Botanical Hiker Blog

I've been enjoying following along as the Botanical Hiker thru-hikes the Finger Lakes Trail and all its side trails.  She recently wrote up a great post about the Crystal Hills Trail, which is the northernmost section of the Great Eastern Trail.

Check out her blog and follow along!

Steuben County, NY

The escaped prisoners from New York have possibly been spotted in Steuben County.

Fun fact: the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Trail is also in Steuben County!

CNY Hiking has a whole page about hiking opportunities in Steuben County, including South Bradford State Forest where Moss Hill Lean-To is.  It's a gorgeous county that probably rarely has escaped killers lurking around.

The second sighting was closer to Pennsylvania's Cowanesque Lake on the Mid State Trail than Moss Hill Lean-To.

Exciting times near the GET.

GET Board Meeting

I was lucky to get the chance to attend the 2014 Great Eastern Trail Board Meeting near Corning, New York last weekend.  It was a reunion of wonderful people who made last year's hike possible.  The people on the left are those who make the GET happen.  I wish I could download their wisdom into my own brain.

Especially huge thanks to Pat, who not only retrieved me from the airport (and got me back there) but hosted the event at the lovely Watson Homestead. What a perfect weekend.

While out for a hike, we were able to visit the Great Eastern Trail rock.  I used to think people who hiked the same long trail twice were crazy, but I see wisdom in it now: both Bart and I walked past this rock on June 18, 2013 and didn't notice it.  I guess we were too excited to get to Moss Hill Lean To!  What else did we not see?  Maybe I'll get Bart to hike the GET with me again someday.  He already was silly enough to say yes once . . . .

There is lots of forward momentum on the GET.  I'm excited about all the discussions that took place last weekend and I look forward to watching this trail "grow up" and get better every year.

The morning before I flew back to Minnesota we all hiked to Moss Hill Lean To, the northern terminus of the GET.  It couldn't have been a more beautiful morning to be out and about.  While there, I got to see Strider's note in the register (North Country Trail thruhiker) and I left a note for current GET hikers Taylor and Gramps. 

But the highlight of the hike may have been finding the Pennsylvania rock that Bart carried to New York.

 

Heading home

No we didn't walk back! Three wonderful people helped get us home. Pat Monahan from NY(no not the city) took us to Duncannon PA where we ate lunch at the famous Doyle Hotel with(thanks for lunch) Pete Fleszar who traveled us to Morgantown WV(not before dumping us out of his convertible to hike a section of the GET West Route) (glad he thought it was a good idea) to Peggy Pings where we indulged in burgers, salad and potatoes before leaving to the Center Of The Universe!(My back porch Mullens WV!) sorry no squirrel gravy Peggy was walkin not huntin this year!

Northern Terminus

We made it! Posing at the northern terminus of the GET. Thanks to all that helped along the way- trail volunteers (trails don't build themselves )- people who followed us on our blog and our feet, backs, legs and other body parts for putting up with our constant abuse.
Stay tuned for further updated pics, wit and wisdom now that we will be around computers.
HillBillyBart & Someday

End of a journey

Lots of views and cool trail people gave us a nice warm hug to end our journey!

Final lunch

Our last lunch alone. Fitting!

4 miles left

4 miles to go WhewHooo! I hope there are fire trucks and jugglers on unicycles awaiting us!

Huff and Puff

An appropriate trail name for todays start of our end journey!

1 barn, 2 non-barns

Pat out with us today hiking through fields covered atop clouds of bliss.
HillBillyBart

2 barns, 1 non-barn

Today was a hikers delight on the Crystal Hills Trail.
HillBillBart

Crystal waters on Crystal Hills

Pat Monahan hiked 15.1 of our 21.1 mile day. His dogs hiked 30 miles! Could not ask for better company. They have a wonderful trail with lots of years putting it together.-HBB

Crystal Hills Trail views

Our first day and night in NY on the Crystal Hills Trail! Barns and fires luckily not one and the same.
HillBillyBart

Our last border!

We made it to NY! Thanks to all our PA friends that make trails and adventures like ours happen.

A migrating rock

Today, while hiking in Pennsylvania, Bart found a rock about half a meter long and a third of a meter wide. It was perfectly flat.

"Wow!" he said, "This is quite a find!"

I remained unconvinced. Although northern Pennsylvania is not rocky compared to southern & central PA, rocks are far from extirpated.

I said, "I will give you a dollar if you carry it to New York."

It went into his pack.