Bill's Hiking Journal

Musser Gap trails

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2010-04-03T07:40:00Z

The weather was perfect this Easter weekend, and having done a few shorter hikes over the last few weeks, I was up for something longer. The Musser Gap seemed like a great idea.
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Leg Stretcher Redux on the MST/Jackson Trail

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2010-03-28T07:33:00Z

I liked the walk on the MST so much on Saturday that I decided to do it again the next day.

This time, I grabbed by wife, and we did a short hike on both sides of the highway. First, we headed out on the Jackson Trail, which is probably my favorite hike in Centre County (or is that actually Huntingdon County? hard to tell, since it's right on the border), past the antenna farm and over to David's Vista. This is still one of my favorite hikes. We took a quick look at the Happy Vally Vista and headed back.

Once across the highway, we took the short walk over to the power line where I had been the day before. All in all, a short hike, but a good warm-up as I get my knees and ankles back into some sort of condition for real hiking.

Leg Stretcher on the MST

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2010-03-27T07:29:00Z

Some friends wanted to do some mild hiking, and asked if I wanted to join them. Being really out of shape, I jumped at the opportunity.

I recommended that we "hike" the MST from the Jo Hays Vista over to the power line, about a kilometer away. Just a nice leg stretcher, but it did my knees some good. There were a number of people on the trail, due to the excellent weather. One fellow was looking for birds with a spotting scope under the power lines.

New Trail in Rothrock State Forest "Musser Gap Tract"

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2009-09-13T13:30:00Z

About a year ago, I had heard about a new trail that opened up in Rothrock State Forest, near State College, PA. The trail is a stretch of land donated to public use by the Clearwater Conservancy. Apparently, the evil housing developers were eying up the property, so your tax dollars helped to buy it. I'm an avid hiker, but demonizing people who build homes isn't right, in my opinion. Anyway, it's good land, and this is probably something I don't mind my tax dollars going to.

After all this time, I was happy to get a look at this stretch of land, a thin strip, really, bordered on both sides by fences and farmland. Finding the entrance was a chore just by itself...
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Gettysburg

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2009-09-07T07:05:00Z

Erin and I took a much-needed hike around Gettysburg National Battlefield Park, and while it sprinkled a bit, the weather was nice.
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Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2009-07-03T12:50:00Z

Erin and I didn't want anything too strenuous, so we decided to hike between two vistas on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

We started out at Fisher's Gap and decided to hike over to Spitler's Knoll and back. Our trail guide suggested that this was a nice hike, and it was exactly as advertised.
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Mount Nittany, blue trail to start

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2009-05-31T07:36:00Z

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.
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Big Valley Vista

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2008-10-19T13:16:00Z

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.

Hiking Mount Nittany, yet again

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2008-07-27T10:44:00Z

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!

Stone Mountain Hawk Watch

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2008-04-06T11:01:00Z

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.
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Lakeside Trail, Bald Eagle State Park

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2008-03-16T12:28:00Z

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.
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Jackson and Skyline Trails

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2007-11-02T09:24:00Z

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.
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Jackson Trail for the fall colors

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2007-10-29T15:20:23Z

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.

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First Bull Run, Manassas VA

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2007-09-16T06:38:00Z

Erin and I visited Manassas National Battlefield Park, and decided to take the shorter of the two trails.
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Hawksbill Mountain - vacationing in Shenandoah National Park

bill@hikepa.com (Bill Ames) — 2007-08-31T08:57:24Z

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.