Epic Hike - for School!

Hi and welcome back!

Mr. Rabenold

On Easter weekend we had an extra credit hike for school.  We hiked up Mount Pisgah near Jim Thorpe, which is pretty much the biggest hill in the area.  

About 50 people showed up, which I thought was a lot for a Saturday on a holiday weekend. 

My social studies teacher, Mr. Rabenold, started out by telling everyone about the history of Jim Thorpe and the Switchback Railroad, which we would be hiking along.

We started on a fairly short, yet steep switchback trail that ended at the top of Mt. Pisgah with an awesome view.  We could even see a few miles out to a waterfall in the distance.

At the top of Mount Pisgah with C.S. and C.S.

After that, we went on a long, slightly downhill trail. While on that trail, we saw the first known coal mine in North America. It wasn't much to see, though, because it was small and overgrown.

The Mine Entrance

The coolest part was when we had to walk across a 100 foot section that was only about a foot wide, and if you fell, you would fall/slide for 25 feet.  Luckily, no one fell.  The rock face was about 75 feet high, and it was a steep slab above the trail and to the right.  Dad, C.S. and I decided we're going to come back with our rope and try to climb it.

Inside the Mine

At the bottom of that last section was another abandoned coal mine that we all went into. Mr. Rabenold,  wasn't sure if there were any vertical shafts, so we weren't supposed to go too far into it. But my dad and I are going to come back and go deeper with headlamps to see what we can find.

Thanks for reading!

Great Hikes!

Hi and welcome back!

The answer to last week's trivia question is Dick Bass.  He was the first person to climb the seven summits.

Yesterday (Saturday) my dad and I hiked to the Mahoning Creek. The creek is in the opposite direction of the pond, and my dad used to fly fish there. Lately, I've been getting into fly fishing, so we decided to go and check it out. While we were there Maisy decided to go swimming. She swam about 1/3 of the way across the creek and then decided to turn around and come back.  I could tell she had a lot fun.

Panoramic Shot of the Creek

Today I had a soccer tournament, and afterward dad and I hiked a spot where he climbed about 15 years ago.  The hike in was...interesting.  We had to do a bit of trespassing, we bushwhacked through some really thick thorns (my legs still hurt), and then we found it.

Wishing I had my Rope!

The wall was about 40 feet high, and the few minutes of bouldering that I did made it seem like the climbs ranged from 5.6 to about 5.10.  The rock was very strange.  It was broken up into squares and sections on the wall, but it wasn't loose.  You could definitely climb safely on it.  I know this, because we found almost brand-new bolts on at least a half dozen routes.  This means that in a few years when I start lead climbing, I can go out there and sport climb.

Taken by Mom

My dad is a business writer, and he has an office in an outbuilding out in a corner of our yard.  A  few days ago, I came home from school, and I was climbing on the tree right next to it.  Then I decided to go up on his roof.  Mom took a picture of me, and I thought it turned out well!



Thanks for reading!

Hi and welcome back!

Last night I bivied in the back yard.  I expected it to be in the low 40s, so I was going to sleep in the 40-degree bag, but at the last minute I decided to sleep in a 20-degree bag.  I'm glad I picked that bag, because at one point during the night I woke up, and it was 27 degrees!

The Seven Summits

Dad and I just went for a hike around the field, and the tree frogs were ("peepers") were really loud.  It's strange, because I heard them for the first time last night when I went out to bivy.  We haven't heard them in months (they're quiet through the winter), and it was like someone flipped a switch.

How about a trivia question?  Do you know the name of the first person to climb the Seven Summits (the high points on each of the seven continents)?

Thanks for reading!