Climbing Old Rag Mountain

Posted in Hikes, Trips by Annie T

Over the past three years Matt and I have hiked and road-tripped our way through some awe-inspiring destinations on the west coast including Zion National Park, Sedona and Big Sur. Traveling “Out West” has become a yearly pilgrimage, yielding beautiful memories from past adventures and unlimited possibilities for future trips. (Portland! Napa! A train ride from SF to Chicago! The Grand Canyon! So much to see.)

With all of that excitement happening on the left coast, I haven’t given much thought to potential trips back east. Sure, we take annual drives to the Poconos and the beach and make our way up to Vermont or northern New York every once in a while, but none of these places have rivaled the awesomeness of the western landscape. But all that changed on Friday when Matt and I hiked up Old Rag Mountain in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Continue reading →

13Jun2017

That time Piper met a Porcupine…

Posted in Hikes, Piper, Trips, Uncategorized by Annie T

Flashback to last Saturday morning. Matt and I are sitting next to an older man in the Emergency Vet’s waiting room watching a nature show on TV. A porcupine appears onscreen and the man says “Have you ever seen a dog that came face to face with a porcupine?? OUCH!” Oh yes, I tell him. In fact, that’s exactly why we’re here!!!

Piper, or Porcupipe, as she may be called from now on, BIT A PORCUPINE on Friday afternoon. Piper is fine and no, I don’t think that she learned not to mess with porcupines in the future!! We were on a hike as part of our annual sojourn to the Hunting Camp, aka Globe Run Rod and Gun Club, a private wilderness retreat located in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. As is always the case at Camp, all dogs run free and daily activities include swimming in the lake, hiking, and logging some quality time in the rocking chairs on the front porch. But this year was a liiiittle different, thanks to Piper’s prickly new friend. Continue reading →

13Nov2015

Birthday Hike at Binky Lee

Posted in Hikes, Piper by Annie T

Smile, it’s Friday!

A few weeks ago Matt and I took Piper hiking at Binky Lee Preserve in Chester Springs, PA. It was my birthday so Matt was extra patient when I stopped to take dozens of photos of fall foliage, grasses, and (of course) Piper. Piper was less tolerant of these numerous delays – she prefers to be moving full speed ahead at all times – but I was still able to capture a few shots of her against the gorgeous fall landscape.

Here are some photos from our hike. This really is what Southeastern Pennsylvania looks like in the fall. Isn’t it pretty??!

Piper surveying the preserve

Orange Maples

Beauitful colors at Binky Lee

Binky Lee Preserve

This yellow-tipped tree line was unreal!

Happy hiker

Piper was thoroughly unimpressed by these falling leaves

Pikeland Road

Piper

Binky Lee view

OK, photo time is over!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is what a German Shorthaired Pointer with a mouthful of water looks like! I think she was trying to bring some of the creek along for the rest of the hike. 😄

If you find yourself in northeastern Chester County looking for a place to hike I’d definitely recommend visiting Binky Lee. For more information check out the links below. Happy Friday!

Binky Lee Preserve
1445 Pikeland Road
Chester Spring, PA 19425
Web Site | Trail Map | Google Maps

9Oct2015

Lye Brook Falls (Manchester, Vermont)

Posted in Hikes, Trips by Annie T

During the last weekend of September (aka “Pope Weekend” for anyone in the Philadelphia area) Matt and I headed north to the picturesque town of Dorset, Vermont for a wedding. After a smooth 5 1/2 hour drive we arrived in neighboring Manchester at 1PM on Friday, eager to do some New England hiking before going into party mode.

We ended up doing two hikes during our short stay in southwestern Vermont. I highly recommend both if you’re in the area and feel like exploring. Just make sure to bring good hiking shoes and a camera! This post covers Friday’s hike. Info on Saturday’s climb to Gilbert Lookout in Dorset will be posted soon!

Lye Brook Falls Hike

Trailhead: Lye Brook Falls Service Road, Manchester, Vermont (Google Maps Location)
Distance: 4.6-ish miles round trip
Trail Map: U.S. Forest Service Lye Brooks Falls Guide [PDF]
Terrain: Rocky out-and-back; gradual uphill out and downhill back
Highlight: 125 ft. high Lye Brook Falls, one of Vermont’s tallest waterfalls

I first learned about Lye Brook Falls from the US Forest Service web site. Here’s how they describe the hike:

The trail, marked with blue blazes, enters the 15,680-acre Lye Brook Wilderness following along Lye Brook. Utilizing old logging railroad grades and old woods roads, the trail travels up a steady gradual slope. Downed trees from a 1995 cyclonic storm and a few small stream crossings make some of the trail challenging, which is in keeping with Wilderness management practices. A century ago, this area had been heavily logged, with railroads, charcoal kilns, and sawmills dotting the landscape. The land has reverted back to its natural state, but those wishing to explore can still find the remains of many of these turn of the century industries. The spur trail at 1.8 miles on the right, leads to the 125-foot high Lye Brook Falls, one of the highest in Vermont. Slippery rocks make the falls extremely dangerous and climbing the falls is not recommended.

Sounds cool, right? It was! The Lye Brook Falls trail is just a short drive from the factory outlets in Manchester but (thankfully) you immediately feel like you’re in another world. The trail is well marked and the sounds of the Rt. 7 highway quickly fade away and are replaced by the babbling of Lye Brook and forest noises. (Namely chipmunks… those guys are LOUD!!) 😀

Be forewarned that the trail is extremely rocky in some areas, so good shoes are a must. The view at the falls makes all of the uneven terrain totally worth it though!

Rocky Road

Waterfall Selfie!

Vermont has been having a major drought so Lye Brook Falls didn’t feature a ton of rushing water, but the sheer height of the falls was very impressive. The rocks just kept going up and up and up!! When we got to the falls we initially climbed down to the bottom, but the falls were so tall that it was hard to actually see the top from way down there. We returned to the trail and climbed up for a ways which gave us a much clearer view of the waterfall. It was beautiful!

SO TALL!

Forest Service Map

After our hike we returned back to civilization, checked into our B&B and met up with a big group of wedding guests for a late-night welcoming party. It was a great first day in Vermont!

26Mar2015

Ridley Creek State Park Orange Trail

Posted in Hikes, Piper by Annie T

As I type this it is 67 degrees outside… easily the warmest day of the year! I’m about to go on a nice, long run and I’m definitely looking forward to running in a t-shirt!!!

Before I embark on my run I want to share some photos from a hike that Matt, Piper and I took last weekend. We explored out a different part of Ridley Creek State Park on Sunday and it was beautiful!

We typically stay on the west side of Ridley Creek but on Sunday we ventured eastward to the park’s Orange Trail. This single track path follows the eastern bank of the creek before looping back through a hilly forest. The trail is well marked with orange blazes and the entire lasso-shaped loop was about 2.35 miles long.

Oddly, the official DCNR map shows a shorter orange loop than what was marked in the woods, so I overlaid the outline of our actual hike on the above map.

Piper had a blast, as usual. She is getting very comfortable climbing on boulders, logs, dirt piles and anything else we find in the woods. She also really wants to go in the water but it’s still pretty cold out so we still haven’t really let her get more than her paws wet. I can’t wait for warmer weather!!

Staring me down

Stalking

Something smells GOOD!

Wishing she was swimming in the creek…

All in all this was a pleasant little hike with great views of the creek. I’ll definitely return to the Orange Trail, maybe for a run or a summer picnic by the water. Piper still doesn’t even know that summer exists, but soon enough she’ll see what I keep raving about! 😀

“‘Summer?’ I’ll believe it when I see it!”

Ridley Creek State Park
351 Gradyville Road
Newtown Square, PA 19073

16Feb2015

Hiking Delaware’s New National Monument

Posted in Hikes, Piper by Annie T

Matt and I have gotten into the habit of taking Piper hiking nearly every weekend. We have a few favorite spots like Ridley Creek State Park and Okehocking Preserve, but sometimes it’s fun to let our pup explore a new place. Earlier this month when the weather was especially nice (aka not below freezing!) we decided to bring Piper to the Woodlawn Trustees Preserve. The preserve stretches for thousands of acres on either side of the Pennsylvania-Delaware border and features miles of hiking trails, scenic sections of the Brandywine Creek and breathtaking vistas of rolling hills and woodlands.

Matt and I have hiked at Woodlawn several times but last weekend was our first visit since the area was officially declared a National Monument in March 2013. With the exception of a few new signs in the parking lot the National Monument designation didn’t seem to change the area much which is good because it’s already perfect just the way it is!

Cool Mountain Bike Obstacle (April 2012)

Woodlawn in April 2012

Looking across the valley to Granogue Estate (February 2015)

Piper had a blast on our hike. She sniffed everything, tried to convince us to let her swim in the Brandywine (it was 40° out – not happening, pup!), and confidently stared down the mountain bikers that were out on the trails in force. She is definitely getting accustomed to me taking photos of her on hikes… sometimes I think she poses on purpose!

In the shot above Pipe stopped to listen to the eerie sound of a train whistle floating through the cold winter forest. I learned afterwards that the train we heard is the East Penn Railroad (you can actually see the locomotive in the Granogue Estate photo, above) and it runs about three times a week to take steel to and from a recycling plant in Pennsylvania. Cool!

Below Piper was pointing at some unseen (or imagined) prey. She looks so grown up!

Matt, Piper and I hiked a nice 4 mile loop that began at the parking lot on Brandywine Creek Road just south of the intersection with Smithbridge Road on the Delaware side of the border. We finished with an easy flat mile along the Brandywine Creek. During warmer months this is a very popular area for kayaking and canoeing but last weekend we only saw one lone canoer (canoeist?), frantically paddling upstream against the current. I bet her arms were tired once she made it to her destination!

If you find yourself in the southern PA/northern Delaware area on a nice day I would strongly recommend that you pay a visit to the Woodlawn Preserve. Detailed information on the area is somewhat scattered between Woodlawn’s web site, the new National Park Service page, and an preservationist group called Save The Valley so I suggest checking out all three organizations for information before planning a day trip. Here’s a map from Save the Valley with our 4 mile hike overlaid in red:

Click here to view the original Save the Valley map.

When the weather gets nicer I will hopefully return to Woodlawn with a running buddy for some quality trail running. Maybe by the end of the summer I will be running here with little Piper! I’m pretty sure she will think that’s the best thing ever. 😃

3Feb2015

Trail Running: I’m Hooked!

Posted in Hikes by Annie T

Big news on the blog today… I think I’m turning into a trail runner! It all began on January 17th when I avoided the trails and chose the easier road course at the Pickle Run. After the race was over two Trail-Picklers cheerfully informed me that the trails were WAY more fun than the boring out-and-back road course. They suggested that I give the trails a try in the future and I took their advice to heart.

The Sunday after returning home from Vegas I took Piper out on a walk/jog in Ridley Creek State Park to see for myself how fun this whole trail running thing could be. I LOVED IT!! The snowy trail wound around in the woods, up hills and over little frozen creeks. Every once in a while the trail would intersect the paved multi-use park road and Piper and I would dash across, pausing just long enough to glimpse a few road-runners before diving back into the woods on the other side. Piper shouldn’t be running any significant distance yet since she’s still very young, but we couldn’t stop ourselves from breaking out into a slow jog on the beautiful trails. Piper’s tail was up in the air and wagging the entire time. 😊 (Side note: Piper is going to be an awesome running buddy someday!!)

I headed out onto the Ridley Creek trails again on Tuesday, this time ready for a more serious run and armed with a new pair of Yaktrax to help with traction on the snow and ice. I parked at area 14 and enjoyed a hilly route that followed sections of the blue, white and yellow trails. I completed 4 miles in 44:44… a lot slower than my normal road runs but given the rough terrain and snow that was fine by me.

Ridley Creek Trail Run (Interactive Map)

January at RCSP

Saturday I was at it again, now venturing out on the Darlington and Rocky Run sections of my beloved Middletown Township trails network. The area around the parking lot looked melted and muddy so I initially left my Yaktrax in the car, but promptly turned around and grabbed them after immediately hitting a section of trail that was pure ice. (Apparently ice stays on the trails even when it has melted everywhere else. Who knew?) This run was hillier than my forays in RCSP but quite enjoyable nonetheless. After 5.1 miles at a slightly improved 10:12 pace I think it’s safe to say that I am officially hooked on trails.

In other big news… After thirty-four 5Ks and four 5-milers I’m finally trying a new race distance – a 10K!! I’ll be running the Tyler Arboretum 10K on April 11th. It’s a trail race (!!!) with four creek crossings and – I quote – “TONS of elevation changes” so it’s a good thing I’m embracing this whole trail running thing now!! Tyler Arboretum is right next to Ridley Creek State Park but I’ve never actually been there since they charge admission and don’t allow dogs. I’m definitely looking forward to my first 10K!

I still have a lot to learn about trail running but here are a few things I’ve picked up so far:

Trail running is different (harder!) than road running. Just because the pace is slower doesn’t mean you’re not working as hard.
Ice and snow remain on trails even when everything else is melted. Yaktrax are awesome!
Trail running is much more peaceful than road running. Just you and the woods. And your audiobook if you’re me. (I’m 7 hours into Seabiscuit.)
Trails are a great alternative to icy winter roads with their icky, salty, slushy shoulders. I’d rather plan for constant ice and snow on the trails versus trying to dodge ice (and traffic) on the roads.
Don’t get lost. Run somewhere you’re familiar with, plot your route ahead of time, use a mapping app on your phone… whatever you need to do. I would want to hike a new trail with Matt and Piper first to get a feel for it before attempting to run anywhere new alone.
Tell someone where you’re going. I let Matt know my plan and also use the cool “LiveTrack” feature on my Garmin so he can watch my run in real time on his phone if he wants to.
Be safe! So far I have felt very safe at Ridley Creek State Park and on the Middletown Trails, in part because they’re places I go all the time and also because honestly, what crazy predator would be hiding out in the woods on a 19° winter day on the off chance that a lone runner passes by? Still, if I’m going to be running solo I might need to invest in some pepper spray…?

Runners!! What trail running tips would you add to my list??

24Dec2014

Okehocking Preserve

Posted in Hikes, Piper by Annie T

Merry Christmas Eve! Matt and I are hosting dinner tonight… bone-in short ribs over polenta with brussel sprouts braised in cream. YUM!! The food is prepped, the house is clean, I got in a nice 4 mile run in the rain and now I’m just waiting for family to arrive. I thought I’d take advantage of this lull in the day to share some photos from one of our hikes last week.

Matt and I are fortunate to live very close to Okehocking Preserve, a 180-acre conservation area with miles of trails, a scenic section of Ridley Creek and an off-leash, unfenced dog park. We’ve been taking Piper to Okehocking a lot lately, in part to socialize her but also because the preserve’s close proximity to our house allows us to squeeze in the maximum amount of outdoor time before the sun goes down. (Hooray for the shortest day of the year being BEHIND us now!!)

Historic Stone Barn

Looking out over Okehocking

May I please have a treat?

Piper and Matt playing

Piper

Looking like a puppy

Hello!

Hiking with Piper

Drink drink drink

Okehocking Sunset

Piper, queen of the stone wall

Piper looks at home here

So far Piper has really taken to Okehocking. She sniffs and snorts around in the tall grass, has fun climbing on rocks, walls, and fallen trees, wades into (and tries to drink all of) Ridley Creek and, of course, has a blast playing with other dogs in the off-leash area. I’m sure we’ll be spending many, many afternoons at Okehocking over the next several months. If you’re from the area I would definitely recommend visiting Okehocking… maybe we’ll see you there!

Okehocking Preserve
5316 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Preserve Map | Web Site
My Okehocking post from 2012

3Dec2014

Piper goes Viral after hiking Crum Woods

Posted in Hikes, Piper by Annie T

Holy Cow. This photo of Piper has received over 23,000 views on Flickr since yesterday morning:

I wonder… does having 23,000 views qualify as “going viral”? It is certainly the most buzz any content that I’ve ever created has garnered in a short period of time! To her credit, Piper is pretty freakin’ adorable in this photo so I don’t blame those 23,000 people for clicking on her photo. 😉 The full resolution image can be viewed here if you’re interested in seeing it in all its viral glory on Flickr.

Anyway… I took The Photo while hiking with Pipe and Matt in Crum Woods. This 220-acre woodland is situated on the western edge of Swarthmore College’s campus in Delaware County, PA. It features 3.5 miles of hiking trails, fantastic views of Crum Creek, and a giant railroad bridge that carries Septa’s Media/Elwyn line over the creek.

Trail Map with our Route Overlayed

Treacherous southern end of the Crum Woods trail

A much nicer trail

To access the Crum Woods trail we parked on the western (opposite) side of Crum Creek at the Leiper-Smedley trail parking lot off of Avondale Road and walked down Avondale to Yale Ave. The trails in this southern section of Crum Woods were dotted with tree roots and sloped steeply down to the creek, but the path evened out to a nice walking trail once we made it north of the trailhead by the Swarthmore College fieldhouse.

Rail Trestle

I loved this bridge!

Piper in Crum Meadow

“This ice stuff is slippery!!”

I love train tracks and bridges, so it’s no surprise that my favorite part of Crum Woods was where the Septa rail line crossed Crum Creek. Just before reaching the bridge the trail emerged out of the woods into “Crum Meadow,” where Piper licked her first frozen puddle and we had great views of the trestles crossing the creek. The view from under the bridge was even more impressive and I may have made Matt and Piper wait around for 5-10 minutes just in case a train came along while we were under it. (Sadly, we did not see a train.)

After reaching the northern terminus of Crum Woods, we decided to make the hike more interesting by looping back to our car via the paved Leiper-Smedley trail on the other side of the creek. Unfortunately Crum Woods and Leiper-Smedley are not officially connected on the northern end, so in order to access L-S we had to jog a short stretch of Plush Mill Road and skirt along the shoulder until we reached the trailhead. We were lucky that Piper was still small enough for Matt to easily carry her during this stretch… this impromptu trail connection would not have been ideal if we had had a larger dog or small children in tow.

Rail Bridge over Leiper-Smedley

Piper on the Leiper-Smedley Trail

Our return trip along the Leiper-Smedley Trail was uneventful and mostly downhill, woohoo! I’ve run on this trail several times, most recently going UP the trail in the other direction at the Fueled Up and Fired Up 5K in September. The trail is well marked and has a much less exciting train bridge on it than Crum Woods… but it’s a train bridge nonetheless, so of course I took a picture!!

I definitely enjoyed our Crum Woods hike because I had never been to Crum Woods before, but overall it was a bit of a choppy walk and there are probably better hiking loops in the area. The southern portion of the trail was a little treacherous and the northern end didn’t technically connect to Leiper-Smedley, but with good hiking shoes and a quick jog up Plush Mill Road we made it work. Plus, Piper thoroughly enjoyed herself and was very tired afterwards… Mission Accomplished!!!

Useful Links:
• Crum Woods Web Site
• Official Crum Woods Trail Map & Brochure (PDF)
• High-res version of Crum Woods Map with our 4 mile hike overlayed (JPG)

25Nov2014

Piper visits Newlin Grist Mill

Posted in Hikes, Piper by Annie T

As you might expect, Piper’s arrival has had a big impact on our daily routine. Matt and I are waking up earlier on work days, stopping home 2-3 times to let her out during the day, and (still!) taking turns setting an alarm for a middle-of-the-night potty break. We are also making sure to do at least one mentally and/or physically stimulating activity with Piper every day to tire her out. On weekdays it’s practically dark when we get home from work which limits us to activities around the house like wobble-disc practice in the kitchen or epic games of fetch in the back yard. (Fetch is, of course, frequently interrupted when Piper gets distracted and tries to eat deer poop, but I digress!) Weekends, however, are a whole different story… daylight means that we can go hiking!

Since Piper is still very young, meandering hikes in the woods are a great way to tire her out without causing too much stress on her joints. To keep things interesting, we’ve been visiting a different local park or trail each weekend. This has been a fun way to re-explore some of our old favorite hiking spots that I’ve been meaning to blog about for a while. One such local gem is Newlin Grist Mill.

Newlin Grist Mill is a 160 acre park and historical site in Glen Mills, PA. You can read more about the park’s history, working grist mill and educational programs on their web site. I’m sure that all of that historical stuff is cool (convincing plug, right?) but WE visit the park for its miles of secluded nature trails that wind along an abandoned rail line and a beautiful stream. Here are some photos from our hike a few weekends ago…

Brilliant fall foliage at Newlin Grist Mill

Piper

Piper taking a break

Piper

Grist mill history on display

Stream crossing below the waterfall

Newlin Grist Mill’s trails are well maintained and clearly marked, but I have not been able to find an actual detailed trail map of the park. There’s a basic map at the parking lot showing park boundaries and general right-of-ways, but it’s missing most of the side trails that we actually hiked on. Luckily, the park is relatively small and most of the major trails tend to be oriented east-west along the old rail line and stream. This makes it hard to get lost and fun to explore… perfect for hiking with a 10-week-old puppy!

If you’re in the western Philadelphia suburbs and are looking for a low-key, relaxed hike with lots of stream views and history, I’d definitely recommend spending an afternoon at Newlin Grist Mill!

Newlin Grist Mill
219 South Cheyney Road
Glen Mills, PA 19342 (map)
www.newlingristmill.org