👋 Meet Edward, a KTA supporter from Mount Holly Springs!

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "The Appalachian Trail runs through the town I live in. Both the South and North Mountain and the valley in between have provided many memorable moments. "

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "Overnight hikes"

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "I've been hiking since I was a little kid in one form or another. Probably the early 1980s"

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "I'm looking forward to completing the Appalachian Trail up to the Susquehanna River."

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "There is a trail that does not have a sign but it appears on maps. It's called the Blueberry Trail. I always see wildlife there including a porcupine once coming down a tree."

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "Appalachian Trail, Darlington Trail and the Blueberry Trail." 

Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission?
A: "Protecting and preserving​"

Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania?
​That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. ​https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html

👋 Meet Michael, a KTA supporter from Carlise!

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "Pennsylvania has a such a wide variety of terrain that makes exploring through hiking always interesting.  We have mountains with incredible vistas (one of my favorite types of hiking destinations).  We also have fairly flat farmland, marsh preserves and wetlands, some incredible urban hiking areas like Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon in Philadelphia where you are hard pressed to know that you are actually in a city because the woods are so thick and beautiful.  And, of all things, you have PA history, pretty much anywhere you hike.  The general history of the state is amazing enough, but if you begin to learn the local history where you hike, it opens a world of wonder and awe for what settlers and native Americans lived through, and how people lived and endured through difficult times.  Coming across ruins or old stone walls in the middle of nowhere is always fascinating to me - thinking about the people who were there at one time and how they lived, and that those ruins, at one time, were a brand new house for a hopeful family full of dreams. "

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "I most often engage in day hikes on the weekends.  I am an avid trail running as well and sometimes my hikes will be to scout new trails to run on.  I want to get into doing more multi-day backpacking trips as well."

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "I have always wanted to do more hiking through most of my life. I finally decided in 2008 to actually start doing it consistently and to go on hiking vacations."

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "I'm excited to explore the Tuscarora State Forest.  I live in the Cumberland Valley between Tuscarora and Michaux.  I have spent a lot of the last 3 years exploring Michaux.  I love Michaux, but the little I have been up to Tuscarora has shown me that there seems to be a much more remote feel there, which I really like.

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "All the hiking trails in Michaux State Forest, I would recommend, as well as day hikes, or multi-day hikes on the Appalachian Trail.  I would recommend Flat Rock in Colonel Denning for an incredible 180+ degree vista of the Cumberland Valley.  In Michaux, I would also recommend checking out Hammonds Rocks and Chimney Rocks - incredible geological features in the area. "

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "Outside of my immediate area, I would always recommend Hawk Mountain and Pinnacle and Pulpit near Hamburg.  If you like waterfalls, make sure you hike in Delaware Water Gap, outside Stroudsburg - there are waterfalls everywhere, even if they are not on a map!" 

Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission?
A: "KTA has brought a lot of awareness of hiking opportunities in PA, as well as, working to maintain trails as well.  I think these things are important for the community on the trails and to show new people the beauty of hiking in PA.​"

Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania?
​That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. ​https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html

👋 Meet Leslie, a KTA supporter from Upper Allen, Cumberland County! 

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "PA has such a great variety of trails - fields, mountains, gaps, towns, rural, farmland, towns.  I can get to a wide range of trails in just a short drive from my home. "

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "day hikes"

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "I've been hiking since I was a kid.  After we moved to Central PA, I started hiking on a weekly basis with friends starting in 2002"

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "Having the AT so accessible inspired me to do more hiking on the AT.  With my hiking friends, I have completed all of the AT in PA, MD and WVA - all on day trips.  I have hiked up Katahdin, the northern terminus of the AT.  I have hiked a part of the AT in 13 of the states that AT goes through.  In May, I will hike up Springer to complete my 14th state (and the southern terminus)."

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "Any part of the AT in the area is great! Bluebells north and south of Scott Farm spring time, Pole Steeple, Hawk Rock, Sunset Rocks, Peters Mountain (up the blue blaze, loop back on AT)"

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "Flat Rock in Colonel Denning Park is a great training hike" 

Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission?
A: "Keeping our local hiking trails available for all to enjoy now and for future generations!"

Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania?
​That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. ​https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html

The 40th Season of Trail Care has been transformative! Building trails, skills, and friendships. We have held ten events and have seven to go yet. Over those ten events, we had an average of 16 volunteers and 160 hours contributed (that includes a one- and a two-day event). Our numbers are definitely up over last year, but starting to decline as summer rolls along and everyone is so busy. See if you can fit us in your schedule and help give back to PA's hiking trails; let's keep the momentum going. You can join us for the whole weekend, or just a day. I have finally completed updating event websites for all the remaining Trail Care events; you can now sign up HERE for as many as you want! In addition to the usual weekend events, there are also Tuesday Trail Cares at LeTort Spring Garden Preserve in Carlisle on 8/20 and 9/17, and we've added another A.T. workday on 11/2.

To recap: in May and June, we worked on all four Regions of the Mid State Trail. In State College, we basically cleared the entire section(!) from Penn Roosevelt State Park to Stillhouse Hollow (8 miles), except a couple short spots. In Everett, we tackled the entire section (10 miles) from Biddle Place north to Ashcom Road (except for a short spot near Ashcom), and half of the section from the Civil War Trenches south to Blue Triangle. Almost all of the mowable sections were cleared. In Woolrich, we cleared 10 miles of brush and blowdowns, rebenched ~250' of sidehill, and cleaned out some rock stairs. In Tioga, we mowed to our hearts' content over the three days, and also cleared the Water Tank-MST-Stone Quarry loop off the Pine Creek Rail Trail, as well as installing crucial blazes and signs.

At the first Trail Care in April, there were 26 volunteers! On the Quehanna Trail and side trails we worked on bridges and puncheon, built a new footbridge, and lopped, brushed, sawed, and blazed  29 miles of trail. In May, we worked on the Chuck Keiper Trail: 1000' of sidehill was redug, a junky campsite was cleaned out (6 contractor bags full, in the rain, 2.5 miles down, then back up), and the much-anticipated reroute on the Cross Connector, around the muck-up-to-your-knees swampy area, was completed. In June, we traveled to Oil Creek State Park and completely overhauled all but one of the trails in Wildcat Hollow before the rains came. Crews did an exceptional job rebenching and clearing trails, as well as rehabbing, repairing, and replacing bridges and boardwalks.

In July, crews tackled parts of the West Rim Trail and connector trails, taking full advantage of three days of wonderful weather. Five miles of trail was cleared of brush and 6.2 miles of trail was re-blazed. 600 feet of sidehill was also redug, stabilizing those areas from erosion and providing a much more level hiking surface. 

👋 Meet Jake, a KTA supporter from York, PA! 

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "The solitude. Being out in the woods & silence."

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "Mostly morning hikes for about 4 hours (8-12)"

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "About 10 years ago"

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "Finding new areas"

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "Gunpowder Falls, MD & Prettyboy Reservoir "

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "Anywhere on the Appalachian Trail!" 

Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission?
A: Preserving & maintaining trails "

Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania?
​That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. ​https://www.kta-hike.org/donate.html

👋 Meet John, a KTA supporter from Chester County, PA! 

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "I Just being outdoors enjoying nature "

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "Day hikes and multi-day backpacking hikes usually "

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "Many years ago, but seriously about 6 years ago"

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "Right now I am on an Appalachian Trail thru-hike.  I started with PA then did all of MD, NJ, and part of NY then came down to Springer Mtn in GA where I’m hiking north from. "

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "Valley Forge Park and Ridley Creek Park trails"

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "Loyalsock Trail, Mount Nittany, Quehanna Wilderness Area, anywhere along the AT in PA"

Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania?
​That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. ​

👋 Meet Kim, a KTA supporter from Tioga County, PA! 

Q: What makes hiking in Pennsylvania special/meaningful to you?
A: "I've lived in Pennsylvania my entire life, and even though I've visited a lot of other beautiful places, PA is still at the top of my list. Plus, it's also the place where I can hike with the most people closest to me.  "

Q: What type of hiking do you typically prefer most often?
A: "I would love to try more backpacking, multi-day hikes, but right now I am enjoying short and day hikes locally. "

Q: When did you start hiking?
A: "I started out as a road runner, and then transitioned to trail running several years ago. I started having some major issues with my back which caused me to stop running. At that time (around 2018) my family started doing more hiking and adventuring. In 2020 I had spinal fusion, and was THRILLED to be able to get back out on the trails with less worry!"

Q: What are you currently excited about in your hiking life?
A: "I am so excited to be adventuring weekly (most weeks, anyway) with my friend, Joy (and sometimes my daughters). We have explored so many local trails that we've never experienced before. In just over a year we've done about 175 miles and 26,000 ft of elevation gain together. This year, I'm looking forward to doing some of the AT section hikes with my friends Joy and Becca. My daughters and I are also SLOWLY working on the ADK high peaks. I am really eager to take a Wilderness First Aid course when it fits into my schedule, too."

Q: Which hiking trails do you enjoy/recommend that are near where you live?
A: "Oh, gosh - there are so many! A regular for us is the Green Monster Trail System over in Asaph. We frequently do the loop around Hills Creek when we are crunched for time. Another favorite is Sand Run Falls."

Q: Which hiking trails do you recommend (anywhere in PA)?
A: "We have recently been exploring some of the McIntyre Wild area/Rock Run/Dutchman Falls and have really enjoyed that. Blue Run Rocks is another hidden gem. And, we just hiked Jacoby Falls and that was gorgeous!"

Q: What do you value most about KTA's mission?
A: "I am just becoming more familiar with KTA and am really appreciating all of the resources! I just attended a virtual panel event last week about hiking the PA section of the AT. It is amazing to think about all of the folks who make it possible for us to enjoy the beauty of our Pennsylvania Trails. Thank you!"

Do you care about providing, protecting, preserving, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania?
​That's why KTA is here! Help ensure this mission continues to be fulfilled. 

Dear Member,

Its summer!  Have you been on a hike or helped on a Trail Care event?   Get out there and bring a friend!   

I want to thank you for your efforts in furthering our mission of providing, preserving, protecting, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania. Each of you through trail maintenance in your club and throughout the state, advocacy on issues affecting our trails, and by just leading hikes are making a difference at a grassroots level.

Our 40th anniversary KTA Trail Care program in 2024 is in full swing this summer.  Plan to participate in one or more of the remaining trail cares that Jenn Ulmer has lined up for us.  Check out our website for details.

The Scott Farm along the Appalachian Trail will eventually become KTA's headquarters.  KTA has started preparing the Scott Farm Trailhead Master Site Plan.  We recently held a charette with KTA Staff, Board Members, and stakeholders like ATC, Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, CVATC, and others to begin the brainstorming of ideas.  We are now seeking your input on what should be done at the Scott Farm Trailhead space to better serve the community and visitors.  Please help us by taking our survey by clicking on this link: buff.ly/4ekW0Eu. If you have not completed the survey please do so before  JULY 15th! 

Its not too soon to start thinking about nominating members and clubs for our various service awards.  They include Certificates of Achievement, Volunteer of the Year, Club of the Year, and the Citation Award for lifetime achievement.  These will be presented at our fall KTA Annual Meeting. Please see our website for a listing and description of these awards.  The Awards Committee will be seeking nominations for these awards later this summer.  Start considering members and clubs to nominate for these awards.

The Board recently approved the establishment of another hiking award -The Teen Hiker Award.
The Awards Committee developed the requirements to be similar to the existing Youth Hiker Award that is for youth 12 and under.  Requirements for the Teen Hiker Award: Applicant must be 13 to 18 years old during the award year and must have hiked at least 50 miles on any trails in Pennsylvania during the award year (award year is September 1 to August 31). Applicant may receive this award on multiple occasion but must complete the 50-mile requirement on different trails each year.   A special patch for this award is in the works.  So please start promoting the encouraging teenagers you know to earn this award.  Maybe we can present some this year. The other existing hiking awards are also listed on our website.  Check them out and hike toward earning one this year.

There is a full list of KTA hikes, events, training courses, activities, and trail care opportunities.  There is so much to do. Please visit our website and sign up for one or more and bring a friend.

Please consider planning to make a gift to our Keystone Trails Endowment fund this year.  The earnings from the principal in this fund has been going toward furthering our mission.  In particular, toward member Club mini grants that have been presented this year.  

Our KTA Fall Annual Meeting will be nestled among the many hikes and activities at the Keystone  Hiking & Outdoor Weekend in the Susquehanna Riverlands of Pennsylvania on October 18-20.  Please put these dates on your calendar and checkout our website to register so you can plan to attend.  

On behalf of the Board and the membership I want to thank Brook and all our staff for the wonderful job they are doing to further our mission. 

For the trails and those who wander on them!  See you on the Trail!


Thanks
Wayne E. Gross
President, Board of Directors 
Keystone Trails Association
The Statewide voice of Pennsylvania Hikers

President's Trailhead

Dear Member,
June is Bustin' Out All Over!  It's summer, so get out for a hike and bring a friend!   

Thank you for your efforts in furthering our mission of providing, preserving, protecting, and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania. Each of you, through trail maintenance in your club and throughout the state, advocacy on issues affecting our trails, and by just leading hikes, are making a difference at a grassroots level.

KTA developed a strategic plan to help guide us over the next five years. The plan is being implemented.

Our 40th anniversary KTA Trail Care program in 2024 is in full swing.  Plan to participate in one or more of the remaining trail cares Jenn Ulmer has lined up for us.  Check out our website for details.

The Scott Farm along the Appalachian Trail will eventually become KTA's headquarters.  KTA has started preparing the Scott Farm Trailhead Master Site Plan utilizing consultants HRG and James Crum AIA Architects.  Please keep an eye out for release of the Citizen Survey and please complete it so you can have input on the future of this wonderful facility and property.  

Its not too soon to start thinking about nominating members and clubs for our various service awards.  They include Certificates of Achievement, Volunteer of the Year, Club of the Year, and the Citation Award for lifetime achievement.  These will be presented at our fall KTA Annual Meeting.  Please see our website for a listing and description of these awards.  The Awards Committee will be seeking nominations for these awards later his summer.  Start considering members and clubs to nominate for these awards.

The Board recently approved the establishment of another hiking award -The Teen Hiker Award.
The Awards Committee developed the requirements to be similar to the existing Youth Hiker Award that is for youth 12 and under.  Requirements for the Teen Hiker Award: Applicant must be 13 to 18 years old during the award year and must have hiked at least 50 miles on any trails in Pennsylvania during the award year (award year is September 1 to August 31). Applicant may receive this award on multiple occasions, but must complete the 50-mile requirement on different trails each year.   We will be developing a special patch for this award. So please start promoting the encouraging teenagers you know to earn this award.  The other existing hiking awards are also listed on our website.  Check them out and hike toward earning one this year.

There is a full list of KTA hikes, events, activities, and trail care opportunities.  There is so much to do. Please visit our website and sign up for one or more and bring a friend.

Our KTA Fall Annual Meeting will be nestled among the many hikes and activities at the Keystone  Hiking & Outdoor Weekend in the Susquehanna Riverlands of Pennsylvania on October 18-20.  Please put these dates on your calendar and checkout our website to register so you can plan to attend.  

On behalf of the Board and the membership I want to thank Brook and all our staff for the wonderful job they are doing to further our mission. 

For the trails and those who wander on them!

Thanks
Wayne E. Gross
President, Board of Directors 
Keystone Trails Association

The Statewide voice of Pennsylvania Hikers