Hollyworld: The State of my PA State Park Hiking

Monday, March 13, 2023

The State of my PA State Park Hiking

Last year, I decided to set a new goal...you know I love a good goal. And this is a very good goal. I'm going to hike all of PA's State Parks. There were 121 when I started, but last year PA added three more parks to the list. So I'm hiking!

To make the hiking more fun, I'm documenting it in two ways. First is a Pennsylvania Parks Sign. (I ordered from the Michigan Map site on Etsy. The maker, Whake Studios, didn't have PA listed, but very nicely made me one.) And with a PA State Park Passbook. PA State Parks and Forests organization has the passbook in their online store. And for anyone else hiking in PA, check out the new podcast, Hemlocks to Hellbenders. It has great info on PA State Parks. Oh, and because I'm directionally challenged...seriously, directionally challenged, one of the few apps I pay for is AllTrails. Not only does it give me great hike suggestions, but I can download maps for when there's no cell service. (No kickbacks from any of these sites.)

So what have I documented? 17 parks this year! Ten this month while I was in Philly. We're taking a trip to midstate this spring and I'll get a few more then. I'm excited about the upcoming hikes.

Here's the thing, I've always been a walker. I have family members who had health issues and didn't walk much and lost ground quickly as they aged. I don't want that, so I walk. Himself got me a FitBit years ago (I'm on my third) and that 10,000 steps a day challenge has been so much fun. (You know you have it bad when they come a couple hours early for a surgery and you gripe that you didn't get to finish off your steps for the day. LOL) But it's so much more than the health or the goal. It's being outside every day. Like the mail, rain, sleet and snow doesn't stop me. These last years, I've felt more connected to the world at large. I feel the seasons in an intimate way. These last few weeks, I've noticed that the quiet of winter has given way to a burst of activity. Birds chatter and wooing. The skunks are out...after Tallulah's brush with a skunk last year, we're super cautious. I've seen my fox, racoons, deer and a few weeks ago, Himself and I spotted bald eagles.

Yesterday, Tallulah and I walked as the sun came up. Well, it didn't come up very far, but there was a line of sunrise over the horizon and under the clouds. It was lovely. That...that is why I love walking. I know I was talking about hiking and now I'm talking about walking. To be honest, I think of hiking as just a very picturesque walk. LOL

I enjoy going out on my own, but I also enjoy taking family along with me. I love finding Gifts of the Unexpected. A deer crossing my path. Finding a hawk's nest. Red salamanders. Ducks walking on fish (yeah that's a thing at Pymatuning).

In Just One Thing I wrote, “Sometimes, you find yourself inadvertently in the dark. But I’d discovered that if you stopped fighting against it and just stood still, sometimes something marvelous comes along.” That's just it. I'm hiking the State Parks to see what kind of Gifts of the Unexpected the trail offers. And if the only I thing I find is just another facet of myself...that's enough.

I was talking to someone about walking and she said she didn't know where to start. I had an answer...one step at a time. After that surgery I mentioned, I was on crutches for quite a while. When I was finally cleared to start walking, the doctor (who I nicely snarked at because I didn't get my 10,000 steps in) said I could do a little more each day. Then because by then he knew me, he added, "500 steps more each day." LOL So if you're thinking about walking/hiking, take it one step at a time. Down a hall. Down the street. Around the block. In a Pennsylvania State Park.

It's been a great first year. At his rate, I'll hopefully finish all the State Parks by 2030ish. That seems reasonable...and fun.

I've spent my writing career writing about Pennsylvania. This is a new way to see my favorite state!

I'll keep you all posted...like you thought you could escape me. LOL

Holly

PS.Susan Gable and I haven't been doing our Trippin' With Holly and Susan since the pandemic, but we did a tour of Presque Isle you can check out, Episode 1, Episode 2.

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