Runner discovers unmatched beauty of Pennsylvania Wilds

Before I decided to run one mile at all 121 Pennsylvania State Parks in 2021, I had never spent any meaningful time outdoors.

By nature, I am a creature of comfort. I like air conditioning, reclining chairs and TV. I do not like sweating, hiking and insects.

While I had read writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who talk about the transformative experience nature provides, I never understood what they meant. They saw unmatched beauty in mountains. I saw blistered feet from hiking there. They saw stunning waterfalls. I saw slippery water hazards. They heard the symphony of nature. I heard mosquitoes trying to bite me.

But that all changed on Jan 2, 2021 when I laced up my trail shoes to run my first parks. I had done very little research on the Commonwealth’s parks before embarking on my so-called “121 In ’21 Challenge.” It was hastily put together following the passing of my grandfather Bob Sauer.

He died from COVID-19 in December 2020. Though not an outdoorsman, his support and sense of adventure inspired me to take up this challenge.

I should also say that I am not a great runner. I am chubby and I am slow. But, I’ve come to love running over the years. Running builds mental and physical toughness. It simultaneously breaks you down and builds you up. I’ve always liked that.

As I made my way around Pennsylvania, I was constantly in awe of what this amazing Commonwealth has to offer. It wasn’t just that there were picturesque mountains and beautiful clear streams or that there were fields of bright wildflowers and forests of lush green trees. It was that they were here. In Pennsylvania. In our own backyard.

With travel restrictions in place, the pandemic forced a lot of people to look in their own backyards for adventures. And what they found might have been new to them, but was always there: Nature. Park attendance skyrocketed during the pandemic, which meant a lot of people were having the same jaw-dropping experiences as I was.

At every park, I was surprised by natural beauties. Over the course of my “121 In ’21 Challenge”, I began spending much less time inside and instead yearned for the weekends I could be in the woods running at parks. I started developing a true love and appreciation of the outdoors. I began inviting friends and family members out to see what I had “discovered.”‘

About halfway through the challenge, I learned about the Pennsylvania Wilds. The region is home to 29 state parks and includes the most beautiful areas of Pennsylvania I encountered.

I cherish my time in the Pennsylvania Wilds. So much so that when I completed my “121 In ’21 Challenge” on Aug. 14 – 224 days after I began – I brought my parents from New Jersey to spend a weekend in the Pennsylvania Wilds.

We spent our weekend exploring the small towns I came to fall in love with, like Wellsboro. We checked out the small shops and restaurants that helped me relax when I completed my runs each weekend in the months before. We, of course, visited a half dozen state parks.

My wife Abby, and mom and dad, Lynne and Will, got to see where I’d gone off to each weekend for the past seven-and-a-half months. They saw the views and mountains and trails that I gushed over every weekend I came home to Enola. And they got it.

And finally, I got it. I got what people like John Muir wrote about. I understood the transformative and healing properties of nature and of spending time outdoors in difficult pursuits. I understood that the prize is not the view from atop the mountain, it is the time spent on the trail getting there.

Pennsylvanians are incredibly lucky. They have spectacular landscapes everywhere in the Commonwealth. No matter where you live in Pennsylvania, you are no more than a short drive away from unmatched splendor.

While not everyone would want to see the outdoors the way that I did – running one mile in every park – I guarantee you that time spent outdoors will be time well spent. You don’t need to fly to other countries. You don’t need to stand in line at security. And you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars.

All you need to do is visit a state park. There are 121 of them, and they’re all free. Might I suggest, starting in the Pennsylvania Wilds. I hope to see you there.

About the Author

Christian Alexandersen is a shares more about his journey to 121 state parks in 2021 at his Instagram and Twitter accounts, as well at crawriter.com. Christian works as a social media director, and he also blogs for PA Parks and Forests. He is an alum of West Virginia University. He’s an adventure seeker, runner and hiker. Christian is also a two-time East Coast Beard Champion.