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.

Mt. Misery, VFNP, 12/8/13

Hiking time has been very hard to come by this fall, but I carved out a little time a few Sundays ago. I was out in the morning near Valley Forge, and I decided to do a short hike before returning home. The forecast mentioned the possibility of a few inches of snow in the afternoon, but wouldn't impact a late-morning hike.

I parked at the Mt. Misery parking area on Rt. 23, just up the road from the covered bridge. It was cold (a few degrees above freezing) and cloudy and felt like snow. I only recently became aware of this parking lot, and it provides a great option for a short and scenic loop - up the mountain (really more a hill than a mountain), down the other side, then back around on a wide packed-gravel path following Valley Creek. I was thinking it's probably a 3-mile/1-hour hike.

A few snowflakes were falling as I started up the trail. The climb is steady - so much so that I was breathing heavily and shedding my topmost layer by the time I was nearing the top. There's a junction with the Horseshoe Trail at the top - with the yellow-blazed HT going left. By this point the snow was falling fairly heavily. I followed the Mt. misery trail straight, then down the other side in a couple of big switchbacks.

The walk along Valley Creek was very pretty, and made even more so by .the hard-falling snow. I completed the clockwise loop, and found my car covered with snow. I cleared it off and got home with no problems, though the going was a bit slow. And I was happy to be home - the predicted 1-3 inches turned out to be a surprise 8.

My GPS track showed this to be a little short of 2.5 miles - a little less than I'd guessed. But no matter, this is a great loop when looking for a short hike.

Total Distance: 2.46 miles
Elapsed Time: 45 minutes

Mt. Misery, VFNP, 6/3/12

I recently spent another Sunday morning in the Valley Forge area (if I told you why, I'd have to kill you, so let's avoid that question!) With my work done, and a beautiful sunny day beckoning, I decided to pop in to the National Park for a short hike.

I parked in the big lot on Rt. 252, then discovered that there's no good way to get to the covered bridge and the Valley Creek Trail. You have to walk on the very narrow shoulder of 252 for maybe a quarter mile, and passing cars are *very* close.

I crossed the covered bridge, then followed the Valley Creek Trail along the stream for maybe a half mile. I saw the Wolfinger Trail on the left, and took it, climbing steeply our of the creek bottom. When I reached the top, I followed it to the junction of the yellow-blazed Horseshoe Trail, then turned around.

Coming back, I took a trail I had never taken before, just to see where it went. I figured it had to come out somewhere near the covered bridge. It descended more gradually, and finally dropped me into a parking lot (that I wasn't aware existed) on Yellow Springs Rd., not far from the covered bridge.

I had a short trek on the road to the covered bridge, then re-traced my steps back to the parking lot.

This was short hike, but a very nice way to stretch the legs on a beautiful sunny day.

Distance: 2.34 miles
Elapsed Time: 44 minutes

Mt. Joy, VFNP, 5/20/12

I recently had a chance to get out for a short Sunday morning hike. I was in the Valley Forge area, so I went into the park and decided to explore the trail that climbs Mt. Joy. I only recently discovered the trails in this area, so I decided to see if I could find out if it connected to some other areas in the park that I'm familiar with.

I parked in the lot at Washington's Headquarters (top right on the map below). I walked through the park and crossed Rt. 23, and the trail starts immediately on the other side of the road. The trail climbs steadily, and when it levels off, it feels like it really hugs the side of the hill (it's a bit of a stretch to call this little suburban hill "Mount" anything.) Looking at the topo map, it *is* a steep slope down to Rt. 252 (which is audible, but not visible through the thick tree cover.)

I continued on the trail, taking it further than I ever had before. It gradually descends, and I finally came out at a road I knew. It was near a parking area on Rt. 252, so I continued there, and then down to the covered bridge on Yellow Springs Rd.

At that point, I picked up the wide packed-dirt Valley Creek Trail, which is quite popular, and always filled with walkers, families, kids, and dogs. It's flat and pretty, following the creekside. I followed it back to Rt. 23, then crossed back over to Washington's Headquarters and my car.

A very nice leisurely hike on a beautiful sunny morning.

Distance: 4.28 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:18

Mt. Misery, VFNP, 1/29/12

This past Sunday I was in the Valley Forge area again, and had time for a short hike, so I decided to do the Horseshoe Trail climb of Mt. Misery, looping back along the Valley Creek Trail. I've done this hike before, and it's a great little loop.

I parked at the Washington's Headquarters parking lot, which leaves a little walk to the trailhead, but I'm not aware of any place closer where you can (legally) park. The temps were in the high 30's, but the sun was out and it felt warmer than that, so I went out in a long-sleeve polypro hiking shirt with a flannel shirt on top of that, cargo pants, my hiking gloves (thanks again, Eric!), and a baseball cap. Most people I passed were dressed significantly heavier than I was, but it worked just fine and I was plenty warm.

I made my way through the soldiers' cabins, crossed Rt. 23, and got to the trailhead. The yellow-blazed Horseshoe Trail starts here and makes its way west for something like 75 miles, where it joins the Appalachian Trail east of the Susquehanna River. The trail climbs steadily, following a stream, and passes the ruins of an old stone building that apparently used to be a root beer factory.

Getting to the top of the hill, the trail forks - the Horseshoe Trail goes to the right, and a connector trail that descends the mountain and picks up the Valley Creek Trail at the covered bridge goes to the left. I went right and followed the yellow blazes until leaves the National Park and hits a road in a residential neighborhood. Then I turned around and took the connector trail.

If I'd had more time, I would have gone all the way to the covered bridge and then came back along the stream. But I needed to get home, and there's a trail that makes a shorter loop, so I took it. Interestingly, I saw that the cut-off trail is named the Wolfinger Trail. I wonder if it's named for the Charles Wolfinger I used to know - great guy, Quaker, Haverford College alum, and Pennsylvania Railroad man. We've lost touch, and I wonder if he's still alive?

The cutoff trail descends rapidly to the stream, where the Valley Creek Trail follows the slow meandering stream. This is very scenic and pleasant, but it's a walk, not a hike - it's a popular wide gravel trail with lots of walkers, joggers, and dog walkers. I got back to the Horseshoe Trail trailhead, made my way back through Washington's Headquarters and back to my car.

The GPS says I covered 4.08 miles in 1:13. On the map at right, I parked at the top, then made a counterclockwise loop.

This is a fun little hike that I've done a few times before, and that I would gladly do again if I was in the area and had time for a short hike.

River Trail, VFNP, 1/15/12

This past Sunday, I had some work to do and some errands to run, but I also had time to squeeze in a short hike. As my work was very close to Valley Forge National Park, I decided to hike there. The River Trail, which follows the north bank of the Schuylkill River, seemed like a good candidate for a short and pretty hike.

The day was cold (right around the freezing mark) and brightly sunny, with a light breeze. I got to the Betzwood Bridge parking area shortly after noon, and started on the trail around 12:15. The trail is multi-use (open to hikers, joggers, and mountain bikes), and is a wide packed-dirt trail. (PDF trail map is here.)

I was dressed for the cold - I had long-johns under my cargo pants, and on top I had a short-sleeve polypro shirt, a long-sleeve cotton t-shirt, and a flannel shirt. For outerwear, I had a medium-weight coat, my thick Roots Canada scarf, a baseball cap (I had a fleece cap in my pocket if I needed more than a baseball cap), and the wool gloves that Eric had given me the night before.

The trail isn't strenuous at all (and by my own definition is more walking than hiking), but it's very pretty. It's always in sight of the river, where ducks and geese are quite active. I went at a fairly aggressive pace, as my time was limited, and I also felt like stretching my legs. The sign at the trailhead said it was three miles to the Pawlings Road trailhead, and I had time to do the whole thing if I made decent time - so that was my intention.

At one point I noticed mountain bikers on the other (south) side of the river, very close to the water - closer than the train tracks. I didn't know there was a trail there (and maybe there isn't - maybe it's an unofficial path that the mountain bikers know) - but I'm intrigued and will investigate as soon as I can.

I noticed the many large logs in the water at the river's edge, and I smiled to myself at the memory of bringing my girls here on a sunny spring Saturday morning years ago, when there were turtles sunning themselves on every log. I'll have to ask them if they remember that day - they loved throwing stones in the water, and seeing real live "wild" turtles was magical to them.

I felt like I was dressed perfectly - my face was a little cold, but not so much to be a bother, and I didn't need the fleece cap.

I got to the Pawlings Road trailhead in about 50 minutes, which is faster than I expected. As I started back, I guess I was fully warmed up, and I was hot enough to start thinking about getting rid of layers. I unbuttoned my coat and loosened my scarf - then took off the scarf completely.

I spent a lot of the return trip looking at the trees - and resolving to myself (again) to learn to identify more trees. I know the most common trees - oaks, maples, birches - but I want to know more. There are a number of absolutely enormous white oaks along the trail - trees that three or four people couldn't reach around.

I got back to my car at the Betzwood trailhead, and my GPS said I had covered the 6.16 miles in 1:38, or an average speed of 3.8 mph. I had always heard (and used as a rule of thumb) that 3mph is average walking speed, and I'm surprised that I was well above that. I was walking purposefully, but not speed-walking.

It was a lovely hike on a cold bright afternoon, and I was energized and ready to continue my day. Maybe when spring comes, I'll bring my girls back here to look for turtles.