Moraine State Park - Pennsylvania

I have only recently found the North Country Trail (NCT).  This trail starts in North Dakota and stretches to Vermont. Its does this via and actual dedicated trail and via roadways. Here are a few websites if you want to know more.  https://nct.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=247bfb7befd64180a4471533b937ec25&extent=-80.9868,39.8497,-77.4766,42.4751

https://northcountrytrail.org/

I first encountered a section of the NCT here in Ohio. The trail sections I have encountered have been more remote and take more effort to hike than other trails. The effort is what makes it all worth it. The volunteers they have working on this trail system do an amazing job.

So, back to my hike on the NCT. I was looking at challenging myself physically and mentally with a hike this summer. I looked through to start with utilizing AllTrails found here https://www.alltrails.com/.

After hiking on the NCT in Beaver Creek State Park I wanted to see if I can find other sections in Pennsylvania and in New York. I found several sections of the NCT, but one stood out to me.

This section would be in the Moraine State Park 

This park is in Portersville, Pennsylvania and is big enough to get away from most of the people. Lake Arthur is in the park. This sees heavy boat traffic and a lot of people in the summer.

The NCT trail section here has plenty of elevation deviation. I ascended and descended through out the hike 3300 feet.  As you can see in the graphic below it is quite the roller coaster ride. There were only two climbs and descents that were tough I thought.

I also wanted to mention I don’t think a lot of people out there are used to this, let me explain. When you get into an area that has a trail that goes up and down for several hundred feet these trails become rivers and creeks when it rains.

When this happens the dirt and sometimes the smaller rocks get washed away. If you in an area with clay this can be very slippery when wet.  For example, every step you take must be deliberate and caution must be taken.  You will see in the videos water still running down the hills. The creeks and springs were all running strong. I love the sound of running water there is something about it that just makes me feel at peace.

I deliberately chose to go no faster than 2.0 mph on this hike. I wanted to finish the entire length of the trail I laid out in Garmin Basecamp. I had calculated it was 16 miles long.  I place mile marker waypoints along the trail to assist myself to monitor how I was doing.

I would make a conscious effort like at mile 6 to do a system check on myself. I would ask how do I feel? Do I feel hydrated? Am I drinking enough water? How much water do I have left?

Since I do a lot of my activities solo, I need to make sure I do these system checks. Out of the three people I saw on the trail today most of the time I saw no one.

Yes, so please use common sense and be prepared.

I saw only wone deer today and a bevy of hoof prints. The mosquitoes were annoying but as wet as it was it could have been a lot worse.

I saw two interesting birds yesterday. I saw this bird down in Beaver Creek State and along the trail.  The one was an American Redstart. I thought at first it was a mismarked Baltimore Oriole. The next bird I saw I thought I was seeing things. Its body was bright but deep red in color and its wings were black. What I saw was male Scarlet Tanager.

I try and be very aware of animals that I see and hear around me. This was neat to see these two birds. Especially the Red Tanager. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

This would be one of the highlights of the day. At about mile 16.15 I was ready for the hike to end. I was very hydrated, but my almost 60 yo body was over it. My dogs were barking, and I was done. I call it zombie hiking. This is where your body knows what has to be done to complete the task, but your brain is off! Lol

I hope you enjoyed the write-up and the artwork and be well.

Sonder