Beautiful early morning walk at Jacobsburg State Park. I parked in the lot off Belfast road, crossed the bridge over Bushkill creek and headed onto Sobers Run to the Explorer Trail. This is one of my favorite sections of the park, as there’s a large conifer plantation here and walking through it in the early morning hours was magical. The trail then travels mostly through hardwood forest until it eventually drops down to the creek. I sat here for a while enjoying the sound of the rushing water and the hemlocks swaying in the wind. I love starting out my mornings with a nature meditation and grounding practice. And even though some days it’s hard to wake up before the sun, I never regret it.
Today we hiked the Old Mill Trail at Nockamixon State Park. I hiked this trail in July of 2021 on a very hot, humid day. It looked much different at that time with everything so green, but this trail seems to be muddy no matter what time of year you hike it. Today it was especially so. Luckily, I have a good pair of Keen waterproof boots and my feet stayed dry despite the boot sucking mud. The trail is about 5.6 miles and there’s a creek crossing to be negotiated at about .4 miles in if you start from the trailhead at Deerwood Lane. In July, we did this without issue, but today the water level was higher and I didn’t want to risk a slip. We decided to forego the water crossing and drive to the other side where you can park at a different trailhead off Old Bethlehem Road and pick up the loop from the other side. On our way back to the parking area at Deerwood Lane, we took a paved path that passed by Stover Mill and a small waterfall. We got back in the car and drove to a the trailhead on Old Bethlehem Road and continued with our hike on Old Mill. The day was chilly and the ominous clouds reflected like a mirror in the lake. Most of this hike takes you through hardwoods with scattered pine and cedar. As we neared our last half mile, it began to snow with some hail. Not too many people out on the trail today, but it’s always a good day to be outside if you’re prepared for weather.
