Year in Review: Top 10 PA Wilds blogs of 2019

Hiking a state forest trail this time of year brings a higher probability of a snake encounter, and the timber rattlesnake is the species that people generally fear the most.  One of three venomous snakes that occur in PA, the timber rattler embodies the wild appeal of Penn’s Woods.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/timber-rattlesnakes-in-pennsylvania/

In 2004, economic disaster loomed large in Coudersport. Its largest employer, Adelphia, filed bankruptcy and began moving out of town. A full-blown economic recession followed just a few years later.

With Adelphia’s collapse, nearly 2,000 Coudersport area residents lost their jobs. The lucky ones found new jobs. Others, like Coudersport native David Cole and family, were forced to find work elsewhere. They ended up in North Carolina.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/coudersport-carving-niche-modern-economy/ 

Such an incredible sight. Rows and rows of tall pines rising to the skies. Trees planted in perfectly straight lines.

Then there were beautiful stone structures; pavilions, walls, bridges and cabins in state parks all over the Pennsylvania Wilds.

This sort of perfection was not the work of Mother Nature. Somebody put a lot of thought into this layout.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/ccc-boys-pennsylvania-wilds/

Nothing can test or inspire quite like brutal and beautiful (brutiful, if you will) landscapes of the Pennsylvania Wilds.

Trail runners here are grateful for the gifts that nature has provided us and use them as a playground for some of the greatest races in the state — and the country.

The sport of trail running is booming.

There are hundreds of races annually from 5ks to 100 milers, but I’ve taken some time to compile a list of some of the most rightfully notorious events in the region.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/10-pa-wilds-trail-races-not-missed/ 

As Route 120 twists along from the small town of Emporium to the city of Lock Haven, the Sinnemahoning Creek and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River accompany you on one side of the road as rolling hills and rock cliffs remain constant on the other.

Each sharp turn and crest of a hill reveals another beautiful, densely wooded stretch of narrow road that seems to go on forever in near total isolation, with almost zero cell phone signal and often miles between residences. This stretch of road was always my favorite to travel home and back during the four years I attended Lock Haven University. The drive was sort of symbolic for me; a coming back to nature with plenty of fresh air to help clear my mind.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/hyner-view-hidden-hilltop-treasure/

We’ve all seen it in the movies. It’s an iconic scene. The explorer, played by Harrison Ford or maybe Nicholas Cage, finally discovers the lost city. He approaches through the vegetation, finally, dramatically, looking at an area nobody has inhabited for hundreds of years.

We’ve all paid to watch it, plus popcorn. But were you aware that you could actually experience that moment for yourself? Pennsylvania is full of ruins to explore. There are old communities that thrived when an industry was important, and then went out of business when it failed. Foundations, partial buildings, roads, and cemeteries are left behind in the forest.

The Pennsylvania Wilds are full of these, if you know where to look.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/historic-ruins-pennsylvania-wilds/

Route 120, known in Clinton County as the Renovo Road, connects Lock Haven with Renovo; it extends well beyond Renovo, however, all the way to Ridgway in Elk County. It’s the winding road that is seen when standing atop the mountain at Hyner View State Park, and it’s part of two scenic drives: It begins the Bucktail Scenic Byway and is part of the Elk Scenic Drive. It runs through the I-80 Frontier, Dark Skies, and Elk Country. It was built along the route of the old Sinnemahoning Path, a Native American trail, and offers a view of the West Branch Susquehanna River, along which it runs.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/route-120-the-impossible-road/

Nestled in the rural northern section of the state of Pennsylvania rests the lovely Pennsylvania Wilds. And within the Pennsylvania Wilds is the vast and stunning Allegheny National Forest. It is the only National Forest in the state and covers 513,175 acres of land. Known for its natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and welcoming communities, the Allegheny National Forest is bursting with opportunity, as are the communities that surround it!

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/top-10-things-allegheny-national-forest-surrounds/

It’s one of the most prominent paranormal legends in America. He’s Bigfoot. And he’s a bipedal, humanoid land mammal, with shaggy hair and huge feet, known for leaving tracks wherever he goes. He’s popular because he’s so often sighted, and probably because he’s a distinctly American legend; Bigfoot is spotted all over the country.

And of course that includes the PA Wilds.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/bigfoot-sightings-pennsylvania-wilds/

In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, September 1, 1939, Adolph Hitler’s forces invaded Poland and suddenly the ominous war rumblings from Germany became real as World War Two was underway in Europe. A half a world away, the United States had yet to engage in the battle, but major retailers gearing up for Christmas were soon to begin fighting a battle of their own.

Here begins the story of how a World War, creative engineering and fast-thinking by business leaders helped Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, become known as “The Town That Saved Christmas” and Corning Glass to become America’s leading glass Christmas ornament supplier.

Continue reading: https://pawilds.com/wellsboro-the-town-that-saved-christmas/