After our morning hike up Owl’s Head, we headed over to Adirondak Loj for a nice, mellow hike out to Marcy Dam via the Van Hovenberg Trail. We’ve done this section of trail several times before and being that it was shoulder season, we thought it was best to stay below 2,500’ to avoid soft melting snow and the ice still holding on at higher elevations. The hike to Marcy Dam is pleasant with much of it being easy, rolling trail. It was a perfectly beautiful day and upon arriving at the dam, we chatted with some hikers who’d just come down from Colden. They confirmed it was mostly still ice up there, which was not a surprise. We took our time and hung out at the dam soaking in more sunshine before heading back. We stopped at the Big Slide restaurant for lunch in Lake Placid before heading back to the hotel and checking out to drive back. We’d initially planned to stay another night, but a spring snow storm was predicted to roll in overnight and by this time, the weather service was pretty certain it would bring with it about 12 inches of snow. We checked out early and drove back home to be on the safe side and avoid unpredictable driving conditions the next morning. It was another wonderful trip to the ADK which has become my happy place since we are currently here on the east coast.
I’m finding some really great nature preserves here in the Keystone state. This past Saturday we ventured off to explore the Nothstein Preserve located in Paradise Township in Monroe County. The hike took us through a variety of different terrain, along the ravine of Cranberry Creek and up to a red rock quarry with views extending from east to west across the ridge to the surrounding preserves. We started at the trailhead off Cranberry Creek Road and headed north on a wide path in a counter clockwise direction. The forest was mostly hardwood dappled with tall hemlock trees. Immediately my ears were filled with the pleasant harmony of morning birdsong. We passed by marshes, bogs and small tributaries until we reached a primitive bridge crossing over the pristine waters of Cranberry Creek. We took a moment to branch off and explore its banks and the surrounding feeder creeks before continuing on a single track where we began to ascend gently upward. The trail reached an intersection where we turned northwest. I spotted some train tracks above us running parallel to our path. We made several primitive creek crossings over the crystal clear waters flowing down the mountain and over thick, bright green moss. Now the trail began to descend southwest. The forest became dense with hemlock, and I could hear the sound of rushing water flowing just beyond the trees. The path opened up to reveal another bridge crossing over the fast moving Cranberry Creek. Lined with rhododendron just beyond the bridge, the terrain became a snow covered single track leading us upward above the ravine. We made our way up the trail being careful on the icy patches of snow until reaching a vista of the beautiful cascading waters below. I made sure to get some photos from above, but I wanted to take a closer look. We then backtracked and made our way to a section of trail following along the edge creek where we could enjoy a closer perspective of the sights and sounds of the waterfalls and tumbling cascades. Eventually, we backtracked crossing over the bridge once again and up through the hard packed snow back to the top of the ravine. Soon, the trail began to move away from the creek and the forest became even more dense with tall stands of hemlock and oak. We crossed over more small tributaries being careful not to slip on the moss covered rocks. I’m not sure if it was the tall stands of pine or the way the sunlight was shining through, but this section of trail reminded me a little bit of my beloved Angeles National Forest. It was another lovely section of trail. The path widened again and took us under a canopy of pine. The trail became a bed of soft pine needles beneath our feet. As we travelled up the slope we were led to an old stone red rock quarry. Two large ravens suddenly emerged from the trees and soared across the blue sky above. Again, I felt at home as I was reminded of my life in California where there were always ravens to accompany me along my hikes in the higher elevations. As we traversed along the edge of the quarry, we were treated with sweeping views across the gorge and the ridge beyond. I was awe struck at how a place so beautiful can be so close to civilization. We spent some time exploring around the quarry before moving on, back into the hardwoods and finally looping back down to the woodland path on which we started. It was an absolutely amazing day and a beautiful preserve full of wild, natural beauty to explore and admire.
We had a perfect day of winter hiking around Bear Creek Preserve. This time we accessed the trail from White Haven Road on the west side of the preserve. It was a chilly morning (somewhere in the low 20s), but we warmed up as soon as we got moving. The lighting today was lovely. My husband had just gotten a GoPro camera, and he wanted to test it out. I couldn’t think of a better place to be on this fine winter morning. We started the hike following the purple trail which met up with the red trail and then the gray trail. This would take us right to swinging bridge and the beautiful waterfalls and cascades of Shades Creek. Before we arrived at the swinging bridge, we hiked along a path at the top of a beautiful frozen 10 foot waterfall I stopped here for a moment to enjoy the scenery before continuing along the trail. We spent most of the day experimenting with cameras and video, but we ended up hiking about 6 miles before returning home. Some day when we aren’t on a camera test mission, I’d like to hike the whole purple trail loop. It was such an amazing day. Both of us got a lot of great pictures and video.
Click on Read More Below for More Photos from this Hike.
Wednesday was the first snowfall of 2020 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and I was not going to let the beauty of it pass by without getting some local photos. The Monocacy Nature Trail is a place I sometimes like to come to in the mornings to take in the fresh air and enjoy the wildlife before getting my day started. I was so excited to see it covered in a fresh of dusting snow. While I’m not really sure what to expect here in NEPA, winter in SoCal was my favorite time of year to drive up to the mountains and enjoy the weather. I’m looking forward to seeing what the months ahead will bring and hopefully getting in some snowshoeing.
I woke up to a rainy morning. The weather was cooler than it had been all summer and the air felt refreshing. After the rain stopped and only cloudy skies remained, I headed out to Trexler Nature Preserve. The Preserve has been around since the turn of the century when it was established by General Harry Trexler as a way to protect bison, elk and white-tailed deer. The Preserve also hosts the Lehigh Valley Zoo. I’d been to the zoo many times as a kid, but never walked any of the hiking trails along the lands. Today’s overcast skies made it the perfect day to hike these lands since many of the trails meander through open fields that are exposed to the sun. I parked in the lot off Orchard Road and got on the Border Trail heading north. The trail headed upward where there were nice views overlooking the farmlands below. The trail continued in and out of open meadows and through shady hemlock forest alongside Jordan Creek. I climbed up the trail to the top of the hill where I took a detour onto Park Road to have a look at a herd of bison roaming the central range. They looked very content as they lay in the tall grass. One of the cows had a calf who was sprawled out taking a nap. I took a few photos of the bison before backtracking the road and onto Fireman’s trail. This trail took me to Schlicher’s Covered bridge which was built in 1882. There are many historic bridges here in Pennsylvania that have been restored and preserved. I crossed Game Preserve Road and found the Elk View Trail which climbed on a single dirt track up above the creek and then into another meadow. The trail turned east and then south until I eventually reached the ford which you can actually drive through with your car. Above the ford there’s a footbridge that crosses Jordan Creek. I walked across it to snap a few photos before closing the loop by following the Trexler Nature trail back to the parking area. There was a good amount of up and down on this trek. I walked a little over five miles enjoying the diverse habitats of wildflower filled meadows, pasturelands with roaming bison, hemlock forests, ravines and wetlands. I really enjoyed my time here and plan to come back to explore more of the area.
