Mt. Joy, VFNP, 3/15/14

Baron von Steuben

The winter of my hiking discontent is finally showing signs of coming to an end. Yes, another snowstorm is forecast for tomorrow night, but the snow is almost entirely off the ground, and there have even been a few warm days.

I was in the Valley Forge vicinity early this morning, and decided to stop by the park on my way home. The early morning was gray and cool, but by mid-morning it looked to be clearing. I parked at the lot on Rt. 23 with the Baron von Steuben monument overlooking the parade ground, and started down a horse path. As I walked, the day got nicer and nicer - the clouds disappeared, and it was warm sunshine and blue skies. So I kept walking.

I picked up a hiking trail that skirts Mt. Joy and continued in a clockwise direction. The trail looks down, precipitously at a few point, on Valley Creek, with the wooded side of Mt. Misery on the other side. It felt so nice to be out on a trail and outside in the sun, that I kept going. I knew the trail would eventually descend to the intersection of Rt. 23 and Valley Creek Rd., and I went the whole way.

It occurred to me that I should keep a track of my hike, so I started the track at the halfway point and retraced my steps back to the car. Multiplying by two, here are the stats:

Total miles: 4.75
Estimated time: 1:25

Here is the GPS track. I parked at the upper right and hiked in a clockwise direction.