Hiking in Pennsylvania: The Mid-State Trail
Hi Sunnies! Happy morning sun day. I'm really happy to be writing for the Morning Sun again about a decade later.
Today I'll be writing about a hobby I've recently picked up. Ever since COVID-19, I had to be creative while thinking of new ways to stay busy and healthy. Spring/Summer was the perfect time to pick up hiking. State College and other nearby Appelecia trails are full of green, fresh, and varied trails. In my hiking in the past few months, I've done steep mountain trails, long flat fern-filled trails, calming trickly stream trails, and bouldery rocky trails! My favorite of all of these so far is the Mid-State Trail.
The Mid-State Trail, or MST, is known as Pennsylvania's wildest trails. The trail won PA's 2019 Trail of the Year, and cuts through the middle of the state of Pennsylvania.
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| The full Mid-State Trail. |
On my hike, I only did 5 hours-- a small leg of the full trail, looped around. I started around 11 am with a friend I've done many hikes with, and we were back at the car around 4 pm. The loop was a 3.9 mile hike along the MST.
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| 3.9 Mile Loop Along the MST. |
When we reached our first crest of the mountains, I pulled out my phone to see how the hike looked on Apple Maps. As you can see in the picture below, we were right on a crest of the Appalachian Mountains!
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This hike I found to have three main terrains: fern-laden, bouldery (this is where I had my tuna sandwich lunch). and then open road.
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| The Fernlands. |
The second part of the trail was brutally steep and rocky. This leg of the hike was already named by hikers before us-- it was called "Indian Steps", named after how the rocks seemed to be formed into steps. I didn't take any pictures of the step-like boulders themselves-- I was busy climbing them and keeping my balance-- but here's me at the top, with a view of State College! With the view in front of me, I sat here and ate my tuna lunch.
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| More views from the top of the mountain. Look at those cloud shadows! |
The final part of this incredibly scenic hike was an open road. Hiking along this road made me feel like I was on a thru-hike (a thru-hike is a hike that last for several days or weeks; thru-hikers have tents and little stoves so that they can walk days and days on end!), because many thru-hikes have parts of the trail that are also roads. (Hitch-hiking is also common in thru-hiking-- though of course I would never do that.)
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| Hiking on the open road! |
A couple miles later on this road, we reached the trailhead where we had parked. I was exhausted but so satisfied. Five hours of hiking (especially when steep hills are involved, and a heavy backpack!) is very tiring. I came home, ate my second sandwich, and slept the rest of the day. This was by far one of the most scenic hikes I've ever taken (second in place with a hike I took in California with Wasil, where the dirt was red and we found cacti! But that's a hike story for another time). This is a hike I'll definitely be taking again someday.
Along the road, I ran into a couple lovely living things as well. Here are a few of them:
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| Swallowtail Butterflies |
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| Mr. Snake |
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| Moss growing on a mushroom? |
I will continue doing hikes as I have time for them! My plan is to do as much hiking in Pennsylvania until I move out of state. Anyone is welcome to join me. :)
Until next time! Happy Sunday, everyone! -Hana
Have you ever gotten lost??
ReplyDeleteNope! Most well-known trails like this one are well marked and trailblazed clearly. But I also never go alone.
DeleteAn exciting entry! This is indeed a very rewarding and healthy hobby!
ReplyDeletePA is so beautiful. I am so happy I discovered this hobby!
DeleteWhoaoaao so green!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite color ;)
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