We spent 4th of July morning hiking the loop around Paradise Price Preserve. We were last here in March when the ground was just starting to thaw out from the long, cold winter. Now the forest was full of life; butterflies, toads, wildflowers, etc. We walked along the trail dodging the red efts that were scattered about the mud and rock debris. I saw a unique wildflower, Monotropa uniflora, also known as ghost plant or Indian pipe that could easily be mistaken for some type of mushroom. There were many other notable mushrooms along the path, but I’m still not up to par on my east coast flora. When we reached the first creek crossing, we discovered a new bridge that had been added. In fact, there were two new bridges built since the last time we hiked here making it easier then boulder hopping over the creek. This preserve is very well loved. Next, we came upon the use trail and followed it to the edge of Targa Falls where we stopped for a moment to take in the scenery. We could have continued further, but the day was warming up and we had other obligations. We cut the hike short by following a more direct route back to the trailhead making it about 5.5 miles. It was a nice morning to get outside and enjoy some nature before continuing with our plans for the day.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a very well organized layout of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests. The parks can be searched by region and each park has its own map and recreational guide in a downloadable pdf. I’ve been using these resources to find different trails to explore since I’m new to the area. This week I chose Tuscarora State Park. The stunning Tuscarora Lake sits at the foot of Locust Mountain with Locust Lake State Park being just six miles away. The trail I chose today was called “The Spirt of Tuscarora Trail” which was a little under 5 miles. It’s quite an amazing trail. Absolutely stunning scenery with thick, lush forest and wetlands. I still can’t get over how green it is in Pennsylvania. Part of the trail is carpeted in bright green moss with fern on either sides. It looked so magical. With a soft wind blowing through the trees, I truly was enjoying the morning. The single track trail can be done in a figure eight loop which took me up a few steep sections of rhododendron and then down through low rhododendron tunnels. I can imagine how beautiful they must look when in full bloom. The forest here consists of several species of oak, eastern hemlock, white pine, sycamore, birch, maple, ash and tulip trees. The trail looped me down to the edges of Locust Creek where there were late season wildflowers still in bloom. One of the highlights of this trail is the “spirit tree” which stands creekside in all his moss covered glory. I believe this tree was hit by lightening and his shape now takes on a mossy covered goat head. As I took my time taking in all of this great scenery, I saw a good number of very tiny toads hopping about as I walked. This really was a lovely trail. I walked it very early in the morning and did not see a soul. I will surely come back again to this magical place in the future to explore more of these wonderful trails.
