Bridge of Dreams in Brinkhaven, Ohio, upon completion of my 52 Hike Challenge 2022. | Courtesy of Clark Schwenke
Welcome back, everyone; I hope our mild winter allowed you to get out and enjoy the outdoors. For those who were keeping track, I did finish my 52 Hike Challenge for 2022 in October of last year, with a 10K hike that took me from Glenmont to Brinkhaven on the Holmes County Trail and Mohican Valley Trail.
Since then, I have completed the 52 Hike Challenge Winter Series with 30 Hours of hiking from December to February and am well into my 52 Hike Challenge 2023. So far this year, I have visited seven national parks or national historic sites, hiked in five states, doing a portion of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and set a personal record for my greatest elevation gain in a single hike, with 1,200 feet up in 2 miles on Bob’s Hill in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. In addition, I have hiked various terrain and weather conditions, using many of the tips, tricks and much of the gear I recommended last year.
During my 52 Hike Challenge Winter Series, I managed to get a day off shortly after one of our biggest snows this winter and spent the day at Mohican State Park. I hiked a little over 10 miles that day, and the scenery was worth the temperatures. I started out from the Covered Bridge, hiked the Lyons Falls Trail to Big Lyon Falls, on to Little Lyon Falls and out to Pleasant Hill Dam. From there, I hiked the Pleasant Hill Trail and Hemlock Gorge Trail back to the Class A Campground off of State Route 3. I returned to the Covered Bridge on the Hemlock Gorge Trail,…
He was the husband of Dorothy M. (Wert) Tomlinson. John was born in Doylestown on Sept. 20, 1934 to the late John W. and Madaline R. (Conner) Tomlinson. He served our country honorably in the U.S. Air Force during peacetime. Pastor Tomlinson was Pastor of the Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Center Valley, from 1982 to 1999; Pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Wilkes-Barre from 1976 to 1982; Pastor of the New Ringgold Parish from 1971 to 1976; and Seminarian Assistant at St. John’s Windish Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from 1969 to 1971. He was previously employed by Swartley Bros. of Lansdale as an assistant to the electrical engineer from 1960 to 1967. John was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Allentown. He attended Ursinus College from 1952 to 1954; graduated from Temple University in 1969 with a B.A. degree; was a graduate of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, from which he received a Minister of Divinity Degree in 1971; was past Secretary of the Lehigh Mission District; and served on the Board of Lutheran Congregational Services, formerly Lutheran Services of the Lehigh Valley.
