in drybrush watercolor. I could have drawn freehand, but the grid provided total accuracy in scale.
I also created a large boldly painted palette knife oil of the headwaters of Bowman’s Creek before it passes under a wooden bridge and begins its long journey to join the Susquehanna River below Tunkhannock.
No trains run between Noxen and Ricketts these days, but one never fails to meet another wilderness traveler somewhere along the road. If it's a wide spot, two vehicles pass easily. If it's a narrow place with drop-offs on either side of the roadway… well… good luck!
Have any of your friends introduced you to a wonderful wilderness place which may be toured from the comfort of your car? If not, I highly recommend our local Game Lands No. 57. It’s a treasure of wildlife, botany, history, and beauty at its best! Remember, though, it's always a good idea to check hunting season dates InSide the Back Mountain!
This article originally appeared in the September 2024 publication of InSide the Back Mountain.