Sunday, January 6th 2002

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Sunday, January 6th, 2002
Mount Nittany

After my last hike on the Mid State Trail, I tore my Achilles tendon on my left heel. This is a pretty serious injury for a hiker, since it prevents you from putting any pressure on the ball of the foot.

I took a few weeks off from hiking, and my heel was still a bit sore, but I wanted to test it out as I was getting restless.

Mount Nittany came to mind :-)

I hiked up the hill and with only minor discomfort managed to stay ahead of the fellow behind me. There was over a foot of snow heading our way, so I started early, and it seemed like a popular idea, since I ran into two other folks hiking the mountain.

I trudged up the hill in about 24 minutes. At the top, I hiked directly over to the Tussey Mountain vista rather than around by the Mike Lynch Vista as I normally do, not wanting to intrude on the other hiker behind me. The shortcut was different, and since I've hiked this hill a number of times, different was better.

My heel ached a bit, but seemed up to the task of Mount Nittany. I headed over to the Mike Lynch Vista and then back down the mountain.

It looks like trail crews are relocating the switchbacks again. While one of the new sections does bypass some of the rockiest parts of the trail, I truly think that the trail is far too heavily used for relocations to work--they will certainly do more to erode the hill and kill the trees than if the current trails were just hardened. Trail builders everywhere are learning this, and I think it's about time I talk to the conservancy about it. Their intentions are good, but I think their trail skills are a bit dated.

I got down the hill just as the first of the snow had fallen. 12 more inches would cover the ground . . . my car got towed from a snow emergency zone that night!@##%$