Tyler Arboretum Dismal Run Trail (8/26/2020)

Wednesday, August 26, 2020
At Tyler Arboretum in Media, PA, Dismal Run Trail is 1.9 miles long with a fairly steady downhill, then a similar uphill incline, not too steep. It may not matter if you hike clockwise or counterclockwise. We went counterclockwise.

An orange bench indicates you are near the orange trail gate
through the deer fence of Tyler Arboretum

Dismal Run Trail/orange trail gate

Oops! We ended up at the pink trail gate,
but found the Member Scavenger Hunt bug

You were supposed to photograph yourself with the bug

Early sign of autumn, a Sassafras albidum leaf

Dismal Trail Run with open sunny areas

An autumn Liriodendron tulipifera/Tulip Tree leaf

Tulip Trees in the Dismal Run valley, they are
are among the tallest native trees of eastern US

Ruins of an 18C stone cottage, apparently named Valley Cottage

Took a side trip up Minshall Trail to see more ruins

Is that a mailbox, or a drainpipe, or what? (KSS)

Another side trip to Dismal Run and a bridge that washed away? (KSS)

Unidentified lichen or fungus (KSS)

A burl profile with a big nose and bushy eyebrows

Dismal Run Trail glimpse of Dismal Run

Hard-to-see fencing encircling... what?

Dismal Run

Animal tracks, deer and maybe raccoon

Graffiti tree

Grifola frondosa/Hen of the Woods

Autumn Fagus sp/Beech Tree leaf

We found another group of three nesting boxes near the
Meadow Maze in Tyler Arboretum

Very tall Ambrosia trifida/Giant Ragweed (KSS)

Sculptural Rhododendron (KSS)

Rhus copallina/Winged or Shining Sumac (KSS)

Sorry! Should have the sidewalk as background
to show the dead branch suspended from the
Hyphantria cunea/Fall Webworm web

Hyphantria cunea/Fall Webworm web; note the worms (KSS)

Nearby is the Honeycomb UAME Church; in 1852 the African-
American community purchased the property for $15 and built
a church that was a main stop on the Underground Railroad

Since at the time African-Americans could not own property, it was likely purchased in the name of the church. Secret code books were found in the church attic, which reportedly kept track of details of harboring of slaves and illegal land purchases by Blacks. However, the secret code has not been decrypted.

Another stop on the Underground Railroad was Minshall Painter's farm, now Tyler Arboretum.