Ken and Bonnie told us about this Biggest Loser DVD they had that involved some aerobic exercise. Ken put the DVD in and we all began a morning workout watching it from their outside TV.
When we reached the part on the exercise routine that required weights, Bonnie quickly improvised, ran inside her motorhome and got 8 cans of beans for us to use as weights.
Now that we were all limbered up, we decided to go ahead and do another Haystacks Trail hike today that Ken was interested in that they had never done before that was just a few miles north of the campground. We loaded up all our gear and lunches and off we went.
The Haystacks trail is located in the Loyalsock State Forest and is along part of the 59 mile Loyalsock Trail system. After hiking through the woods for a short distance, we began walking an old railroad bed that was nice and wide and shady.
While walking on the old railbed, we noticed this big burl high up in a tree with some interesting yellow fungi(?) growing out the side of it.
Once we were within about 25 yards of the creek, the trail hugged the side of the hill running parellel to the Loyalsock Creek.
After following the creek for a short distance, we finally reached the Haystacks.
The Haystacks are a geological phenomenon that puzzle geologists to this day. The formation has not been located in any other part of the Applachians nor have any similar formations been found in the entire country. It's one of those things that you look out and say "Hmmm. I wonder how that got here."
Anyways, according to a couple of ladies we met at the Haystacks, it is a favorite swimming hole for the locals when the water is higher.
So we each did a little exploring of the Haystacks ourselves.
Chuck looked for fishing holes...
...while Bonnie got busy building a rock statue.
I found the perfect place to take off my shoes and cool my toes in the waters of Loyalsock Creek.
What a nice place to rest and enjoy the fun and beauty of God's creation! :) As we began our hike back, we walked along Loyalsock Creek on the Loyalsock trail following trail markings like this:
The last part of the trail was a steep climb over rocks and tree roots until we finally reached the parking lot of the trailhead.
At the trailhead, there was a picture of a log jam caused by the Haystacks. Notice the man at the bottom of the picture.
While we had a lot of fun at the Haystacks, they were a geological nuisance for the logging industry causing log jams as high as three stories high and causing many men to lose their lives trying to break up the log jams. Ken read where the logging companies attempted to blast the Haystacks but were unable to blast through the high density rocks.
After leaving the Haystacks, we drove to Worlds End State Park and ate our picnic lunches. Bonnie tried to take a little nap on a rock by the creek,
but I think she kept dreaming of ice cream because as soon as she walked back up to the picnic tables, we walked over to the Worlds End Snack Shop and got some ice cream. :) We're loving this cheap, delicious ice cream! :)
We walked over to the swimming hole which looked like it would be a nice place to swim but the creek was a little low (like at the Haystacks). The nice lady at the Snack Shop gave Ken the lowdown on where to find bears but first we drove to the Loyalsock Canyon Vista.
The sky was very hazy but I bet on a clear fall day when the leaves are changing colors the view is spectacular up here. Eagle-eye Chuck...
(or maybe I should say fish-eye Chuck) spotted a man fly-fishing way down in the creek below.
While we were standing there, another couple came up and told us they had just seen a mama bear and her two cubs just a short distance down the road. Ken and Chuck got all excited that we might finally get to see a bear. But first, we walked across the road to the Rock Garden.
We climbed up to the top of the big boulders...
...and then contemplated jumping across.
We "jumped" across (actually, it was more like stepped across) a couple of the boulders before walking back to the car.
After getting back in the car, we slowly drove to the turnaround where the couple had told us they had spotted the mama bear and her two cubs but sadly, found nothing. Then we drove to the Worlds End Vista where the Snack Shop lady thought we might find a bear, but all we found was another beautiful but hazy mountain overlook.
Ken and Chuck were very determined to find a bear so after leaving Worlds End State Park we drove to the Lost Lake subdivision where the Snack Shop lady said they see bear all the time. We slowly drove around looking this way and that but had zero luck on finding a bear.
Well, maybe we haven't been able to find a bear yet; but we ALWAYS have fun trying! :)
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