Well here we are once again Fall is over Winter has begun and I miserably await the arrival of spring when I plan to wear out the bottom of both of my kayaks, my fishing poles and several pairs of boots. Until then I thought I’d share some of my favorite pictures from the roughly 1500 photos or so that I took this Fall.
Cayuga Falls
Falls Trail, Ricketts Glen State Park, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
The 8th named waterfall in Ganoga Glen, Cayuga Falls is about 0.8 miles upstream from Falls Meet and was named after the Cayuga tribe of New York by R. B. Ricketts.
Jackson Trail
Rothrock State Forest Centre & Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania.
This rocky and rugged trail begins at Jo Hayes Vista and takes you along the broken summit of Tussey Mountain passing multiple vistas before connecting to the Mid-State Trail. In many places you follow the very top of the mountain with its rock strewn sides falling away beside you.
Sunset From Chimney Rocks
White Mountain Natural Area, Bald Eagle State Forest, Union County, Pennsylvania.
At the very end of Union County near the village of Weikert is the White Mountain Natural Area, the 3,581 acres of the wild area have been set aside by DCNR to remain largely undeveloped and are only traversed via the White Mountain Trail. A short way up the trail from Weikert Run Road lays Chimney Rocks, a cliff face that overlooks Penns Creek below. It was from this vantage point in early October that I watched as the sun fell find a spur of White Mountain illuminating the clouds overhead.
More Information On Chimney Rocks
Dutchman Falls
Loyalsock Trail, Loyalsock State Forest, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania.
A hop, skip and a jump off of the Loyalsock trail Dutchman’s Run empties into the Loyalsock Creek just after this 27′ waterfall. Easily accessed from the LT trailhead on Route 220 Dutchman Falls is one of my favorite places in the state where I could just sit for hours and watch as the stream cascades over the rocks into the small plunge pool.
More Information On Dutchman Falls
Vinegar Run Falls
Loyalsock State Forest, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania.
Visible from Route 154 Vinegar Run Falls are another of the dozens of waterfalls found in Loyalsock State Forest. Here Vinegar Run cuts through the rock face beside the highway where you’ll see this 9′ fan waterfall before the stream flows beneath Route 154 on its way to Loyalsock Creek on the other side of the road.
More Information On Vinegar Run Falls
The Knife’s Edge
Appalachian Trail, Blue Mountain, Lehigh & Schuylkill Counties, Pennsylvania.
Found on National Park Service lands on top of Blue Mountain the AT here climbs this vertical upthrust of rock and proceeds along its top for several hundred yards, the rocks steeply fall away to each side of the trail. Take a break at the vista here and watch as hawks, vultures and other large birds of prey fly through the valley below.
Ricketts Glen Red Squirrel
Falls Trail, Ricketts Glen State Park, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
Just past the trailhead by Route 118 the Falls Trail goes through a massive fallen tree where I happened to catch a couple of shots of this little guy enjoying his lunch.
Sunbury at Dawn
Shikellamy State Park Overlook, Union County, Pennsylvania.
The access road to the overlooks at Shikellamy State Park is closed in the winter making it necessary to hike up the road and then up to the overlook for this shot of a snow covered Sunbury in the first light of dawn.
More Information About Shikellamy State Park Overlook here & here.
Sunrise From Flat Rock Vista
Tuscarora Trail, Tuscarora State Forest, Perry County Pennsylvania.
Climbing the Flat Rock Trail from Colonel Denning State Park eventually brings you to Flat Rock Vista. A small shelf of rock on the side of Blue Mountain from which you can watch the sun rise above the Cumberland Valley and South Mountain towards the end of the year when sunrise is in a more south-easterly direction.
More Information About Flat Rock Vista
Shawnee Falls
Falls Trail, Ricketts Glen State Park, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
The Falls Trail here descends the stone steps on the right side of the picture from which its nearly impossible to take a photo of this picturesque 30′ waterfall. I never really understood what photographers meant when they would talk about playing with the object of a photo until I got home and realized that in about 7 minutes I had taken 79 pictures of just this one waterfall.
