I’ve now spent an entire year hiking in Pennsylvania and can honestly say that the summer months are the absolute worst times to hike in this state. It’s hot, humid and bugs (mosquitoes and ticks) abound. That said, the scenery (lakes, woods, wildflowers) is lovely with plenty of active wildlife (bears, birds, butterflies, snakes, etc.) I will admit it hasn’t been easy trying to adjust from high peak mountains out west to low elevation, woodsy trails of Pennsylvania. I miss a good climb and being rewarded with incredible views. Also, the lack of elevation here means there is no escaping the heat of summer. But I digress. I’m making the best of it and learning to enjoy my surroundings and simply appreciate nature.
This past Sunday we hiked a familiar trail in the Delaware State Forest: Egypt Meadow Lake to the Bruce Lake Natural Area. We had snowshoed here in the winter and so it was nice to see such a dramatic change in scenery. I do love the obvious change of seasons here and seeing how different the trails look throughout the year.
Even though we were on the trail early today, the humidity was still pretty bad. There really is no escaping it. But we finished the hike before 11 am, just as the sun was starting to come out from the clouds and really warm things up. I was happy to get out and enjoy an early morning walk in the woods.
This morning I headed up to the Pocono Mountains to Promised Land State Park in the Delaware State Forest. Promised Land is a huge area with about 50 miles of trails in a very well organized trail system. As per usual, I wanted to hike on a less populated trail, so I looked for the most remote looking area I could see on the map. I found a trail I could access off the 390 from a turnout on North Shore Road where I could link up to the Bruce Lake Trail outside of Promised Land and it would take me to Bruce Lake. According to the park map, the route was mostly a hiking only trail (no bikes) which was a plus, and it was away from the beaches and campgrounds near Promised Land Lake which meant it should be pretty isolated. From the parking turn out I got on the Rock Oak Trail heading east. The path started out wide and grassy through the shaded forest. The ground was a bit rocky as per usual Pennsylvania terrain, but I could still enjoy the scenery and not have to keep looking down to watch my footing. At the first junction I continued eastward as the trail turned into the Telephone Trail. From here it got interesting. I was rock hopping boulders for the majority of this section and bushwhacking through huge towers of rhododendrons. I felt like I was in a jungle, but I definitely was not bored. It was actually fun. As much as I complained about the rocks being a pain in my butt, I did enjoy the test in agility. As I neared the end of the Telephone Trail, I found the junction for the Bruce Lake Trail. This would take me northbound to the natural glacial lake where I could sit and enjoy the scenery before looping around the lake to make my way back. The Bruce Lake Trail started out pretty well maintained, but eventually I was back to bushwhacking my way through. Thankfully, the rocks weren’t that bad. Eventually, I reached another junction to make the loop around the lake. I headed east in a counterclockwise direction. Now the trail was wider and way less overgrown. I could see the lake to my left as I hiked along this beautiful section of trail. As I approached the north side of the lake, the trail came to an opening at the shore. It was absolutely beautiful. All that rock hopping and navigating through brush made it worth it for these views without a soul in sight. I took a nice long break here, had a sandwich and enjoyed the quite. When it was time to return, I made use of the West Bruce Lake Trail heading southbound. This trail was REALLY overgrown and on top of that it was right at the shore of the wetlands so it was super muddy. Luckily, it was still easy to make out the trial and the blue blaze markers/guides were always easy to find. I finished off the day by continuing the loop on the Rock Oak Ridge trail and then eventually the Rock Oak Trial back to the trailhead. It was a fun day. The peace and quiet and views of the lake were definitely worth the effort. I would love to come back again and see more of this area, especially in the next month because the leaves will be changing colors and it will be spectacular.
