RE: 21 miles on the Perkiomen trail (well, sort of)
I grew up about a mile from the Perky, in Audubon, just off of Egypt road. I can't make out where the flooding is in your photos, but the section near the intersection of Egypt Road and Pinetown Road used to flood all the time, and one time I fell through the ice when I was ice fishing there and had to hoof it back home before my jeans froze. ; -)
Everything looks different now, though. I'm pretty sure the Perkiomen Trail didn't even exist back then. Neither did the section of 422 between Valley Forge and Oaks. I was a teenager when they built that section of highway. No idea when the trail opened. Must've been after I went to college.
Anyway, sounds like you enjoyed a fun excursion through a nice area! Running has never been my thing, so "hats off" to you.
The flooding was exactly there! We started just a bit south of Egypt and Pinetown intersection and had to re-route west on the highway. We were wondering the exact same thing as we ran by: how often do people in this area have to evacuate because of the flood?!
Wow falling through the ice must have been quite an experience! Glad you were OKAY! Where are you now? Perhaps you should come back to visit because the trail is REALLY nice!
I thought that might be where it was. Couldn't be sure though. Not sure what is near that intersection now, but when I was growing up there was only one house that was effected by the flooding. The others were up-hill far enough that they usually stayed dry. There was a flood plain on the other side of Pinetown road that someone was constantly filling with dirt, and it had "for sale" signs up for years. I haven't noticed if they eventually built there or not. I always wondered how that one house dealt with the flooding though. It must have been a real pain.
I'm still in the general area, we're in West Chester now, about 45 minutes away. We drive through the area every once in a while, but yeah, it might be fun to take a walk along the trail and see how things have changed!