Beautiful creekside hiking at Bear Creek Preserve this weekend! This has been my favorite hike in NEPA thus far. We started from the trailhead at Rabbit Run Lane on the red trail and connected to the gray tail heading south along Shades Creek. This section of trail was just beautiful with many cascades flowing into deep, clear pools, waterfalls and undulating trail through rhododendron jungles, in and out of hemlock forest and mossy wetland. Before reconnecting to the red trail and heading back north, we crossed over Shades Creek on a really cool suspension bridge. The terrain for most of this hike was rocky and slippery with wet leaves, but I'm getting used to my feet taking a beating on these east coast trails and learning to slow down a bit and take my time. East coast hiking is very different from out west. There may not be much elevation to gain, but Iām starting to find some locations that feel a little more remote where we can track some decent mileage. We followed the red trail back to the trailhead and closed the loop at about 7 miles RT. Absolutely beautiful place to explore.
Bear Creek Preserve, Red Trail, Gray Trail, Red/Green Trail, 7 miles RT, December 13, 2020
Beautiful creekside hiking at Bear Creek Preserve this weekend! This has been my favorite hike in NEPA thus far. We started from the trailhead at Rabbit Run Lane on the red trail and connected to the gray tail heading south along Shades Creek. This section of trail was just beautiful with many cascades flowing into deep, clear pools, waterfalls and undulating trail through rhododendron jungles, in and out of hemlock forest and mossy wetland. Before reconnecting to the red trail and heading back north, we crossed over Shades Creek on a really cool suspension bridge. The terrain for most of this hike was rocky and slippery with wet leaves, but I'm getting used to my feet taking a beating on these east coast trails and learning to slow down a bit and take my time. East coast hiking is very different from out west. There may not be much elevation to gain, but Iām starting to find some locations that feel a little more remote where we can track some decent mileage. We followed the red trail back to the trailhead and closed the loop at about 7 miles RT. Absolutely beautiful place to explore.