Up on Spring Hill

It's another picture perfect Spring day, and I decided to go up to the Spring Hill Cemetery, just up the street and around the corner from me, as I hadn't been up for a visit in a while. It was definitely a nice walk.

Part of a large patch of Periwinkle along the south border of the cemetery

Looking across Shippensburg to South Mountain from the cemetery

A scenic section of the Spring Hill Cemetery

An interesting bit of carving on one of the stones

Looking toward South Mountain from the middle of the cemetery

This Mockingbird sang me out of the cemetery

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Up on South Mountain

Today I went up on South Mountain with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. We went up to Laurel Lake in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park and then on to King's Gap, a site that overlooks the whole Cumberland Valley from atop the mountain. We had some adventures along the way, due mostly to the car's GPS being a tad wonky and leading us over the top of the mountain on a gravel fire road, and telling us we'd arrived at King's Gap when we were obviously in the middle of nowhere. But despite that it was worth the adventure for the photos that resulted. Come take a look.

Looking across Laurel Lake from the beach on the north shore

Looking across the lake from the south shore

Another south shore view

Looking east toward the dam

Looking west from the dam

Looking north across the Cumberland Valley from King's Gap

Another view across the valley

One more look across the valley

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Thanksgiving Morning at Sunset Rocks

As has become the family tradition, we went for a hike up on South Mountain on Thanksgiving morning. This year we went to Sunset Rocks, between the Appalachian Trail and Pine Grove Furnace State Park. No great, mountain-filled vistas from the top, this time; there are too many trees at the top to get a clear view. But there are plenty of lichen-covered rock outcrops among the pines to give a closer scenic view. And of course rocks are for scrambling over, as you'll see from some of the pictures. Put on your hiking boots and grab your walking stick, we're about to head up the mountain!

At the trailhead getting ready to go up

The trail is very steep and very rocky

Rock outcrops like this are the main feature of this area 

As I said, there are too many trees to get a good distance view

Scrambling over the rocks to get to the top

The crew resting at the top

Heading back down the mountain

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

A Long Sunday Constitutional

Yesterday was day two of my vacation, and it was another gorgeous day, with low humidity and cooler temperatures. I ended up taking about an 8 mile hike, first over to the Dykeman Spring Nature Park, and then out across I-81 to the farm country skirting the feet of South Mountain. It was a great hike, but I was tuckered out when I got home and didn't get to putting all this together until today. Enjoy!

Gaura growing in the Dykeman Spring wetland

Spotted Jewelweed in the wetland

A view of hay bales and South Mountain along Peiper Rd.

Another view of South Mountain from Peiper Rd.

Horses and barns at Peiper Rd. and Means Hollow Rd.

A view from White Church Rd.

An old farm on Woods Rd.

And back to Dykeman to sit on a bench by the north duck pond to watch a Mallard drake snooze and float

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Another Gorgeous Day

Today starts my second 9-day vacation stretch (I have one more coming at the end of October/beginning of November), and it couldn't have started on a better day - cooler, no humidity, a cooling breeze, and a brilliant blue sky full of puffy white clouds. And what better place to see it from than the upland meadow in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park. What a view!

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Framed

Out walking on a very humid morning after a night of showers, I found these scenes naturally framed by their surroundings. The misty view of South Mountain was taken from Spring Hill Cemetery, and the view of Middle Spring Creek was taken from the bridge at Springhouse Road.

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

There and Back Again (with apologies to Bilbo Baggins)

"He [Bilbo Baggins] used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,' he used to say. 'You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.'"- Frodo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

So when I was planning my vacation for this week one of the first things that popped into my head was to finally walk the entire Cumberland Valley Rail Trail from Shippensburg to Newville, something I've wanted to do ever since I first discovered it. And looking at the weather forecast for the week, yesterday stood out as perfect for hiking - cooler than the rest of the week, with low humidity. So at 6:00 yesterday morning I headed out.

It was a great hike. Lots of things to take pictures of, interesting bits of history learned from the information posts they have along the trail, and new vistas to look at in the part of the trail I hadn't walked yet. But I made a mistake deciding to walk up to Newville and then walk back; that's 10 miles (16 km) up and 10 miles back, a 20 mile (32 km) total. I figured if I took a long, maybe half an hour, break to eat lunch and relax at the Newville trailhead everything would work out. More fool me!

The 10-mile walk up was fine. I was a little footsore, but not markedly so. I took my boots off and ate lunch, and then stretched out on the picnic table bench and rested in the shade. Then after that half hour rest I put my boots on and started to head back. After just two miles my feet were hurting, but the nearest bench in the shade was about 3 miles down, so I made it to that and took a rest with the boots off again. And I continued that way all the way back to Shippensburg. By the time I got home my feet were killing me, my hips and calves were complaining, and I was so tired I think I might have looked drunk as I slowly made my way through town to my home.

Did I learn anything from this? Yes. Age definitely puts limits on activity, and at 63 it looks like 20-mile hikes are beyond those limits. Ten mile hikes are fine, though. Also, some of the problem was due to the fact that my new hiking boots weren't as broken in as I thought they were (well, they're broken in now!), so the lesson in that is to wear only well-seasoned boots on long hikes. And finally, if I ever want to visit the entire Rail Trail again, I need to make arrangements with someone either to meet me in Newville and give me a ride home or drop me off at Newville and I'll walk the trail back to Shippensburg.

After a good night's sleep I'm back to normal today; I expected to be stiff in the hips and legs, but that doesn't seem to have happened. And I've gone through the shots I took and processed the ones I liked best, so here they are for your pleasure. Enjoy!

Looking north across the valley in the early morning

The Sensenig's Purple Martin high rise (at Duncan Rd.) is certainly full up and busy!

Another view of farms and mountains

A spiderweb along the Rail Trail

This brave little Chipmunk waited until I was almost up to him before he scuttled off

This baby Eastern Cottontail also waited until I was right up to him; he didn't take off until some bicyclists came whizzing by

Fields and mountains - a typical Cumberland Valley scene

A serene pastoral scene captured during one of my rest stops on the way back home

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

A Shippensburg Pastorale

When I woke up this morning I had no idea what I'd do with today, my second day off of two. I knew I wanted to hike somewhere, but I couldn't decide where. Then I discovered it was the birthday of English Pastoral composer George Butterworth (more on him and a sample of his music after the photos), and in searching out music videos of his work on YouTube to post on Facebook I was inspired to consider a hike in an area I haven't visited in a while. So today I bring you scenes from an area west and slightly south of town, going out Possum Hollow Rd. to Mt. Rock Rd., out Mt. Rock to Rice Rd. and down Rice to Molly Pitcher Highway (Rt. 11) and home. Lots of farms, flowers, and views of both North and South Mountains. Enjoy!

A cornfield along Possum Hollow Rd.

A pasture becomes a field of flowers (mostly Chicory and Queen Anne's Lace) along Possum Hollow Rd.

Farms and South Mountain from Possum Hollow Rd.

Looking toward North Mountain from Mt. Rock Rd.

One farmer's inventive way of clearing a field after haying, along Rice Rd.

A pastoral scene along Rice Rd.

One more pastoral scene, this one along Molly Pitcher Highway on the way back home

George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885 - 1916) was a friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams and with Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi, Gustav Holst, and others a member of what I like to call the English Pastoral school - music based on collected English folksongs and composed as paeans to the English countryside. In fact, Butterworth and Vaughan Williams used to go on folksong collecting voyages along the country roads of Great Britain together, and it was Butterworth who convinced Vaughan Williams to compose his first symphony. Butterwoth's music is the epitome of the pastoral style of the "school", but we have only few works from him; like many of the artistic lights of his generation he was killed in WWI, specifically in the Battle of the Somme, which swallowed up so very much of Britain's youth. "Two English Idylls" (1911) is one of the best examples of George Butterworth's English Pastoral style. Enjoy!

Photos © 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

A Perfect Day

What a perfect Summer day! Blue skies and puffy clouds, warm and almost hot but dry rather than humid. A great day for being outdoors! I had walked up to the Shippensburg Township Recreational Park for the annual SHAPE Gallery Solstice Arts Festival. Unfortunately, the "festival" was a major disappointment, definitely not what I was expecting. But all was not lost; the park also serves as the Shippensburg trailhead for the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, which you long-term visitors to this blog know is a favorite hike for me. So I just walked up to the trail and did a walk up to Duncan Road and back. And of course I got some pictures of farms, mountains and clouds along the way. Enjoy!

A view of The Knob, part of the North Mountain ridge

Farms, mountains, and clouds - Summer in the Cumberland Valley

A typical Cumberland Valley view

Another, wider view of The Knob

A large farm along the Rail Trail

My first vacation week (actually 9 days) is coming up in the middle of July, and one of those days I intend to use to hike the whole trail, all the way up to Newville and back. So stay tuned!

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger