Birthday Weekend

 Vanlog, Tuscarora State Forest

November 7, 2020

We woke early, packed the van, and left for our trip by 7:30 AM. It was 42 degrees. We drove about 2 1/2 hrs to 1000 Steps Trail near Mapleton PA off Rt 22. After parking in the lot by the side of Rt 22, we found the trailhead and started up the steep stone steps carved into the mountainside. I wore my orange Princeton sweatshirt because it is hunting season. It got hot fast. The sweatshirt came off. My heart was pounding. My quads were working. About halfway up, I took off the sweatshirt. I was in such a good mood because the weather was amazing and this trail was awesome. Every 100 steps someone had written the step number on the side of the step. There were actually 1083 steps. We climbed 1063 ft in elevation almost directly up. 

At the top the trail went left or right. We went left first. I found a perfect yellow sassafras leaf. A short trail led to an abandoned stone dinky shed. The light flowing in the windows was amazing. 

Then we continued on to the Ledge Quarry, which had great views of the town of Mapleton below. I talked with a trail runner who had parked alongside us down below. She said this trail goes all the way to Roth Rock SP. 

We retraced our steps to the top of the trail and then went to the right another 0.4 mi to the end of the trail with more views along the way of the valley below. 

Then we retraced our steps to the top of the stairs and walked back down to the bottom. It was shortly after 12. We had hiked a hardy 3.0 mi. We heard (on this last day of our free satellite radio which ended today at noon) that Biden was declared the winner of the election as PA was finally called for Biden. It was fitting that his home state (he was born in Scranton), our state, was the one that put him over the top. I was elated and in even more of a great mood! 

We drove 20 min to Raystown Lake. We hiked the short path to Hawns Overlook and sat there having lunch (a sub) overlooking the lake on a very hot afternoon. It reached 75 degrees. We walked back to the parking lot and Ridenour overlook of the dam breast. Then I laid in the fallen red leaves in the grass. 

We drove east an hour, stopping at Mount Union river walk first, to Tuscarora SF, where we had a reserved campsite 2 mi back a forest road at site 47. I backed down into the tight spot, we walked along the creek bed a while, had dinner, and laid in the hammock. 

After cleaning the dishes, when the sun was fading, I set up the projector and we watched the movie “Love, Rosie” on the side of the van. It was a fantastic experience. It did start to get cold there at the end. After the movie, I put everything away in the van and looked up at the sky. It was cool and clear and there were so many stars. I was just in awe of how wonderful the day had been.

Vanlog, Lancaster PA

November 8, 2020

We woke up by 8 AM. We cleaned up the site and then drove east to Duncannon PA along the Susquehanna River. After parking next to another Dodge Promaster camper van, we hiked directly up the white-blazed trail to join the AT and eventually turned left to the overlook called Hawk Rock Overlook. 

Then we continued on the trail to views of the Susquehanna River and Cove Mountain before a slippery descent on a rocky trail covered in dead leaves on a loop. We eventually rejoined the trail where we had come up and retraced our steps to the parking lot. This trail was 2.6 miles total with an elevation gain of 869 ft. 

My calves were tired and my knees were jelly. We drove to nearby Nagy Park for a picnic lunch in the 74 degree sunshine. Then we drove home, washed the van at the car wash, emptied all the food, washed the sheets, winterized the van for the season, and used our new Dyson vacuum to sweep it out.