somewhere cold and caked in snow
Now that the latest cold snap has passed, it seems like a good time to revisit xuth's and my recent vacation getaway. This year we escaped to Black Moshannon State Park in the middle of PA. We chose this spot because there looked to be a fair number of hiking trails accessible without needing to drive anywhere, and also because they had a "modern" (heated) cabin still available for cheap.
Black Moshannon bogWe and a friend headed out Monday afternoon through fairly uneventful traffic and arrived in good time shortly before sunset. After some minor complications (needing to acquire some emergency kitchen gear), we settled in, had dinner, and played a game. It was cold at that point but no snow yet. Tuesday morning it started snowing enough to settle a layer of white on the ground, so it finally felt appropriately wintery, and we could actually snow hike. I took us on several loops around the main campsite that first day, totaling approximately 7.5 miles, with minor elevation changes and off and on snow. The afternoon gave us a brief clear sky to see the bog, although all the information signs on the boardwalk were snowed over. We got back before dark, thoroughly exhausted (at least I was). I got in my yearly game of Iron Dragon (which I was doing great on until events started kicking my butt and I ended up losing horribly) over dinner and dessert and lots of tea and gingerbread.
a quick very clothed group shotWednesday after breakfast we headed out to one more loop we hadn't gotten to the previous day. It was much colder that day. The only temperature reading we had at the cabin said 20F, but after being out in below 0F just a couple days ago, I'm inclined to say that the park temps were much lower than 20F. Fortunately there wasn't much wind, but we needed to stay moving and covered to be comfortable. There wasn't any new snow since the previous day, so we could see a lot of fresh tracks from various overnight visitors. We identified several different deer and rabbits. We also saw prints from what looked like a housecat and various other small skittery things. After just a couple miles, we decided to take the rest of the day to relax with books and napping and tea in a warm cabin.
Allegheny Front Trail goes UPThursday morning had brought more snow, the soft light kind that settles and turns everything a nice fluffy white. After a quick cleanup we closed up shop and drove over to the park office to try to find maps for the best way to briefly explore the Allegheny Front Trail, a 40 mile loop that went around the park. We opted to explore the "Front vista section," which went up and down and along the eastern ridge. Sure enough, less than a mile in, the trail turned very up, and involved clambering up snowy rocks for a while. The rest of the day was some variety of up or down, and was definitely very challenging terrain. After an hour and a half of walking we hadn't yet reached the next road, but decided we needed to turn back in order to get home before sunset. Another hour and a half brought us back to the road and the car, where I was very very happy to sit and not walk any more. Later studying of maps brought us to conclude that we had probably only traveled about 2 miles along the trail (so 4 round trip) in three hours. Sheesh. But I was exhausted enough by the end of 3 hours that I certainly wasn't up for more, so I guess that was it.
We came home to a quiet house and a grateful cat and several days of relaxing. Overall a good vacation.
Black Moshannon bogWe and a friend headed out Monday afternoon through fairly uneventful traffic and arrived in good time shortly before sunset. After some minor complications (needing to acquire some emergency kitchen gear), we settled in, had dinner, and played a game. It was cold at that point but no snow yet. Tuesday morning it started snowing enough to settle a layer of white on the ground, so it finally felt appropriately wintery, and we could actually snow hike. I took us on several loops around the main campsite that first day, totaling approximately 7.5 miles, with minor elevation changes and off and on snow. The afternoon gave us a brief clear sky to see the bog, although all the information signs on the boardwalk were snowed over. We got back before dark, thoroughly exhausted (at least I was). I got in my yearly game of Iron Dragon (which I was doing great on until events started kicking my butt and I ended up losing horribly) over dinner and dessert and lots of tea and gingerbread.
a quick very clothed group shotWednesday after breakfast we headed out to one more loop we hadn't gotten to the previous day. It was much colder that day. The only temperature reading we had at the cabin said 20F, but after being out in below 0F just a couple days ago, I'm inclined to say that the park temps were much lower than 20F. Fortunately there wasn't much wind, but we needed to stay moving and covered to be comfortable. There wasn't any new snow since the previous day, so we could see a lot of fresh tracks from various overnight visitors. We identified several different deer and rabbits. We also saw prints from what looked like a housecat and various other small skittery things. After just a couple miles, we decided to take the rest of the day to relax with books and napping and tea in a warm cabin.
Allegheny Front Trail goes UPThursday morning had brought more snow, the soft light kind that settles and turns everything a nice fluffy white. After a quick cleanup we closed up shop and drove over to the park office to try to find maps for the best way to briefly explore the Allegheny Front Trail, a 40 mile loop that went around the park. We opted to explore the "Front vista section," which went up and down and along the eastern ridge. Sure enough, less than a mile in, the trail turned very up, and involved clambering up snowy rocks for a while. The rest of the day was some variety of up or down, and was definitely very challenging terrain. After an hour and a half of walking we hadn't yet reached the next road, but decided we needed to turn back in order to get home before sunset. Another hour and a half brought us back to the road and the car, where I was very very happy to sit and not walk any more. Later studying of maps brought us to conclude that we had probably only traveled about 2 miles along the trail (so 4 round trip) in three hours. Sheesh. But I was exhausted enough by the end of 3 hours that I certainly wasn't up for more, so I guess that was it.
We came home to a quiet house and a grateful cat and several days of relaxing. Overall a good vacation.