Guest post by Gerald Rowan
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I grew up in the very north- eastern corner of the state.  An area of forested rolling hills and old broken-down farms. It was rural and it was isolated. What it did have was numerous lakes, streams and miles of old logging roads to walk. Within a mile radius of our farm were six beaver dams, an old mill pond and another man-made pond. Within a three-mile radius there were three natural lakes. The swamps were thickly forested with hemlock and the ridge tops with sugar maple and hickory. 

The outdoors was a year around engagement. Hiking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, backpacking, hunting, fishing in the lakes, streams and beaver ponds, ice skating and ice fishing in the winters. Back them every boy had his own trap line.  There was also maple sugaring and mushroom picking. In season there was herbing and wild berry picking.

There were no basketball or tennis courts, but it didn’t matter. I spent much of my free time hiking, camping and fishing in the area. With a driver’s license there was the upper Delaware, Lackawaxen rivers and Dyberry Creek to explore.  Lake Wallenpaupack was only a twenty-minute drive away, the Catskills maybe thirty-five.  After high school, I worked my way through undergraduate school as a hunting and fishing guide for a private club in Pike County. In time I was their resident guide, specializing in fly fishing. I was still hiking, backpacking and fishing but now I was getting paid for it.   
In the early sixties, I bought my first VW microbus, an old Bell Telephone service truck, converting it to a camper. Now I could explore over a much wider terrain. By 1970 I landed my first college teaching job, which afforded me a schedule that made hiking, camping and fishing even more possible. Often, we combined opportunities, backpacking in to camp and fish in remote areas that were not accessible otherwise. 

As I grew older backpacking and sleeping on the ground got replaced by a series of tents, pop-up campers then travel trailers.  Now hiking/fishing/camping expeditions could be weeks long and anywhere, from Ashville to Boundary Waters to anywhere off the grid. I fell in love with the Pennsylvania state parks. They were in the right places with the right amenities. My count of state parks is fifty-eight and numerous stays at my favorites. I counted twenty-seven stays at Hickory Run.
I began doing volunteer trail work with the Allentown Hiking Club and the rebuilding of several shelters on the AT in Berks and Lehigh counties. In time I worked with a number of different crews all over the state. Working with a crew at Worlds End in 1999 after hurricane Floyd was my first-time camp cooking. After that I camp cooked for a number of years. 

In 2008 I turned sixty-five and retired. With retirement I shifted gears and began to travel. I still hiked but now it was the Twelve Bens or the Wicklow Mountain in Ireland. I live in the Lehigh Valley and the AT is just a few minutes west of me. The Pinnacle, Hawk Mountain. Bear Rocks and Bake Oven Knob are easily accessible for day hikes. On warm fall days I’ve sat at the base of Bear Rocks for hours watching wild turkey. 
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I always had an interest in protecting the environment. Back in 1955, after experiencing the double whammy of hurricanes Connie and Diane, I realized nature could be fragile and needed our support and protection to thrive.  It seems to me that people will protect the things they love. Well-developed and protected public spaces, and access to them, will allow the greatest number of people to experience and enjoy wild Pennsylvania.

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "Pennsylvania is a beautiful state to be in, I love seeing green as far as the eye can see."

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "Day hiking 10-12 miles is my sweet spot."

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "About 30 years or so, since I married my outdoorsy husband."

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "I have the best hiking partners; every hiking trip is a great adventure. I am working on becoming a hike leader with the PATC to help with their women's hiking summits to facilitate women getting in the outdoors. I have taught Hiking 101 at the summits, I've had my photos featured in Appalachian Trail Social Media Posts, and currently I have two photos in the Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail guidebook."

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "My current favorite is the Mason Dixon in Hellam Hills."

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "The AT is my first love, but really any PA Trail is special, we have so many to pick from."

Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission?
A: "Promoting Hiking Trails to all Pennsylvanians!!!"

Love the Appalachian Trail in PA like Michele? Get KTA's guide here!

When you have 60+ miles of hiking trails to tend to, maintenance requires collaboration and effort between multiple groups and organizations!

"There is so much to do in and around Oil Creek State Park," shares Jenn Ulmer, KTA Manager of Trail Maintenance and Training, "As you might imagine, historical displays and information on the oil boom abound – the Oil Creek Valley is the site of the world’s first commercial oil well. There’s the Drake Oil Well Museum near Titusville and the 36-mile Gerard Hiking Trail loop which encircles/travels the length of the park on both sides of Oil Creek!"

This year, KTA will be heading to Oil Creek State Park with excited volunteers to join David Hallman, Park Manager at Oil Creek State Park, for a trail maintenance event! You can join us June 20-23, 2024!

The park has a long historic tradition of trail maintenance, much like KTA (we're in our 40th year!). David shared with us about a long-time special group of volunteers:

"Oil Creek is home to over 60 miles of trails. Thirty-six of those miles make up the Gerard Trail which loops around the entire park. The Gerard Trail is popular for several reason. One being our Adirondack backpacking shelters that hikers can reserve and spend the night. The other reason people enjoy this trail is for its sheer beauty and history. As you hike through the park you will have the pleasure of seeing remnants from the historic oil days, but you will also see how Mother Nature can heal herself and return to her former beauty. 

Maintaining such a trail system is a never-ending job and this is where our volunteer group the Over the Hill Gang comes in. For the past several decades the OTHG has done most of the work on this trail. They are a group made up of mostly “retired” gentlemen that meet every Wednesday to maintain this trail. They split up into groups and take a different section of trail to maintain. Work includes but is not limited to cutting fallen trees off the trail, fixing, building, and maintaining bridges, correcting drainage issues, blazing trail, and splitting firewood for our shelters. 

These are truly some of the best maintained trails in the State and it is all due to their efforts.This group of dedicated volunteers completes a tremendous amount of work for the park. Their selfless efforts free up our staff to complete other projects throughout the park. Without their help there would be no way we could keep up with the maintenance demands of these trails."

Come to Oil Creek State park with us! You can join us June 20-23, 2024!

Read more Trail Care Stories

In 2023, KTA hosted a trail care event at Lancaster Conservancy's Wizard Ranch. At the time, their staff was working on clearing and creating the preserve's 247 acres. Travis Lyle, Regional Preserves Manager at Lancaster Conservancy was one of our point people during this project. Here's an update from him on Wizard Ranch's progress!

"Wizard Ranch has really progressed this year. We had our first prescribed burn which was successful and we are seeing almost too much regeneration in the area at this point. That is not really that bad of a problem compared to others like invasive control! 
 
I believe we are close to 2,000 native trees, shrubs, and grasses replanted in the restoration areas so far! The steam and wetland restoration plans are also moving forward which will be exciting to see. 
 
The trails that you and the rest of the KTA crew helped us open are small parts of the larger trail network that we are installing. To get the preserve opened to the public we used parts that were close together to make two small (approx 1 mile each) loop trails starting from the parking area. This winter and spring we will be working on getting the main portions of the outer perimeter loop trail completed. There are plans for a Trails Fest event to be held there in September 2024.
 
The Boy Scouts just had their once every four years event at the end of September with about 3,000 scouts, families and staff. It seemed like it went really well and it is a great opportunity for all of us to team up. The scouts helped do some planting and learned a lot from our community engagement staff. It is great seeing younger generations taking interest in nature and learning how they can contribute to the preservation and restoration efforts.  
 
There have been many volunteer workday events doing some trail brushing and lots of invasive removals. That work will continue into next year and beyond but it is already making a noticeable difference."​

Help us keep PA's trails safe and beautiful! Join us at a trail care event.

Read more Trail Care Impact Stories

In May 2023, KTA hosted a trail care event to maintain the West Rim Trail. Located in the PA Wilds region, the WRT is a ~30-mile hiking trail on the western rim of the PA Grand Canyon. It is one of the 18 state forest-designated hiking trails and is blazed orange. Parts of the WRT pass through mixed Allegheny hardwoods, featuring white ash, cherry, and hemlock. In other areas, the trail winds along ridges of oak forest with abundant mountain laurel, and it also passes through boggy meadows near beaver dams.

Tom Oliver, DCNR Recreation Forester in Tioga State Forest, shares this month's exclusive trail story about the West Rim Trail: 

"I have worked pretty closely with KTA over the years here in Tioga. 

There were volunteers here this year in May working on the West Rim Trail and back in May of 2021.

In May of 2021, the volunteers worked on clearing downed trees, blazing and brush cutting mountain laurel that was crowding the trail.

May of this year was about the same minus downed trees.  I had cleared all the downed trees before their arrival. So, the crews mainly worked on brush clearing/trimming sections where the trail was getting tight.  The blazing was also finished this year!

Their work and time are incredibly valuable and appreciated.  I am the only person employed here who takes care of trails, so there is no possible way I can take care of everything myself.  Their help on West Rim Trail has improved the trail and hiking experience for all users."

Join us for trail care!
Find a trail maintenance event in your region, or travel across the state to explore a new place! View our trail maintenance schedule here.

Without regular trail maintenance, wonder-full moments like the following from Logan Goddard, a DCNR Service Forester, Delaware District, would not be possible. Thanks to KTA's Trail Care Program, the Thunder Swamp Trail System remains an oasis for wildlife and hikers!

In August 2023, KTA's Trail Care Program focused on clearing heavy blowdowns and brushing/lopping the trail in the Pennel Run and Stillwater Natural Areas, as well as rehabbing a couple of side trails.

Below, Goddard recalls a curious encounter with a community of eastern newts along the Thunder Swamp Trail:

"I had the pleasure of exploring a couple miles of the Thunder Swamp trail system in late September. It is on the surface a quiet trail which immediately endears the visitor with both it’s gentle rolling landscape and quiet atmosphere. This welcome break from the world is both tranquil and fascinating, as it hosts a rich level of biodiversity just waiting to be discovered.

Many are aware of the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), a curious orange salamander that is often easily found in areas with high water quality. It wasn’t until my time in Thunder Swamp that it occurred to me just how funny these creatures really are.

Despite their bright orange coloration and size, the eastern newt often tries to hide from potential threats. Usually, they pull off this instinctive survival mechanism with the skill and mastery of a child who hasn’t quite figured out where the human goes when playing peek-a-boo. After seeing this particular newt, I assumed that this was simply a case of catching him at an awkward moment and assumed that there were surely dozens if not hundreds that were more capable. So I began to pay attention, and – like many times in the forest – I was generously rewarded for my interest. It seemed every time I stopped, I could find 5-6 newts within 10 feet of me, often, in the same curious state of half-visibility.

Within 40 minutes of actively searching for this comedy of survival, I hit the jackpot. In the middle of the trail a five-inch mushroom was in its prime, and yet, a small fleck of orange drew my curiosity. I – in the nosy need-to-know that few can match – looked under the mushroom. I was rewarded with a dozen eyes staring back at me, a mass of bodies quickly untangled, and a foot race was on as SIX newts fled from the giant who had just disturbed their quiet rest.

On its surface, this is a cute story about an accidental discovery leading to seeing something a little unusual. But it is more than that, every outdoorsman has at some point begun paying attention to something new – game trails, bird calls, arrowheads, mushrooms, geology – and almost immediately, everyone has been rewarded with something they wouldn’t have seen had they not been focused on finding out more. This is the nature of our forests, a beautiful complex ecosystem which loves to hide its secrets and tease visitors with the promise of more, if only they’re willing to look for it."

Celebrate 40 years with us! Join the movement to protect PA's hiking trails. 
It wouldn't be surprising if you have stories of your own just like this one. It's our mission to protect and preserve PA's hiking trails so moments like these can continue for generations to come!

​Is that your hope too?

If so, we encourage and invite you, as we celebrate 40 years of maintaining PA's hiking trails, to join us for a special trail care event this year!