December 28, 2012
section miles: 14.9 total miles: 56.1
With a fair amount of snow headed our way in the near-term forecast, Rene and I decided to squeeze in one more hike, even though the temps were expected to hover around the mid-30's, a bit lower than we had hoped for. I want to say that this section of the trail is "nondescript"... partly because I'm having a hard time thinking of anything to write, but mostly because I want to crawl back in bed and recuperate. UPHILL is the first thing that comes to mind. You'll climb several times from valley floor to ridge top, the latter affording some nice views of the surrounding landscape once you can stand up and breathe again. Along the way you'll pass mostly through woods, but there are a couple of miles of road walking through a totally ridiculous subdivision perched on top of a hill (I take it they really enjoy wind) dropping very steeply (and sledding too) down to Buck Hollow Road, which leads you into Plowville and across I-176. Our understanding is that the Horse-Shoe Trail organization is working to get this part of the trail rerouted.
Gone are the genteel horse stables and country mansions of the first part of the trail. Here you'll be walking past more typical Pennsylvania country livin', ranging from neatly kept homes to the occasional survivalist encampment deftly camouflaged with spare tires and abandoned vehicles. We had no issues with dogs, but they're clearly around and worth keeping an eye on. I did have an issue with ducks, however. We passed through one homestead that appeared to be conducting breeding experiments with geese and pigeons, the giant, mutant offspring of which chased roosters around the yard and stared at us with a hungry, meat-eating gaze. I later learned, courtesy of Google and my highly-descriptive search term "ugly black duck", that these were Muscovy Ducks, which apparently have a small but devoted following in agriculture.
We did come across one very interesting historic home - the Mary Miller House, ca 1745, shown below. And that's all I know - the name and date, because it's posted on the lamp post. No luck finding any other information.
This is hunting season, so we adorned ourselves with blaze orange for safety, and good thing too, having met two hunters in the woods. I was concerned that we might be interfering with the hunt, but one guy said, "No problem. Keep 'em moving.", meaning we would stir up the deer for them. And that we did, kicking up a half-dozen or so on a couple different occasions. We only heard a few shots ring out all day.
When I asked Rene for her opinion on the hike, she said the first thing to come to mind were ferns and mosses. "Oh", she said, "and a lot of elevation change." The further west you go on this section, the more rocky the trail becomes. It is not debilitating by any means, but in some places there are enough rocks to noticeably slow your pace. These rocks are the red sandstone and conglomerates of the Triassic Hammer Creek formation, and all along the trail they are covered with a verdant carpet of moss. In the nearby communities it is common to see old stone barns, houses and walls made from this red sandstone.
I'm thinking that's probably gonna be it for a while. It's looking like we may have an actual winter this year, which means we may not get out again until March. In the meantime, back to the gym. Happy New Year to all!
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