Haldeman Tract aflame with autumn color
Oct 15, 2015 8:47:14 GMT -5
Post by ki0eh on Oct 15, 2015 8:47:14 GMT -5
I was surprised (having spent a weekend in Tioga County PA among out-of-sync green, yellow, and dropped leaves) to find the Haldeman Tract area of Weiser State Forest (near Lykens, PA) with significant fall color yesterday. Everything from blueberry to gums to oaks was aflame, despite still all green in the more populated portions of Dauphin County.
Trip report with phone photos: www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/3103168
This was my first time going in on the SGL 210 Lukes Trail side. So I finally saw the "Bear Puddles". Kinda reminded me of the area around the (laughably named, for someone who grew up up north) Big Pond of Martin Hill Wild Area. No trail but easy bushwhack west side of the draw past the Bear Puddles. Became more rocky as I descended along the west rim of Doc Smith Run hollow, but only major obstacle was detouring around a porkie (not quick enough to get its pic). Encountered the Fawn Kill MTB trail just over the State Forest line, followed it, forestry's Lykens Road, and the Hop Back trail, but then had to hoof it back up Broad Mountain the PENNDOT road shoulder (woods much thicker, probably due to more recent cutting, on the Forestry side of the border, had a schedule to keep so didn't want to risk missing my meeting due to a second harder bushwhack in the gathering darkness).
This was my first leg-stretcher hike pairing the Backpacker GPS Trails app with, instead of the internal GPSr of the old iPhone, airplane mode and a Bluetooth connection to a Bad Elf. Worked well in the woods, still had 75% battery at the end of the hike despite constant map checking. The app itself crashes out fairly often again, every other photo required an app restart, and sync with Trimble Outdoors back home on wifi worked on the 6th try. Planned obsolescence has caught up with this iPhone, will have to upgrade to use the actual Bad Elf app with the Bad Elf GPSr.
Trip report with phone photos: www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/3103168
This was my first time going in on the SGL 210 Lukes Trail side. So I finally saw the "Bear Puddles". Kinda reminded me of the area around the (laughably named, for someone who grew up up north) Big Pond of Martin Hill Wild Area. No trail but easy bushwhack west side of the draw past the Bear Puddles. Became more rocky as I descended along the west rim of Doc Smith Run hollow, but only major obstacle was detouring around a porkie (not quick enough to get its pic). Encountered the Fawn Kill MTB trail just over the State Forest line, followed it, forestry's Lykens Road, and the Hop Back trail, but then had to hoof it back up Broad Mountain the PENNDOT road shoulder (woods much thicker, probably due to more recent cutting, on the Forestry side of the border, had a schedule to keep so didn't want to risk missing my meeting due to a second harder bushwhack in the gathering darkness).
This was my first leg-stretcher hike pairing the Backpacker GPS Trails app with, instead of the internal GPSr of the old iPhone, airplane mode and a Bluetooth connection to a Bad Elf. Worked well in the woods, still had 75% battery at the end of the hike despite constant map checking. The app itself crashes out fairly often again, every other photo required an app restart, and sync with Trimble Outdoors back home on wifi worked on the 6th try. Planned obsolescence has caught up with this iPhone, will have to upgrade to use the actual Bad Elf app with the Bad Elf GPSr.