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Saturday, August 5th 2000 Ever since Pedro (the crazy Mexican) and I attempted to hike the full Ironstone Loop, I've wanted to finish it. Lori and I took off from the Jo Hays vista, and after scrambling through the spider webs to the base of the hill and playing around at the Beaver Pond, we started hiking in new territory. This section of trail starts at the signpost at the bottom of Tussey Ridge, and it clearly states where you are going, and how far, although I can't recall the exact numbers :-) Basically, it's at the corner of the Mid State Trail, which heads over to a few springs, and then climbs back up Tussey Ridge after a few kilometers. The Ironstone Loop heads west from that point, and is blazed blue. The first part of the walk takes you through a nice pine grove, and a seasonal run, and maybe part of Shaver Creek, makes for some nice scenery. Remnants of a few campsites are all over, and it does look like a nice place to hunker down for the night. The trail then climbs up a little hill, and through what I can only describe as a 'left-over logged-out meadow." The going is drab, boring and full of tall grass and insects, and it is clearly designed to simply get you from one place to a better place. After crossing the meadow, the extremely narrow trail descends a very steep hill, and footing is tough to find. I'm glad I brought my trekking poles. Eventually, you'll pass a few camps and meet up with Monroe Furnace, near route 26. I've always thought that Centre Furnace had a better fan club than Monroe Furnace, since Monroe is covered with weeds, beer bottles, and is generally falling down. After crossing 26 (not easy, since cars are speeding at about 70mph) another meadow, this one pleasant, takes you back to Shaver Creek. This is where the best part of the trail begins, and I had already hiked it from the other side with Pedro (the crazy Mexican). The area is a natural pine grove, and some of the trees look fairly old. I've always liked pine forests better than the ugly oak that cover most hills near State College. The creek carves out a sort of "mini-canyon," and the setting is very tranquil and relaxing. Unfortunately, this part of the trail is shared with horses, and they will undoubtedly ruin it at some point. After coming out of the pine grove, the trail gets ugly and messy. In the spring, you'll certainly get your feet wet, and the trail goes through a lot of junk trees and scrubby brush. The trail is hard to follow at points, and the blazes will take you in circles if you're not careful. The Woodcock Trail, as it is called, is supposedly an educational nature walk, but if this is how kids are exposed to hiking, it's no wonder I had to re-discover it in my thirties! After what seems an interminable length of time, we made it back to paved roads around the former Lake Perez (drained for reconstruction) and Lori decided she couldn't hack it any longer. I picked up the pace, got the car, came back and picked her up. We had packed some KFC to eat at the picnic area, but I discovered that most of it had become soaked by melted ice that ripped through the bag I had it in :-( Oh well . . . nice hike, soggy chicken and biscuits. |
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