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  [Hiking]

Yesterday my friend Steve and I went up to Bear Meadows, which is just off the MST near Little Flat. To get there, we drove by Tussey Mountain ski area on Bear Meadows Road, and made a right crossing a bridge onto the dirt road which took us up towards the fire tower at Little Flat. This was my first hike of the Fall season. We began our hike at about 1:15 in the afternoon.

We headed North on the MST along Fourth Mountain, first passing the Tom Thwaites Monument on our right. Taking a break for peanuts and water after our first 2 miles, we decided we would make a loop around Bear Meadows instead of backtracking to Steve's truck. We continued another 1.5 miles along the ridge, where the trail curved left with the mountain, crossed a gravel road, and began to drop into the valley that holds Bear Meadows.

Coming down the left side of the ridge, the MST took a sharp right, while we continued forward on the blue blazed Gettis Trail. About a quarter mile later, Gettis Trail curved to the right, and we continued to the left on the unblazed Bear Meadows Trails. Bear Meadows itself was off to our left along the trail, with the ridge of Fourth Mountain we had just hiked sitting behind it (dropping off the ridge with Gettis Trail had looped us back in the direction towards Little Flat; so at this point we were in parallel with the ridge we just hiked). The trail was fairly open to the woods, with less brush and a rock-free path in comparison to the ridge-top we just left. Numerous rhododendron groves clustered both sides of our path. We only made our way to the marshy area of Bear Meadows once (see our pictures), taken there by a path unintentionally left by other hikers. For the rest of our hike, the trees hid the view of the marshy meadows.

Towards the end of the Bear Meadows trail, we made a "T" at a parking lot at Bear Meadows Road. A monument stood at parking lot, stating that Bear Meadows was named in 1966.

We took a left turn onto Bear Meadows Road, crossed a bridge, and made another left onto the Jean Aron Trail. This crossed North Meadows Road (which we actually encountered previously before coming off the ridge of Fourth Mountain), and turned into Lonberger Path. About 20 minutes later, and we made a left onto the unblazed Kettle Trail. This was the hike's first physical challenge, and it gave us both a workout as we made our way up the ridge-side to Little Flat. At the top, we arrived at the MST with a "T", just across from the Tom Thwaites monument. Here we sat on a bench and caught our breath. Back at the car, we concluded our hike around 4:30. From my MST topo maps, we estimate the loop was about 8 miles. A great hike to start the Fall!

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  [Hiking]

Last Saturday I drove West on I-80 towards the Allegheny National Forest. My hope was to backpack the Baker Trail in Cooks Forest, but when I arrived, a ranger at the park office said overnight backpacking in the park was not permitted. She redirected me North to the ranger station in Marienville, where two older women who were volunteering showed me some maps and recommended places to hike.

I decided on a day hike the Twin Lakes Trail, as the topography in this area looked a bit more mountainous than the other maps. I drove another 20 minutes or so North and found the trailhead on PA route 66 just after lunch. Based on my map, I'd say the hike was about 9 miles round-trip.

The pictures I captured were all taken cresting the second ridge going into the woods. Here the woods were peaceful, the ferns bright green, and trees tall and old. I do think I'll go back to the Allegheny National Forest, but I'll probably spend the weekend in a campground so I can spend time checking out Cooks Forest,

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  [Hiking]

Last weekend I did an overnight hike on the Mid State Trail. I had a late morning start on Saturday, and left my apartment around 10:00am, which put me at the R. B. Winter office parking lot around 11:00. I entered my name in the register for the weekend, then hit the trail off PA route 192.

After the trail crosses 192, it jumps up the side of a ridge behind the park's Halfway Lake. The trail continues uphill, but turns into a gradual incline as it merges with a cross-country ski trail. At the top of the ridge, it occurred to me how well maintained this section of trail was compared to other sections I've hiked (though the mosquitoes were hungry). The trail crossed a power line clearing, then led me to the Sand Mountain Fire Tower at the end of the ridge, which fueled my interest in Pennsylvania Fire Towers (w).

From here, the trail dropped into a valley then went went up the side of another ridge, covered in mountain laurel, called Chestnut Flat. Atop this ridge, the trail turned left off an old railroad grade, and headed down Emanon Gap (this turn is easy to miss as the railroad grade continues straight along the mountain side). The trail followed a chain of moss covered rocks down the gap, and further down I heard a stream running in the rocks just below the trail. It surfaced in a few pools, as a spring would appear on a mountain side, but remained mostly concealed under the MST.

Beyond a green marshy area at the bottom of the gap, the trail reached a bridge where it crossed White Deer Creek. I didn't cross, as my eyes caught a decent sized pine-needle clearing, downstream and just to my right. It was early afternoon, and only about 5 miles in my hike, but I knew there was a good chance I'd be camping there for the night. I took a water break, ate some trail mix, then took a nap quick nap. When I woke, the sun shining on the creek made too nice of a setting to give up, so I set up camp.

I dabbled in the woods till early evening, and was asleep by sundown. I woke the next morning with the birds for some coffee and pancakes, then hit the trail around 8:00. The trip back to the car was quick, but my pack felt good as it always does after the first night. I stopped briefly at the fire tower on the way back, and was back at the park office by 11:00.

According to my 10th edition MST guide, the hike was 19.14km round trip (about 11.96 miles).

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  [Hiking]

This weekend I'll be doing a hike on the Mid State Trail (w). So far, I have a rough 75 miles of it done (from the Little Juniata River near Alexandria up to R. B. Winter State Park). I'll be starting this hike on the North end at R. B. Winter, and will hike a ways North, spend the night, then backtrack my way back to the park.

Tonight I went to the local outdoors shop to pick up a new cooking pot. My other one is still great, but slightly larger than I need it to be, and it opens up in my pack all the time and everything inside dumps out (I use it to hold a container carrying batteries, matches, a sponge, etc.). The new pot is slightly smaller, lighter, and the pot's handle flips over the top and buckles the lid into place, so it cannot come apart. I also picked up a hair net for my backpack - if it rains, you throw this cover on it and pull the drawstring and everything will stay dry.

I'm hoping this hike will break me in, and then the week of July 4th (when my employer shuts down), I'll do a 4-5 day hike. That will either be a longer stretch on the MST, the Quehanna Trail (w), or I'll finish up the other half of the Chuck Keiper Trail (w) (which is only 33 miles). It's probably best to reserve the Chuck Keiper hike for a weekend hike later this year. We'll see...

My food is all packed and ready to go:

• Lemon-pepper tuna sandwiches on two English muffins for lunch
• Mashed potatoes with cream corn for supper
• Coffee and pancakes with butter and syrup for breakfast

I found a tiny bisquick container that you top of with water and shake for batter. I didn't want to carry the cream corn, but this will make a good coffee mug in the morning.

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  [Hiking]

I was reading this Spring's MST newsletter and found a blurb about a hike near State College. It mentioned Detweiler Run, and a road or two I remembered from a previous Mid State Trail hike, so I took the afternoon to do an 8.2 mile loop hike in the same area.

I drove East of State College on route 322 until I was over the mountain, and made a right on Stone Creek Road, just past the runaway truck ramp. From there, I took a paved road about 8 miles back towards Alan Seeger Natural Area. I then took another right onto an unpaved road called Bear Meadows Road (though there was no sign at the turn). A mile or two up the hill was a switchback (towards the left) and a gate (on the right) - the MST crossed here. I parked at the gate and started my hike around 1:15pm.

I began the hike headed Northbound on the MST. This took me down the hill from the gate to Detweiler Run. Instead of following the MST at the creek (left at the "T"), I made a right, and looped South towards Stone Creek Road. At the road, I didn't cross, but headed back North up the mountain on a trail called the Long Mountain Trail (parallel to Detweiler Run). At the top I made a left onto Thickhead Mountain Road (which is more of a horse trail than it is a road). This eventually intersected the MST, which I followed Southbound along Detweiler Run until I reached my car and the gate at Bear Meadows Road. It was about 5:00pm.

The hike took about four hours, but would have been a shorter if I didn't miss my left onto the MST on Thickhead Mountain Road (my bad). It was very enjoyable, but at the same time, tired me out on the uphill section of the Long Mountain Trail. Fortunately, I saw a turkey bolt through the woods on this stretch, which was a great excuse to have a slug of water and catch my breath.

If you have a copy of the 10th edition MSTA guide and trail maps, you can find the hike on map 203. The loop length of 8.2 miles is an estimate I came up with using the map and guide: the loop is roughly twice the distance from the gate to Penn Roosevelt State Park (2 * 6.57 = 13.14 km ~ 8.2 mi).

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  [Hiking]

I finally got around to posting my pictures of the Chuck Keipler trail. They are over on the Chuck Keiper Trail (w) wiki page.

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  [Hiking]

I just got back from hiking the Eastern loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail about 2 hours ago. It was a helluva hike, considering it was in new territory for me, and also had lots of different landscapes in its 23 miles. Not too much wildlife, though I did spook a bobcat in the Renovo Watershed.

I started a wiki entry for the trail which includes links to maps, trail notes, and directions: Chuck Keiper Trail (w). I took my camera along this trip, so I'll post some pictures on the wiki when I'm less tired. While you're at it, you might also check out my Backpacking (w) wiki entry.

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