It’s hard to believe we’re moving closer and closer to spring with all of this snow around. The days are getting longer, but the temps are the coldest they’ve been so far this winter and we’re still receiving snowfall. We took advantage of the latest accumulation and headed up to Nescopeck State Park for a day of snowshoeing. Nescopeck is a beautiful area that we’ve returned to quite a few times since we’ve been on the east coast. We started our day enjoying the views around frozen Lake Frances which was now blanketed in a layer of snow. We turned south onto the Nescopeck Trail on a single track through a hardwood forest in the direction of Mount Yeager. The trail then widened and we made sure to stay out of the cross country ski tracks that were already laid. The snow was powder fluff and over a foot deep; perfect for snowshoes. We continued south until we reached the Creekside Trail. This trail is my favorite in the park. It looked exceptionally beautiful today. Its pristine waters were now mixed with patches of ice and a light dusting of snow. We stopped to admire its beauty and listen to the sound of the quiet forest as delicate snowflakes fell from surrounding Hemlocks. We continued following the creek westward until reaching a crossing where the bridge has been out since summer. We didn’t see a way of getting around it without having to make a water crossing, so we backtracked the way we’d come until reaching the junction for the Nescopeck Trail. From here we continued northeast and onto the Woodland Way Trail which circles around a pond. In the summer you can enjoy watching the turtles sunning themselves here on the rocks. We closed out our day at 5 miles. I’m really enjoying taking advantage of spending time outdoors during these beautiful winter days. I can feel the earth stirring beneath my feet, and life is beginning to awaken. I know soon enough the cold winter days and gray skies will give way to the warmth of the sun. The bare, leafless trees will burst forth in hues of green and the soil will make way for the first of blooms of spring flowers.
Pennsylvania has a good number of nature preserves to explore. Today we headed back up to the Pocono Mountains to the Maple Tract Preserve located near the 115 in Long Pond. The preserve is part of the Wildlands Conservancy Land Trust, and there are about 8 miles of hiking trails within its 680 acres. The area is made up of glacial wetlands, forest, mountain laurel and rhododendron which is so commonly found along the creekside trails of Pennsylvania. We started on the red trail heading southwest which took us past a frozen pond and along a carpet of soft pine needles. The day was mostly cloudy, which I’m learning is pretty typical of a Pennsylvania winter. As we continued we came up on another frozen pond. It seemed pretty solid so I got brave and ventured out onto it. It’s been years since I stood on a natural, frozen body of water. I remember ice skating on them as a kid many moons ago. We then continued along the trail through more forest of hemlock, spruce, larch, rhododendron and mountain laurel. I’m finally starting to be able to identify some of the trees and plants here on the east coast. It’s still very foreign to me since being out west all these years. As we hiked, we came upon some sections of trail that were on boardwalks to get across the wet marshes that were mostly frozen over. At about 2.5 miles we found Tunkhannock Creek. We walked down to the banks to get a better view and take some pictures. From here we followed the red trail west a bit further to enjoy more views of the creek before backtracking and heading north to explore the blue trail. I was really impressed with the scenery at this preserve. I loved the hilly ups and downs of the trail and the varying terrain. We hiked about 6 miles and didn’t see another person the entire day. This preserve is located close to the 80 and also the Pocono Raceway. I would imagine it might get a little noisy in the summer when the raceway is open. Nonetheless it is an incredibly beautiful area to explore.
