White Mountain Ridge Trail Opens Trail Care Season

​by Ed Lawrence, KTA Trail Care Coordinator 

The White Mountain Ridge Trail, with its landmark Chimney Rocks formation and now part of the expanded Penns Creek Wild Area, flanks the creek to the south and offers a challenging hike in Bald Eagle State Forest. Four volunteers braved a sketchy weather forecast for the first weekend of April to devote 66 hours of work to improving the hiking experience on the mountain by removing blowdowns, brushcutting shaggy parts of the corridor, and reblazing over 3 miles of trail. The crew set out on Friday morning, after an overnight snow fall left a thin blanket of white on the forest, with tools in hand and a new appreciation for the wiles of April. This was just the most recent foray by KTA Trail Care to maintain this wild gem and the associated Reeds Gap Spur Trail. The entire White Mountain Ridge Trail and the Devils Elbow Access Trail are now in good to excellent condition for hikers who want to make the Weikert/Wesley area of Bald Eagle State Forest a hiking destination this spring. Thanks to Mary Ladish, Tony Robbins, Tom Bastian, and Ed Lawrence for their good spirits and great work.