Ricketts Glen State Park

 Vanlog, Ursinus College parking lot, Collegeville, PA

September 20, 2020

We woke up at 7:00 to an outside temperature of 34 degrees on this last day of summer. We were on the road by 7:20 AM on our way to Ricketts Glen State Park in Sullivan County. Hoping to avoid the mobs of non-mask-wearing tourists we read about and have previously witnessed at this rather popular PA state park, we hit the trail at 8:30 AM. For the first two-thirds of the Falls Trail, which passes by 19 named waterfalls in 3.2 miles, we pretty much had the trail to ourselves. I have been to Ricketts Glen SP many times growing up and it was my favorite place on earth before I discovered Yosemite NP in 1992, but this experience was by far my best. Jessica and I were here last June and it was just mobbed with obnoxious hikers, discarded diapers, free-roaming dogs, and we were both sore and sorely disappointed. This time it was heaven. A brisk 36 degrees when we started hiking, we never built up a sweat. We entered into this almost surreal hemlock forest with sedimentary rock dispersed throughout, a glen if ever there was a place to live up to that name. It wasn't long before the waterfalls started showing up one after another and the best thing was that we had them all to ourselves with no one else around! Eventually, we passed a few other hikers and then as we crossed back through the woods on the Highland Trail through the Midway Crevasse we started to see more and more people just heading out on the trail as we were coming back. 

We got out the charcoal at 11 AM and cooked a steak on the grill overlooking Lake Jean for our noon-time meal as the crowds started to pour into the park and fill up the parking lots. But we had our fill already and were just on our way out, heading back down to Ursinus College and home after another successful #vanlife experience. 

World's End State Park

Vanlog, Loyalsock State Forest

September 19, 2020

After driving up late following a Friday evening class, we boondocked at the Mohegan Sun Casino in the Poconos. Vanna White the Camper Van was very happy because this is the very same parking lot where we first laid eyes on her, fell in love with her, and agreed to buy her in April, 2019. So she felt right at home at the casino. We left early, around 7:30 for one more hour of driving to World's End State Park early Saturday morning. 

Parking at the "Chapel," an outdoor seating area just off the roadway in the state park where couples often get married (in fact, there were people there setting up for a wedding later in the day), we headed into the hemlock and fern-filled forest on the Double Run Trail. It wasn't long before we crossed over two wooden footbridges and then wound our way through the woods to Cottonwood Falls. All of the waterfalls in this area of the state are rather sparse right now due to an unusually dry summer here on the East coast. 

Crossing over the park road, we then headed upward on the fairly steep High Rock Trail to High Rock overlook before completing the loop back to the car at the chapel parking area. 3.5 miles in total. 

After a circuitous route through some dirt forest roads that took us past our eventual campsite, we drove up High Knob Road to the High Knob Overlook, with panoramic views of Sullivan County. It was a clear day and the information sign said that we could see for about 20 miles. 

We parked the car so that we could have views of the distant mountains outside the van's sliding door, since it was rather cool and breezy at that elevation, so we preferred to dine indoors. Then we drove through the park to the nearby town of Forksville, PA. Parking at the local church, we walked across the red covered bridge and past the old-fashioned country store for some rural scenery. On our return through the bridge, a friendly passerby chatted us up and it turns out he was the mayor of Forksville!

We returned to the chapel parking lot adn intended on doing the Link Trail to the Rock Garden and Loyalsock Canyon Vista. However, we got about 0.6 miles in on the trail when a college-aged male came running down the trail toward us with a sheathed knife above his head warning that there were three bears not much farther down the trail. If it had only been one bear, I might have continued since I did have my bear spray with me. But three bears! I think we might have been outmatched. So we retraced our steps back to the car. We then drove back on the forest road known as Shanerburg Road and found our free (but reserved) dispersed camping site in the Loyalsock State Forest. 

After a dinner of hamburger, potatoes (home-grown), carrots, and onions (also home-grown) in a tin foil meal over charcoal, we extinguished our fire and drove back to High Knob Overlook for sunset. Lots of people were there, including one guy who was entertaining the children with his model airplane. We also got to witness a woman back her car out of her parking space right into a car on the roadway. But the sunset was nice.

We returned to camp and had ourselves a proper campfire and some s'mores before a rather cool evening of sleeping in the van. (The tent was just for show to keep our site reserved during the daytime). 

Good night, moon!

Cook Forest State Park

 Vanlog, Kettlesville, PA (Allegheny National Forest)

September 5, 2020

Shout out to my mom wishing her a happy birthday!

We left our beautiful campsite along the Tionesta Creek for the day and drove 45 min to Cook Forest State Park in Clarion County. Cook Forest is home to the most important tract of virgin old growth forest east of the Rocky Mountains. It was a beautiful sunny but cool morning when we arrived. We did a large loop on the many trails in the park. Starting at the park office, we hiked along the Clarion River and initially had a very steep incline up the Seneca Trail a little more than a mile to the top of a ridge. Along the ridge to the right was Seneca Point, a pimpled knobby rock outcropping with views of the forest below. To the left was an old iron fire tower, which you can still climb to the top. 

After climbing the fire tower (I had to, of course), we followed the Deer Park Trail back down the mountain and across Rt 36 to the Hemlock Trail and then across Forest Road to Tom's Run Trail. Here we made a right after crossing hte bridge and saw the amazing stone stairs ont he Red Aft Trail. After literally bounding up them as fast as I could, we turned left onto the Ancient Forest Trail and headed into the Forest Cathedral. We had to laugh when some woman asked us where the "chapel" was. She was totally clueless. But then again we are in Trump territory up here! The Forest Cathedral is made up of mostly eastern white pine and eastern hemlock trees, some as tall as 150 ft.

Our loop took us back across the swinging bridge to the parking lot, a nice 5.3 mile hike. After a picnic lunch, we headed back to our campsite along the Tionesta Creek again for an afternoon of relaxation, wading int he river, and good old-fashioned tin foil meals for dinner. 

Allegheny National Forest and Kinzua Bridge

 Vanlog, Ketttlesville, PA (Allegheny National Forest)

September 3-4, 2020

Trying to get one last long weekend trip in before Brian has to go back to teaching college. We left the house Thursday afternoon about 3:30 PM, which was a little on the late side. Google Maps told us it was 4 hrs 27 min to our destination in the Allegheny National Forest, but we did not pull in until 9 PM after navigating the last hour on back country roads and some dirt forest roads. Finally, we found our dispersed camping (polite word for boondocking) site along the Tionesta Creek. This site was recommended by someone on a free campsites group on facebook who lives in the area. Luckily, it was not already taken and we were able to navigate the rocks and roots in the site by flashlight. We settled in for a quiet night. 

In the morning, we were up before dawn, around 6 AM and had left the campsite by 7 AM. We drove 1 hr 15 min to Kinzua Bridge State Park, arriving around 8:20 AM. This old railroad trustle bridge was originally built in 1882 and was the tallest railroad bridge in the world at the time. It was rebuilt in 1900 and restored for tourism in 2002 before a tornado destroyed part of the viaduct in 2003. There is a skywalk there now. There was no one at the bridge at this hour and an eerie fog enveloped the skywalk. We had the bridge to ourselves.

We then walked down the path to the Kinzua Creek below the bridge for views up at the Skywalk and of the wreckage from the tornado. As we hiked, the fog cleared and we had some beautiful views. Then we trudged back up the steep elevation gain and walked out the Skywalk without the fog. 

Next, we drove to Rim Rock for some nice views and then had a picnic lunch at Kinzua Beach.

Next stop were the overlooks at Jake's Rock and Kinzua Point and then the Kinzua Dam iteself. 

Then we headed back to our campsite along the Tionesta Creek and went for a swim before dinner. Dinner was chicken fajitas cooked over a charcoal grill. A campfire with s'mores followed.