It was a beautiful, cloudy day for a hike around Nescopeck State Park. I started the hike at the Creekside trailhead off Honey Hole Road. Less then a mile into the hike I had to detour on the Fern Trail because there was a washout across the creek. From there I took the junction to the Nescopeck trail over to Lake Frances. As I approached the lake I could feel the cool mountain breeze across the lake. It was still early and the place was deserted. My husband and I sat at one of the picnic tables by the lake and had a snack before moving on. We took the Woodland Way trail over to a pond that had an area for turtle viewing. Much too cold for turtles today, but the pond was beautiful in its stillness. As we started the trek back, the dark clouds started to roll in. They were calling for rain around 12 noon and we got back to the trailhead in plenty of time before it started to sprinkle. It was a lovely day in the Pennsylvania woods.
Today’s adventure took me to Nescopeck State Park. This park sits between two mountains; Mt. Yeager to the south and Nescopeck Mountain to the North. Most of the trailheads are accessed via Honey Hole Road. This is a beautiful area, and I’m still in awe when I’m driving down these Pennsylvania backcountry roads. To start the day I took a walk around Lake Frances. There’s a nice wide loop trail that goes around the whole lake. It’s not a very big lake, just .6 miles around. I didn’t see many people here except for some fishermen. After checking out the lake, I got back on Honey Hole Road and drove to the Wood Frog Loop Trail. There are 200 acres of wetlands in this park, and this trail is an easy 1.1 mile loop around a swamp on a wide grassy path. It’s very serene and relaxing here. After meandering around the loop and taking in the scenery, I drove to the parking turnout for the Mountain Loop Trail. This trail boarders SGL 187 and just off the parking area there’s a beautiful creek that heads into the Game Lands. The Mountain Loop is about 3 miles. There are lots of rocks and uneven terrain very typical of Pennsylvania. I took the loop clockwise making my way steadily up Nescopeck Mountain. This trail must not see much use because it was very overgrown. It also had a lot of spiderwebs. In fact, I almost walked right through the spiderweb of the biggest spider I have ever seen (besides a tarantula). From what I could guess after I got home and looked up Pennsylvania spiders, it was a Marbled Orb Weaver. I watched her spin her web before ducking underneath to pass by. At the top of the loop, the trail turns east. There were a few boulders here which would be a nice place to sit and take a break after the walk up the mountain. As I continued eastward the trail opened up to a sunny, grassy path before descending back into the woods. I didn’t see another human being on this trail (always a plus), but I did scare up a large grouse that took off when she saw me. I also found a praying mantis which eyed me curiously as I took her photo. It was a beautiful day. There’s more to explore here and I am looking forward to coming back.
