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Saturday, July 7th 2001 This was a nice, short hike with a spectacular view. The Appalachian Trail runs between PA routes 61 and 309, and this section is about halfway between them. If you're into overnight trips, you could start at one end and go to the other, but in this case, I wanted a quick day hike with a decent vertical climb. Finding the trailhead for this section was fairly easy. From Port Clinton on PA 61, head south towards Hamburg. Just before the Little Schuylkill bridge, you'll see a road heading east, aptly named, Blue Mountain Road, which inexplicably changes its name several times on the journey. There is a trailhead for the AT right at the intersection with 61, but I didn't take that route this day. Heading further up the road, which turns into "Port Clinton Avenue" there is a sharp left-hand turn onto "Mountain Road" (as opposed to Blue Mountain Road, which you thought you were on :-) Take this to Reservoir Road, which is few miles ahead. Reservoir Road leads to the trailhead parking lot. Don't let the large number of cars dissuade you . . . you won't see too many people as you hike this section. The trail starts off on a gravel road, and after a quarter mile or so breaks to the east, where the real hike begins. I like the trail here, since it is very well maintained by the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club. The hike is rather boring until you get to the top, but it is a good workout, and the views are worth the wait. About 2.5 miles from the trailhead, pulpit rock sits there quietly inviting you. There are no views on the way up, so you really do get surprised when suddenly, the hill turns into a small cliff, and you can see all the way to Palmerton, about 30 miles away. I saw a lot of wildlife on this trek, including a weasel hunting around the rocks near the summit. Pulpit Rock is very close to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, so there was an abundance of raptors flying around. I saw a black vulture, some crows, some sort of hawk and a pileated woodpecker in a matter of a few minutes. Total time for my hike was about 2 hours, and most of that was the climb up and taking photos. After jogging down the hill, and starting the drive home, I nearly ran over a few turkeys crossing the road . . . I don't think I've seen more different kinds of birds on any other hike.
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