Friday, September 2, 2022
I felt reenergized from yesterday’s biking upon arising this morning. Anticipating that Jane would sleep late, I set off for a walk. Without a plan, I crossed the creek behind our RV site and was soon walking through a swampy area blazing through waist-high dewey plants. I ended up on firmer ground facing the grassy bank of Little Pine Lake Dam. A wooden sign reading “Lake Shore Trial” pointed to a narrow path diagonally ascending the bank. While I was climbing, a man walking his dog along the top of the dam yelled “Run, run” down at me. Ha, I didn’t run but managed to make it to the top without crawling. There, on top of the dam, I beheld a beautiful morning view of the tranquil lake. I continued along the shore trail for about 0.75 mile before turning around and returning to the RV via a longer but drier route completing an early 2.4 mile hike.
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| My Shadow was mesmerized by the Dam’s Outflow |
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| Run to the Top of the Dam |
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| View from Little Pine Lake Dam |
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| Lake Shore Trial |
Jane was up when I entered the RV and said Nancy and John would be over in half an hour to go hiking on the Lake Shore Trail. I quickly wolfed down breakfast and changed into my hiking boots. After discussion, we came up with this plan: John would drive me to the Panther Run Trail head then return to the dam where he would view the lake and set Jane & Nancy off to hike Lake Shore Trail. John would then explore the campground store and return to the RV to relax and read.
The state park brochure billed Panther Run Trail as 2.9 miles and its most difficult and most scenic trail. The trail gradually ascended first paralleling the road then turning up a ravine alongside a small creek. After about a mile, the trail veered from the creek and started a very steep ascent to the top of a ridge. I was huffing, puffing and resting during this segment. At the ridge top, the trail intersected and merged with the 250-mile long Mid State Trail. This section was level or gradually descending and offered vistas of distance mountains, albeit through the forest trees. The trail wound through and over interesting rock outcroppings including remnants from a flagstone quarry. The descent then greatly steepened challenging my thighs and knees, the Mid State Trial split off, and eventually I emerged along the highway across from the park’s grassy picnic area and lake beach. I had clocked the trail length at 4.1 (not 2.9!) miles and walked another 1.25 miles, mostly along Little Pine Lake, back to our campsite.
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| The Trail Beginning |
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| Ascending alongside the Creek |
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| One of many Mountain Views through the Forest Trees |
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| One of many Interesting Rock Outcroppings |
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| Returning to the Campground alongside Little Pine Lake |
As I walked up to the RV, Nancy and John were at our picnic table and said that Jane had left two minutes ago in the car to search for me. She eventually returned and we immediately began to move the RV from the state park, where we couldn’t keep our site due to the Labor Day weekend crowd, to the adjacent Happy Acres, where Nancy and John were lodging in a cabin. After setting the RV up in the new site with full hookups, Jane and I showered and then we all headed to Happy Acres Restaurant for a 3 pm lupper. After a good meal and beer, Jane and I toured the campground store then walked back to the RV. We drove our dirty clothes down to the campground laundromat where I had also hoped to post some of my blogs using at the free wi-fi hotspot, but to no avail. So, I hiked back down to the main highway and joined John in the Game Cabin where we played several rounds of pinball. Jane joined us while our clothes were in the drier. She and I finally emptied the driers and folded and hung our clothes in the RV. Then Jane & I headed to Nancy & John’s cabin for a night cap before going to bed. We were exhausted and I noted that my phone had logged 9.6 miles and 20, 437 steps of walking.
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| Happy Acres Restaurant |
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| Pinball Fun in the Game Barn |
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| Nancy & John’s Cabin |