More links down
and to the right!
Bill's Hiking Journal
[ Lionhearted Home
Page | Trail Maps and
Guides | Equipment ]
[ Emergency Stuff - read this ]
Visit HikePA for maps, guides and more!
Looking for military surplus gear reviews?
Last updated November 02, 2006
Purchase scenic photos from my hikes at
AmesPhotos.com
Most recent trips are towards the bottom of the page
There are thousands of miles of trails in Pennsylvania, and many of them are kept secret in Centre County, near State College.
The Mid State Trail system runs near here, probably because the hiking is great, and the "father" of the trail is a retired Penn State Professor, Tom Thwaites.
Below are links to my own experiences in hiking Pennsylvania. Most of them are within a half-hour's drive of State College, but some are more remote, like the West Rim Trail near Wellsboro, the Appalachian Trail near Palmerton, and Shenandoah National Park.
Mount Nittany in State College is a nice day hike since it's very steep and has a lot of nice views, but it's too populated to really enjoy the 'hiking experience'. I have yet to hike it on a nice day without running into at least 5 or 6 people. I've been up there in the dead of winter during snow storms only to find fresh tracks in front of me in the snow.
The Mid State Trail system runs along the Tussey ridge just south of State College, so this is another favorite of mine. With a lot of side trails, this could easily take up a whole summer. The MST runs from the Maryland border south of Bedford all the way up to the West Rim Trail on the Pine Creek Gorge. It is actually longer than the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania.
Shingletown Gap offers another nice vantage point to some excellent hiking, especially in the fall, but it too is quite popular, so you might want to explore some of the more off-beat trails from there.
I use a mix of military surplus equipment and hi-tech gear for my outings. Things I like about military gear? They are tried and true, cheap, and made in the USA. You can read reviews of gear and products I've tried here. Hi-tech stuff includes my digital camera and Garmin eTrex Summit GPS with electronic compass and barometric altimeter. While this would never replace common sense or a lensatic compass, it does make things a lot easier, and it allows me to make the cool maps you'll find at www.hikepa.com.
A few words on hydration--hydrate or die! I find that for a strenuous, all day hike in warm weather, 200oz of Gatorade is just about enough. It seems like no matter how much water I bring, it is never enough. Gatorade really works as advertised, and I've discovered that most of my fatigue comes not from work, but from dehydration.
Feel free to email me with your own adventures, or for suggestions for hikes . . . I'm always happy to chat!
Visit HikePA.com - my semi-commercial site
Bill's hikes . . .
Here is a 'journal' of the hikes I've taken since I started in 1999:
My 2006 hiking journal has moved to HikePA.com
Older hiking journals appear below . . .
index of Bill's Hikes from 1999 - 2000
index of Bill's Hikes from 2001 - 2004
Hikes from 2005 are listed below, 2006 are here
Click the hyperlinks below or to the left for my journal entries
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Shingletown Trail - just a quick trip for some photos
Shingletown Gap
Saturday, February 5th, 2005
North Lookout Trail
Hawk Mountain National Bird Sanctuary
Saturday, April 30th, 2005
Rickett's Glenn State Park
21 Waterfalls
Wednesday, May 4th, 2005
Mount Nittany
A quick hike with Patty at sunset
Sunday, May 9th, 2005
Gettysburg National Battlefield Park
Up to the new clearing by the round tops and back by the Wheatfield
Sunday, July 10th, 2005
Sherando Lake, VA
A steep climb up the blue blazed park trail
Saturday, August 20th, 2005
Mid State Trail
A quick hike with Patty over to the Mount Nittany Vista
Saturday, August?
Bald Eagle State Park
Lake Trail
Sunday, January 21st, 2006
Jackson Trail to David's Vista
First Hike of the Year
Saturday, March 11th, 2006
Mid State Trail
From Pa Furnace Road to Indian Steps Trail
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
Mid State Trail
The blue trail, in reverse
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
Mount Nittany
8 Mile Double Loop
Sunday, August 6th, 2006
Indian Wells Vista from Little
Flat
Sunday, August 13th, 2006
Mid State Trail from PA Furnace Road, South
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006
Dark Hollow Falls, SNP VA
Wednesday, August 16th, 2006
Stony Man Mountain, SNP VA
Thursday, August 17th, 2006
Wilderness NBP, VA
Short Jaunt at Chancellorsville NBP
Friday, August 18th, 2006
Spotsylvania NBP, VA
Saturday, August 18th, 2006
Manassas NBP, VA
Monday, September 3rd, 2006
Mount Nittany
White Trail