Hiking and Driving

Ken and I were up at 7:45 after a good night's sleep.  It was another gorgeous weather day with temperatures in the low 80's and plenty of sunshine with a nice breeze.  A perfect day for another hike!

We sat outside with Chuck and Melissa enjoying our coffees and chai and chatting about all kinds of things!  Then Ken brought out an exercise DVD from the Biggest Loser and we played it outside and did the 20 minute exercise program that has you walk a mile while doing different steps and using hand weights while doing it.  We didn't have weights, so the 4 of us used cans of beans.  It's good the CG is fairly empty and no one was watching.  We were a sight to behold!!!!   Around 10:45 we decided it was time for breakfast - yes!!!!!  Ken and I made omelets and had fresh fruit which we enjoyed eating outside. 

 After cleaning up, we packed some snacks and drinks and by 11:38 (Ken's time) we were on our way to Loyalsock State Forest, about 4 miles from the CG. It got its name from the Loyalsock Creek, which winds for over 60 miles through the forest.   We parked near Dutchman Falls and started our hike on the Haystacks Trail which joined with the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad Trail.  Eventually we joined with the Loyalsock Trail down to the Haystack Rapids where the attraction is the Haystack Mounds. 

It was a gorgeous, well-marked trail

Almost looked like coral growing on the side
of the tree.  Unique!

It was a wide railroad bed for part of the trail!

And then we arrived at the Haystacks!

It was a beautiful setting.....

with rocks everywhere!

Huge rocks plus a peaceful little waterfalls!

We enjoyed sitting on these boulders, building a cairn (stone marker) and playing in the water.  These mounds or rocks continue to puzzle geologists. While most prominent at the Haystack Rapids the associated rock formation can be found in Sullivan, Lycoming, and Wyoming counties, but there are no similar formations in the entire country.  The rock formation is purely sedimentary. What this all means is that it is most likely when the geologic process was forming what is now the subsurface of Pennsylvania, some large catastrophic event occurred that deposited this sediment here and nowhere else - probably a large tsumani or a meteor striking southern Canada and throwing debris to Pennsylvania. 

We enjoyed walking on these large boulders!

It was also a great place to relax.....

and play in the water!

A refreshing time on a hot day!!

Time to leave my "mark" in this area so I began building
a cairn.  I have done this numerous places on our journeys!

The finished Cairn!  Now they know I
have been here!

The Haystacks have remained as an obstacle to the waters of the creek, especially to loggers at the turn of the century.  Log jams as high as 3 stories were reported.  The lumbermen attempted to blast the boulders to allow logs to move freely but the mighty Haystacks prevailed!  Many men lost their lives when trying to dynamite these boulders.

We left Haystack Rapids and took the Loyalsock Trail along the Loyalsock Creek to return to the parking area.  The last part of the trail was steep and rocky and we were tired by the time we returned to the car after walking about 5 miles.

So many beautiful ferns along the trail!

From there we drove to World's End to their picnic area to have snacks or lunch, whichever you preferred.  Then we treated ourselves to $1.00 baby ice cream cones, which were an extremely generous scoop.  The lady working there, who has lived her whole live in this area, recommended that we go to the 2 scenic vistas and then another area where she thought we would see bears.  Black bears are very prevalent in this area, or so they say (whoever they are!).

A wonderful place to rest and relax!

The vistas were beautiful and the rock garden area amazing.  We left there and drove to the nearby development that she thought we would see bears, but we had no luck.  Not for the lack of trying.  We drove and drove, and drove, but there were no bears anywhere!!!!!  

It was a bit hazy, but this is the Loyalsock Canyon Vista!

The Happy Foursome Again!

The view here is spectacular looking at the Endless Mountains!

Exploring The Rock Garden which is a blocky
maze of rock composed of very hard conglomerate
 and sandstone that has been eroded and frost heaved to create
 the deep, narrow crevices......

 ...and deep they are!!!!!!

This is the High Knob Vista with more views of
the Endless Mountain Region!

We arrived at the CG around 6:30 and decided to shower and then get together to play games.  The women won 2 games of Pinochle and the men finally won a game - Skip-Bo.  It was a fun and exercised filled day.  Looking forward to a more relaxing day tomorrow, our final day here in the Rickett's Glen area.  

Hiking at Ricketts Glen State Park!

 This is a special day!  Ken begins Medicare!!!!  Wow!  Can't believe we are both at that stage of our lives, but ready or not, we are!!!!!!  Thankful to not have to pay for our individual health insurance anymore!

Ken had a restless night because of some back issues.  His back has been doing great on this trip, but after unhooking and rehooking Waldo yesterday, which required some bending over, he had a few more "twitches".  Nothing like at the beach, but still some discomfort.  But, today during our hiking it didn't bother him!

We only got up around 7:15, packed our lunches, and had a cooked breakfast. Ken did some work on his computer and talked with Highmark regarding the cancellation of his hospitalization.  He also talked to Jamie and Lanie and both families are doing well.  All the little ones are happy with their teachers and fellow classmates.  Hopefully it will be a good year for all of them.

My mother called and we had a nice chat.  All is well with her and Dad too!

At 10 AM the 4 of us drove to Ricketts Glen State Park to hike the Falls Trail. Ken and I had hiked that trail 2X's before, but it has been at least 3 or 4 years. It is such a gorgeous trail that we were thrilled to do it again. On the way I talked to my sister and John has pneumonia.   Today they were on their way to Mystic Sea Port until Thursday.  Fortunately John got medication and is tired and coughing a lot, but not feeling too bad.

One of the 1st pictures taken on the trail.  

We stopped at the Visitors Center to get maps and info and then parked at the Lake Rose Trail Head to begin the 3.2 mile hike.  It is hard to explain the beauty of this trail with the 23 waterfalls and the many boulders, rocks, and water.  In many areas you go up and down stone steps to make the descent into the area and then to hike back out. There are some very steep areas, but so worth the "trip". The peacefulness and the tranquility of the trail is amazing!

It was very level when we started our hike!

We started on the Highland Trail from the parking
lot and then continued on the Falls Trail.  Then
the scenery just kept getting better and better!

The waterfalls along this trail are breathtaking.......

.....and this is the order that we saw them along the hike!

Some man made steps and also some natural rock ones!

We took the "down" side first and there
were some steep areas!

So beautiful!

Each falls had its own special beauty!

Phenomenal rock formations!

What a flat ledge!

It is hard to take in all the wonders of nature!

They just went on and on......

......and on!

The last falls on the trail!

We completed the hike by 2:45 and drove to the beach area to enjoy our picnic lunch.  4 years ago the beach area was full of swimmers and boaters and the concession stand was so busy.  This year it was closed and no one was around! They are in the process of repairing or reinforcing the dam, so the water was very low.  Kind of sad to see it so "lifeless".

We left there and drove back to the CG arriving around 4:30.  We all spent some time on our phones and computers and then we decided to play games outside.  It was a winning night for the women in 5 Crowns, Skip-Bo and a game of Pinochle that we didn't complete.  Ray, the owner of the CG stopped by to talk and invite us to have dinner with him and his wife, Kathy, at The Barn at Eagles Mere on Thursday evening.  They are expecting 300 campers this weekend for Labor Day and want a night out of fun and relaxing before the weekend begins.  It should be a fun time.  He was returning from a local eatery where he got a take-out of peanut butter pie.  He gave it to us to enjoy, so the 4 of us "dug in" and boy was it good!

He left at 9 and by then it was dark, so we called it a day.

Ken and I watched America's Got Talent while he did the dishes and I worked on this blog.  What a guy!

What a view, but a steep descent!

We had such a good time and great exercise!

A great backdrop for a group photo!

I Love this special guy in my life and are so blessed that
we can share so many wonderful adventures together!