Primarily a rural state with agriculture its number one business, natural areas are well-preserved in Pennsylvania. It's covered with hiking trails. The range of trails accommodates mountain bikes, horses and ATVs. In winter, some are open for cross-country skiers as well as hardy hikers. Some of the most challenging are in Rickettt's Glenn State Park in northeastern Pennsylvania. Although I haven't visited it for decades, I remember crossing -- carefully -- a slippery spot consisting of slanted flat rocks with water streaming over top.
Three friends and I walked part of the Shingletown Gap trail in June on a late Saturday afternoon. Shingletown is between State College and Boalsburg in central Pennsylvania.
There are two trails, one blue and one white. Marked trees serve as a guide.
We traversed the easier blue road for several hours at a leisurely pace. The steeper white trail branches from the blue not far from their shared starting point. A creek gurgles along most of the white trail.
Nice for keeping the temperature down. And dipping hot bare feet or hands.
Early along the way, we took pictures ! Sean, who was passing by, volunteered to photograph all four of us.
I think Mary and I encountered him when she and I last hiked this trail. Sean sometimes rides his mountain bike here. When the steeper route split from our trail, we saw a few mountain bikers navigating up the rocky incline like they were defying gravity.Only one part of the trail is difficult to me. About 30 minutes or so after our picture-taking stop, the trail became rocky and uneven. The footing was not easy. Thankfully, this section was short.
The filled-out trees provided shade. The more we hiked, the more variety of plants we saw. Ferns covered the ground in places alongside other foliage such as rhododendron.
Quite a bit up the trail, the rhododendrons flowered abundantly. We've had quite a bit of rain, so I wasn't surprised to see this:
It was about 4-5 inches in diameter. I noticed others alongside the trail.Volunteers maintain the trail, and that includes trimming branches off trees that fall across the path.
We discussed the future possibility of parking one car at the trail's far end, which is supposed to be at Tussey Mountain, then driving another car to the beginning. We'd then hike the whole way up to a waiting and welcome car.
The sun was getting low as we returned downhill. On the way, we stopped to sit and chat, and so I could take photos. I startled this little creature by almost sitting on the log hiding it.
I'll leave you with these amateur videos:
Map of Pennsylvania trails
