I am going to start this article with a question,  “How many of You have ever heard of Foul Rift?”  While I hate assuming, I’m betting, a lot of you would reply with, a never heard of it, OR, I have heard the name, but, don’t know what it is!!  AND, taking this a step further, if I asked the question verbally, without you seeing the spelling, some might assume, an altercation among chickens, geese etc.!!  (NOTE: If you didn’t know what it was, don’t feel too bad, this is really one of those out of sight sites!! Along with the fact, unless you were/are a boater why would you know about this!!)  Let me give an example of this, by describing my trip this last Saturday, getting my photos for this story. 

Departed my home, with the concept of doing my Photo of the Week about Foul Rift, for me, great memories from long ago, made many kayak trips through the rift, should be an interesting story for everyone!!  I’m all set, except for one hang-up in the back of my mind, A BIG HANG-UP!!  Will I be able to get any good photos, without a boat!!  (I don’t have any photos – my kayak days were before my camera days!!)  I’m remembering various trips down Foul Rift Road, and I am not remembering great photo opportunities!!  Arrived and drove down Foul Rift Road and my concerns were validated!  You get scant glimpses of the River, glimpses by stopping, peering through the trees, (without leaves) at one or two places, you really are not made aware of what is occurring on the River along that stretch of road!!  Plan B, let me check out the Pennsylvania side of the River.  AGAIN, I am not having good vibes, I did this same trip back during the great floods, say 2005 or so, and only remember getting somewhat close to the River and that was down by the large power station, which is south of Foul Rift!!  Let me check this out!  (FINGERS CROSSED!!)  Drive back up to Belvidere and cross over the bridge, quickly come across a new, (new for me) Park and Trail head, wondering if that goes anywhere near Foul Rift??!!  Let me follow my original game plan of going down by the Power Station.  Travel another couple of miles and turn left into the road heading for the power company, this is a dead end road.  Drive in and just across from the Power Station is a Park with trails.  This is all new to me, checking the kiosk out, map shows the trail goes alongside Foul Rift.  ELATION!! & RELIEF!! are the best description for my temperament, just wondering what type of photos I will get!!??  At this point, I will let my photos answer the previous question.  NOTE:  Another Insidewarren.com Photo of the Week, where we are looking at Warren County from outside of Warren, in Pennsylvania!!

DESCRIPTION OF FOUL RIFT:  Foul Rift is a Class II rapids in the Delaware River.  It is located about a half mile south of Belvidere, N.J..  The rapids are created by a 22 foot descent in elevation in the limestone ledge of the riverbed for approximately half a mile.  The rapids consist of your normal water rushing over boulders and shallow sections, however there are quite a few of, what I will classify as small rock islands, scattered amid this half mile of river.  Unlike most of the other rapids on the River, there is no ‘safe zone’ which you can take to lessen or avoid the action!!  Once you commit, no matter where you go, HANG ON!!  YOUR MOVING!!  The speed of the water throughout this entire zone is fast, much of this section, your well known white water, the rest is that turbulent, upwelling and ever churning scenario, requiring a boater to constantly be aware of balance!!  Foul Rift, the name reflects an important fact, this is the most dangerous rapid on the entire Delaware River and it is almost a half mile long. 

RECOLLECTIONS:  Like all rapids, the water level is a game changer, every trip can be different.  We went through Foul Rift in fairly high water, all rock islands were under water, that trip was fairly easy, no rocks to avoid and no shallow areas to get hung up on, just had to watch your balance with up-welling water!!  We went through in a drought, the only way to get through was to hug the cliffs on Pennsylvania side, if my memory serves me correctly, some of that trip along the cliffs was the fastest water we ever experienced here, even though the water level was low!!  When you go down along the PA side, you see steel rings in the rock, these were used by early rafters delivering goods, I think to stabilize their rafts!?

My hike was along Tekening Trails, a series of trails within PP&L’s Martin Creek Environmental Preserve.  The longest trail is parallel to the Delaware River for two miles, giving the hiker beautiful views of the Foul Rift Section of the River plus some nice background views of the mountains in Warren County, NJ.  Parked at the picnic area lot and followed the red trail a short distance then made a right turn onto the blue trail which parallels the River atop the cliffs, came to the junction of the red trail and returned via that, what a nice visit!!  https://pplpreserves.wordpress.com/tag/martins-creek/  If you decide to do this hike, you can start at the trail head I mentioned earlier, not too far beyond the Belvidere Bridge.  Look for the blue trail blaze.  NOTE:  I actually came across about 15 people on my visit, bicyclist, jogger, dog walkers, photographers and senior couple!!  HINT:  Nice Visit!!!

Please visit my Flickr site for more photos and videos – https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliefineran/albums/72157713863721912

Observe, the annual Delaware River Sojourn, as they travel through the rocky shallows and narrow chutes of the infamous Foul Rift section of the Delaware River –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddopi46dPi8

Remember, the Upper – Middle – Lower Delaware River sections are designated as a National Wild & Scenic Partner River – This section definitely has both characteristics!!

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran