Friday Night Hikes

If you're a fan of hiking and ever thought about going for a backpacking trip. Here are a few helpful tips on items to bring and what to plan for !  The first thing you should have/bring with you on a backpacking trip might be self explanatory, but you need a backpack.  A few items to make sure to pack are: Tent Hiking Shoes/Clothes Sleeping Bag Water Food First Aid Kit If you don't already have these items you can go to any outdoors/sports store such as Dick's Sporting Goods , Dunham's Sporting Good , Field & Stream , REI ,  etc. Some more items to consider bringing depending on you trip would be: Flashlight Water Filter Bug Net/Bug Spray Map Sunscreen Knife/Machete Games(if you're not alone) Now that we've covered some of the basic items to bring/consider bringing it's time to plan for your trip!   Pick your destination Research area(wildlife/surroundings) Plan for weather Map route Get essentials Plan your f...

I felt like it wouldn't be right to blog about hiking without sharing my first hiking experience! Interesting fact, I didn't go on my first hike until after I graduated from high school. It was June 2017 and a friend of mine at the time decided we should go hike Mount Nittany.  I had no idea where Mount Nittany was, how long it would be to hike, or even what to wear. My first time hiking I went hiking in a pair of jeans, beat up shoes, and a t-shirt! Needless to say, it did not go well! After finding our way to the beginning of the trail, it was time to begin our hike. At this time I was beginning to get into photography, so I had brought my newly purchased camera to snap some photos. I'm sure you can guess how well that went. New at hiking and new at photography, great combination! A few minutes into our hike I quickly discovered that hiking in jeans may not be the best pants to wear while hiking. It was a struggle to get to the top but I powered through a...

The Appalachian Trial (AT) is a trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine that can take up 6 months to a year to hike with over 2,100 miles. My dad and I picked to hike from Pine Glenn, Pennsylvania to Harpers Ferry , West Virginia. In the beginning, the total mileage was only supposed to be around 70 miles, which totaled an average of about 13 to 17 miles a day, over the course of 9 days. Leading up to the "big" hike, we had to collect everything that we would need for the trip. Since this was my first backpacking trip I had nothing prepared. We started with fitting myself with a 45 liter backpack, a long spoon, an air mattress, a blanket, hiking clothes, and a tent. After that we started planning what we were going to eat for the next week. All the things we would normally eat would have to be dehydrated foods such as Mountain Houses, Ramen Noodles, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches. Now it's time for the big hike! We put on our heavy packs that ranged from 20-30lbs on ...

Chances are if you're from central Pennsylvania you've heard of the Millbrook Marsh . For everyone else, you're probably asking,"What's so interesting about a marsh?" The Millbrook Marsh is a nature center located on Puddintown Road, in State College, PA. This nature center is a beautiful place to enjoy walking along the boardwalk to enjoy plants, a tiny creek, and all sorts of wildlife critters. The Marsh isn't necessarily a hike, however, if you're looking for a nice and relaxing day out with the family. The Millbrook Marsh is the perfect place to go. After enjoying the nature and wildlife around the Millbrook Marsh be sure to stop and have a picnic before you leave. With plenty of benches and pavilions around it's hard to find a reason to ever leave! The Millbrook Marsh is open 7 days a week from dawn until dusk, so there's always time in the day to stop by for a visit. Overall The Millbrook Marsh is a 62 acre park   so there...

If you're anything like me, then sometimes you might forget that you don't always have to climb the side of a mountain to go for a hike. It's true! not every hike has to be miles long, up a mountain, or through a forest. Yesterday's hike was in and around the Shaver's Creek Environmental Center  Shaver's Creek is owned by Pennsylvania State University as a field laboratory for students to get hands on experience with wildlife and nature, such as barn owls, snakes, turtles, and bald eagles. Along with the wildlife exhibits, Shaver's Creek is also home to Lake Perez and many hiking trails. Compared to other hikes and trails, Shaver's Creek is fairly easy, with the main trail being a 5 mile loop that takes a little over three hours to hike. however there are smaller trails and sections of trails you can hike, such as the lake trail, sawmill trial, and the ironstone trail. So if you're looking for a relaxing day off during the nice...

Located between Huntingdon and Mt Union, PA is Jacks Mountain.  Jacks Mountain is home to a popular hiking trail known as "Thousand Steps" For those who are wondering there are NOT a 1,000 steps. There are actually 1,043 steps! The last 43 steps aren't marked, but going up the trail steps are marked off at 100 step increments. The whole trail is 3.5 miles out and back, with a vertical incline of 1,125(a little over 1 foot for every step) The trail is rough and rocky and is a challenging hike for those who aren't used to hiking! If you simply hike to the top of the steps and back down it takes a little under 90 minutes if you stop and  admire the view. Thousand Steps has drawn attention and reviews from sites such as TripAdvisor as well as Yelp  for it's beautiful trails and breathtaking views. The trails are very well maintained with plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction along the way Much like a lot of other trails such as...

Today's Hike was a sunny 3.5 mile hike through mud, rocks, and leaves at  Shingletown Gap , and along the Bald Knob Ridge Trail.  Unlike Mount Nittany, Shingletown Gap is a rough terrain trail. Alongside the main trail is a stream running through the Rothrock State Forest. The trail is very rocky and at times can be very muddy depending on the weather. However, along the trail is plenty of small wildlife such as squirrels, chipmunks, butterflies, and birds.   With an elevation of 597ft, Shingletown Gap, is slightly smaller than Mount Nittany when it comes to a vertical incline, but the view at the top is just as wonderful and there are plenty of different trails available for those who don't like the elevated hikes.  So if you're a fan of quiet hikes with your dog , Shingletown Gap is one of the best hiking trails in the area. When hiking this trail the chance of running into someone other than a mountain biker is very small. So be sure to wea...