After spending the weekend relaxing at our friends' cabin at the Eagle Rock Resort near Hazleton, PA, in the Poconos, we made a stop at Nescopeck State Park to get some walking in, although it was a cold, dreary day with a chance of rain--at the beginning of the season, we're just desperate to be outside!
Nescopeck isn't particularly hilly or mountainous, so we grabbed some trail maps at the closed Education Center and started for the only trail that was marked as "Difficult"--the three-mile Mountain Loop that nears the top of Nescopeck Mountain. This was a pretty easy walk for most of the time, except for the 100 yards or so leading to the trail's summit. There's no spectacular view at the top, just a few sudden sharp turns and then a sudden descent. Maybe it was because it was the last weekend in March and the weather was chilly and drab, but this was a sad, lifeless hike! There wasn't a leaf, shrub, weed, squirrel or bird to be seen (or heard) and we didn't see anyone else on this section of the trail. There were, however, plenty of misguided brooks and streams--after an incredibly snowy winter, the spring melt was still carving out the trails, and we did a lot of rock scrambling over brooks (always fun, as far as we're concerned).
When we hit Honey Hole Road, we decided to continue on to the Creekside trail and head towards Nescopeck Creek and see what sights we could find. We came upon the creek, which was slightly more lively than the rest of the hike. However, we quickly lost track of the Creekside Trail and thought maybe it had been grown over or drowned out during an incredibly wet winter, so we cut up the Fern Trail towards the Nescopeck Trail, a wide, well-defined road that slowly headed back towards Lake Francis and the Education Center where we were parked.
The area around Lake Frances was poorly marked and we missed a turn at some point, so we ended up walking half a mile on Honey Hole Road to get back to where we were parked. It started to rain just before we got to the car. We ended up doing around five miles; there wasn't much elevation so we it only took two hours (and with the dreary weather, we didn't even stop to eat).
Distance: 5 miles
All-in-all: Nescopeck didn't have much to offer, but with the informal goal of exploring as many state (and national, of course) parks and forests as we can, I'm still glad we made the stop.
Links: Nescopeck State Park
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Pulpit Rock/Pinnacle Loop, 3/21/10
After a frigid winter with record-setting snowfall in Philadelphia, we were chomping at the bit to get out for a nice, long hike that didn't involve me sliding down hills on my butt (we haven't really advanced to winter hiking yet--maybe next year). We found the perfect loop, part of the Appalachian Trail and with a trail head just 45 minutes from Eric's apartment. The Pulpit Rock/Pinnacle Loop in Hamburg, PA, is an 8.7 mile circuit with some incredible views. We couldn't have picked a better spot for the first springtime adventure.
We parked at a water treatment plant and walked about half a mile up a gravel road to the trail. After crossing a small bridge over Furnace Creek, we stayed to the right to stay on the AT. The first mile or so was easy going with little elevation gain. There are a few spur trails and there were quite a few people on the trail. The woods were positively alive, though, with chipmunks scattering in every direction and the wildly loud song of the wood frogs ringing out, much to my delight. For the last quarter-mile or so before the Pulpit Rock overlook, the trail quickly gained elevation and required a great deal of rock scrambling.
We sat at the rocky overlook to take in the views of the Lehigh Valley and its many ridges and tried to identify the other mountains. Hawks were enjoying the gorgeous day just as much; we saw dozens circling between the ridges. It's always in situations like these that I wish I had a better camera. I tried to get some good photos of the hawks, but my camera just doesn't do them justice.
After leaving Pulpit Rock, we came upon an observatory with a sign for the Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society, which excited me--I've always been fascinated with the night sky and I can't imagine a better weekend than an evening hike followed by stargazing with real equipment and people who know what they're talking about. Add it to my never-ending list of things to check out.
The next mile or so of the trail was more rock hopping and often stopping at every blaze to seek the next. There were far fewer people on this section of the trail and we enjoyed the slightly more challenging terrain to reach the short spur trail off of the AT to reach the Pinnacle. You certainly can't miss the Pinnacle with the enormous rock cairn marking your arrival, and at the overlook, the rocks jut out to allow panoramic views of the valley--absolutely gorgeous. I was shocked and disappointed at the amount of trash left behind by previous hikers, and we packed what I could to carry out after taking in the views.
The Loop continues on the AT for another 1.82 miles on an old woods road before meeting up with a blue-blazed trail that would lead back to the trailhead where we started. We came across a few swampy bogs where dozens of wood frogs sang loudly and incessantly--I loved it! Much of the remainder of the loop follows along Furnace Creek and is all easy terrain. The trail passes by the Hamburg Reservoir before leading back to the road that takes you to the parking area.
Distance: 8.7 miles
All-in-all: Enjoyable loop with some fantastic vistas; mostly easy terrain with a few areas of more moderate climbing.
Links: Map
We parked at a water treatment plant and walked about half a mile up a gravel road to the trail. After crossing a small bridge over Furnace Creek, we stayed to the right to stay on the AT. The first mile or so was easy going with little elevation gain. There are a few spur trails and there were quite a few people on the trail. The woods were positively alive, though, with chipmunks scattering in every direction and the wildly loud song of the wood frogs ringing out, much to my delight. For the last quarter-mile or so before the Pulpit Rock overlook, the trail quickly gained elevation and required a great deal of rock scrambling.
We sat at the rocky overlook to take in the views of the Lehigh Valley and its many ridges and tried to identify the other mountains. Hawks were enjoying the gorgeous day just as much; we saw dozens circling between the ridges. It's always in situations like these that I wish I had a better camera. I tried to get some good photos of the hawks, but my camera just doesn't do them justice.After leaving Pulpit Rock, we came upon an observatory with a sign for the Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society, which excited me--I've always been fascinated with the night sky and I can't imagine a better weekend than an evening hike followed by stargazing with real equipment and people who know what they're talking about. Add it to my never-ending list of things to check out.
The next mile or so of the trail was more rock hopping and often stopping at every blaze to seek the next. There were far fewer people on this section of the trail and we enjoyed the slightly more challenging terrain to reach the short spur trail off of the AT to reach the Pinnacle. You certainly can't miss the Pinnacle with the enormous rock cairn marking your arrival, and at the overlook, the rocks jut out to allow panoramic views of the valley--absolutely gorgeous. I was shocked and disappointed at the amount of trash left behind by previous hikers, and we packed what I could to carry out after taking in the views.
The Loop continues on the AT for another 1.82 miles on an old woods road before meeting up with a blue-blazed trail that would lead back to the trailhead where we started. We came across a few swampy bogs where dozens of wood frogs sang loudly and incessantly--I loved it! Much of the remainder of the loop follows along Furnace Creek and is all easy terrain. The trail passes by the Hamburg Reservoir before leading back to the road that takes you to the parking area.
Distance: 8.7 miles
All-in-all: Enjoyable loop with some fantastic vistas; mostly easy terrain with a few areas of more moderate climbing.
Links: Map
Saturday, March 20, 2010
On Hiking and Loving
Thanks for checking out our blog! We are Kelly and Eric, two amateur outdoor enthusiasts from the greater Philadelphia area. I wanted an easy way to keep track of our hikes and maybe even connect with some other hikers in the area, thus, a blog was born. We're about to move out of our respective apartments in Philadelphia (Kelly) and the Lehigh Valley (Eric) to Phoenixville and most of our hikes are pretty local, but we've got backpacking gear on our wishlist and are hoping to start expanding our hiking horizons.
As a bit of a backgrounder, we met in June of 2008 when we both joined a mutual friend on a trip to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN, and have been together ever since. We love hiking, camping, live music and cooking. We tried our first container garden with moderate success last summer, and are excited to have a legitimate vegetable patch at our new apartment. Most of our discretionary spending goes to concerts and music festivals.
If you're here, please don't hesitate to leave a comment and say hello, tell us about your favorite trail and leave a link to your blog.
Blue skies!
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