Bill's Hiking Journal

Erin and I hiked up the blue trail, which is considered "backwards", I guess. It was nice to see that there are now blue blazes clearly marking the path, even along the road you start out on. We hiked up, over to the Mike Lynch Vista, and then down. It was startling to see how the poplar trees have taken over the section of the mountain near the Nittany Mall overlook.

Erin and I stopped on our way back from Gettysburg to check out the Big Valley Vista. The climb is about 300 feet vertical, I'm guessing, but not too far for a nice autumn day. I was quite disappointed to see that some young trees have blocked the view of the reservoir...somebody needs to climb up there with a chain saw.

The vista was a bit further along on the Mid State Trail than I remembered from my last hike up this hill, but it still only took about 10-15 minutes to get there.

Well, it had been a while since Erin and I went hiking, so Mount Nittany was the natural choice. We just did a slow hike up the hill and over to the Oak Hall vista. Not a bad leg stretcher, but boy am I out of shape!

Well, it took me a long time to find this thing, and now I know where it is...this was just a quick jaunt up to a viewing platform atop Stone Mountain in Huntingdon County.

I was eager to get hiking this Spring, since it had been quite a while. Erin wanted something short, so I figured the Lakeside Trail at Bald Eagle State Park was a good choice.

I enjoyed my last hike of the Jackson so much, that I decided to drag Erin along and do a shuttle from Jo Hays to Shingletown. Here is a gallery of the hike, which, for some reason, isn't in chronological order.

The weather was a bit chilly, but not bad. The leaves still had plenty of color, and the views were excellent.

It had been a long time since I've hiked the Jackson Trail, and I nearly forgot why it was one of my favorites, despite the rocks.

The views are, in a word, spectacular.

Erin and I visited Manassas National Battlefield Park, and decided to take the shorter of the two trails.

I'd hiked this hill before, and it was grueling. I was anxious to see how my new-found mountain legs would do. I also wanted to get some photos, since this was the highest peak in the park, and it was very hazy. Erin and I geared up and hit the Lower Hawksbill Trailhead.

This was just a short little hike on our first day of camping. The weather sucked, since it was not only really hot, but very cloudy as well. None of the vistas on Skyline Drive were clear, but I figured Stony Man would be ok, and at the least, it would be a little leg stretcher...well, sort of.

After my last (bad) experience trying to make a loop out of Shingletown Gap, I thought I'd give it another try on a trail that is a little better marked. If only my GPS's batteries didn't fail...

After my last (bad) experience trying to make a loop out of Shingletown Gap, I thought I'd give it another try on a trail that is a little better marked. If only my GPS's batteries didn't fail...

I wanted to do something quick, since I had limited time, so I thought about Mount Nittany, which is where I hike when I don't know where to hike. Mount Nittany was getting old, though, so when I saw the antennas on Little Flat, I thought about Shingletown, for some reason.

I was in the Huntingdon area with Erin, and we were looking for a good hike. I figured the original southern terminus of the Mid State Trail was nearby, so I may as well find that. It was more complicated than I thought.

Erin wanted to do a nice hike (or me, I can't remember!) so I figured Mount Nittany was a safe bet. We hiked a double loop, starting up the white trail from the parking area, then around the Mike Lynch Vista to the blue trail. We ate lunch at the hammer, looped back around to the Mike Lynch Vista and did the white loop, then down the blue trail and home. All in all, a nice 8+ mile hike. I noticed a bit more broken glass than on any previous hike, and some jagoffs ruined the stone seat at the Oak Hall overlook. If I ever find out anybody that's vandalized the vistas, there'll be a devil to pay.