July 2024 – Wake up!

My adventures continue this summer despite the blistering heat. I am in the second “staycation” week of the summer ( one in June, one in July). These are involuntary, i may have mentioned , and this year i determined to make the most of them without spending a fortune on a “vacation”. Hiking is the perfect solution!!

Long stone tunnel with a creek flowing through it

One of many beautiful cascades along the trail

Susie’s Hole- a rapids along Pequea Creek Nature Trail (popular with kayakers)

These are only a few of the wonderful photos i have! But you can always visit my youtube channel to see the hikes. If you don’t have the link, please ask for it in the comments.

I’ve gotten to see so many awesome locations and sceneries, all for the cost of gas (about $37 for a full tank ).Overlooks, waterfalls, caves, mossy rocks and trees, wildlife, bubbling streams, lakes and rivers.You can’t beat that! On the hottest day ( high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit) i stayed cool all day on two shaded trails one of which had an awesome stone tunnel with a creek flowing through it. Walking the length of it in the cool water( you need a flashlight and water shoes) was both exciting and refreshing.The other trail i had been on once before, follows a gorgeous creek that has both rapids and small water falls, ending up at a 170 foot covered bridge built in the 1800s. Amazing.

Today i woke in a brain fog though. It was supposed to rain and indeed, it is storming again after a bad storm last night that passed through) so, i decided to take a sloth day. If the weather forecast holds up, i will be back on trail the next 2 days.

On a more positive note, my cabin interior is coming along nicely. I will post a video when it is complete but here is a sneak preview. Today i also found out i can take it with me if i move for only a few hundred $ transportation.Yay!

All of the insulation is installed, walls are up and electricity roughed in:)

I hope you all are enjoying your summer and finding safe ways to stay active in the heat. It can be done!

Have a great week, and Namaste!

One of my favorite features to run into on any trail are caves. It is second on my list after water features of any kind( waterfalls, creeks, rapids- heck , I even like finding puddles!). Caves are just so curious to me, though- even the small ones. I imagine what kind of critters might inhabit them. I imagine living in them. And there’s just something so beguiling about finding ones you can’t see the end of. I have happened upon several caves so far this summer.

The first one was anticipated. The trail name ,”Wind Cave” , called out to me from the the suggestion list on Alltrails last year, but reading the reviews and warnings frightened me away from seeking it out. While there have been no deaths reported, there have been multiple rescues from wayward hikers venturing inside unprepared. In my mind, i would trip, fall and get stuck somehow- even though i wasn’t trying to enter.

Oh fear! Why do you taunt me?

This year I felt more confident in my navigations. I also started watching Youtube videos related to some of the trails in my area. I hadn’t thought to do that last year. It’s so helpful to see how others present their experiences that i ultimately decided to start my own channel with the intention of giving others the confidence to get the hiking bug( channel info in the comments thread).

Here are a few of my most memorable caves so far:

Wind Cave here in PA is known for being one of the very few tectonic caves accessible for entry and contains over 2000 feet of underground wonders( not that i would ever venture in any cave beyond a few feet without a guide! )I decided to approach this trail from the side opposite of what was recommended and took a friend along. While we didn’t find the largest entry way this time, i plan to go back this year to locate it. Most of the entryways we saw were basically “squeeze holes”. Here are some photos ( screen shots) from the video i took:

Next i found a cool cave while hiking with my daughter on the Maryland Heights Trail in Harper’s Ferry . It wasn’t listed as a point of interest, but i saw it off to the side and just cannot resist exploring these little treasures:

Last week, i was on the Joseph P. Raab Trail in York, Pa. It’s a small local trail , and because it was a spontaneuos venture, I honestly didn’t know much about it before setting out. I was absolutely delighted to find this one.It was the deepest and creepiest one yet.Although it was barricaded ( either for safety or for protecting bats(?) – i was able to put my phone through the bars with the flash on and got a few decent shots.The entry way was huge and humans could easily have walked back in at least 15-20 ft before squeezing into the smaller area in the back. I could hear water dripping deep inside but could not see the where it ended from the entrance. Cool.

I just love the way the camera picks up on the colors and hues as well with a flash. It’s simply magical.

I see many small caves on the trails, more or less animal dens. These are still pretty cool. But when i find the larger ones, I am completely entranced.

I hope to find many more on my adventures this year!

Namaste!

Month: July 2024

Hot Hot Hot!!

Cave Madness!