🍂 Time for fall foliage | Outdoorsy Newsletter

The latest hot spell is taking me right back to my Florida days. So. much. stickiness.

My colleague Tony Wood says Philly almost certainly will tie the record this week for the longest September heat wave: “In 1931, it was this hot in September in Philly, and no one had air-conditioning.” It turns out the city was also instrumental in the development of ACs. Cool stuff.

Summer is not officially over just yet, but we’ve got fall on the mind. Today, we’re scoping out the top spots to see fall foliage come to life, checking in with South Jersey Pineys dealing with tick bites, and jumping into a once-disgusting, now-delightful river.

☀️ Your weekend weather outlook: The high temps continue, but a cool front and rain will roll into the region for much needed relief.

Call it an act of defiance against these scorching conditions, but I say you should still enjoy a pumpkin spice latte or a hot apple cider if you really want to. Personally, I love a good masala chai latte, but I might go with the iced version for a little while longer. (Above all, please keep hydrated with actual water.)

📮 What are your fall outdoorsy traditions? Got a seasonal beverage of choice? Tell me by emailing me back.

— Paola Pérez

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Every autumn across the greater region, the leaves of our trees transform from green into stunning shades of purple, red, orange, and yellow, the same pigments of key fall fixtures like apples, pumpkins, and corn.

Pennsylvania saw peak foliage in mid-October 2022, but leaves are turning early this year. Lucky us! Check out these spots near Philadelphia and further out to marvel in the brilliant colors of the season:

🍂 Wissahickon Valley Park spans 1,800 acres, but for the best foliage, use the Lavender Trail to wind your way along an oak- and tulip tree-lined stream.

🍂 Bartram’s Garden has what is believed to be the oldest male ginkgo tree in North America, offering bright yellow foliage in the fall, as well as the Bartram Oak, a hybrid of two types of oak trees that produces a variety of yellow to orange hues.

🍂 Valley Forge National Historical Park lets you explore American Revolutionary history surrounded by beautiful autumn views. For the best foliage, we recommend you hike to the peak of Mount Misery or Mount Joy.

🍂 Bald Eagle State Forest boasts 200,000 acres and more than 300 miles of trail acres in Central Pennsylvania, encompassing several swaths of old-growth forests that show off intense fall colors.

Get the full roundup of the best places to connect with nature and take in the pretty leaves in, around, and within a weekend’s trip in the Philly region.

🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to Jason Nark. You’ll always find his work here.

Vegan blueberry ice cream is calling to Samuel Moore from his freezer, deep in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Food has become an enemy for the seventh-generation cranberry and blueberry farmer, though, the grocery store a gauntlet. He rarely dines out and tries to avoid dinner invitations. He knows the vegan ice cream should be safe, but he’s been burned before.

“With everything I’ve been through, I’m just hesitant to take a chance,” Moore, 49, said recently on his farm. “It’s been a nightmare.”

Moore has alpha-gal syndrome, which is caused by a tick bite and can result in a severe allergic reaction to red meat, pork, or dairy. Some sufferers will only react to beef, or just the pork. Moore has all three, breaking into hives and suffering severe cramps if he ingests even minute traces of any of them.

Moore doesn’t recall a specific tick bite but remembers when he first learned he had alpha-gal. It was a Fourth of July, a few years ago, and he had a few all-beef hot dogs after a day in the blueberry fields. — Jason Nark

Keep reading about Moore’s experience and for our top tips to prevent tick bites.

Forget the river’s bad reputation. These aquanauts are jumping in, and they say it’s quite lovely this time of year.

Despite what some critics may say about the river, these swimmers immerse themselves anyway — often, and for long amounts of time. They describe the water as “delightful,” “lovely,” “really clean” and “quite nice.”

“Most people have this mentality that the Schuylkill is dirty and it’s disgusting and ‘I don’t ever want to go there.’ Believe it or not, that is left over from our grandparents’ generation,” said John Kenny, the founder of French Creek Racing, an open-water training company.

It used to be dirty and disgusting: About a century ago, the Schuylkill was foul due to Pennsylvania coal companies dumping millions of tons of coal waste into the water. The river was “a running sewer,” prone to overflowing with thick black water, said James Watters, a local environmental advocate. It was once even described in 1930 by a deep-sea diver as the dirtiest in the country.

Things changed in the ‘70s: Since the federal Clean Water Act required government and industry to clean up the water, the Schuylkill has become much cleaner. But a majority of Philadelphians still believe it is too dirty to go in or near.

What research shows: A 2022 study that found the river is safe for recreation, including swimming during organized events.

Outdoorsy reader shares his experience: “I’ve been swimming regularly in the Schuylkill for the last few years and it’s been such a gift in the Philly summers. Of course I check the water quality via phillyrivercast.org and swim in the area that is “designated for swimming” (even though yes, it’s technically illegal unless there’s a permit for a triathalon). I can only hope that Philly takes next steps in encouraging recreational use of the rivers & providing safe access to them.” — Jacques-Jean ‘JJ’ Tiziou

Keep reading on limitations to swimming in the Schuylkill in the Philly city limits and why some people still love it.

🎤 Jason says: My view from campsite #36 at Clear Creek State Park in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

So lovely.

Brenda Hébert of Spring Garden West is excited to share her favorite activity with us:

For five years after moving to Philadelphia in 2018, I would drive, walk or bike along the Schuylkill River and envy all the folks who had figured out a way to be ON the river. Then I discovered dragon boating.

This past spring, I was accepted into the Rookie Program of the Schuylkill Dragons, a women’s dragon boating team based in Philadelphia. I was elated that first time I found myself in a flat-bottomed boat with 19 other women, paddling (not rowing) in unison ON the Schuylkill River!

As the summer unspooled, I found more and more of my time and attention being dedicated to dragonboating, from team practices to upping my conditioning game, from getting “certified” to use the outrigger canoes to watching instructional videos in my spare time. Three of my teammates recently raced at the World championships in Thailand!

After a lifetime of being athletic and fit, I had let myself slide during and since Covid. This past June, I turned 70. That woke me up and helped motivate me to embrace dragonboating for fitness, fun, camaraderie, learning new skills, overcoming fear and so much more. — Brenda Hébert

This was a thrill to learn about. Dragonboating traces its history back over 2,000 years to southern China. The sport found its way to America in Philadelphia back in 1983.

📮 What’s your favorite outdoorsy activity? Give us a review of your experience for a chance to be featured in this newsletter by emailing me back.