You probably already noticed from the picture above that the trail is well marked with yellow and red paint "blazes" on trees about eye level and in most places it is accompanied with red can tops painted with the letters "LT" in yellow. Although well marked and easy to follow especially if you grab a good map for free from the local forest ranger station in Hillsgrove. Or if you really want a detailed map you can grab one from the local stores in Williamsport.

The trail is about perfect condition for my taste of hiking. Not so heavily traveled so as to clear every piece of brush out of the way (in fact you'll be brushing up against ferns, berries and scrub oak in many places up to your knees.) But defined enough that it is easy to stay on the trail. Some choose to wear "gators" these are worn from the ankle to the knee they keep the wet off and some are snake bite proof. I don't mind the feeling of brush hitting my shins for a short time and snakes have always given me ample warning.

There are several places to get water along the trail although everyone will warn you that the water is not fit to drink. Recommending boiling, chemical or filtering treatment. All that is probably a really good idea, although I can name some half dozen hunting cabins on the route which 20 or more members a piece have been drinking right from the springs for more than my 38 years. I usually carry the "potable water" tablets and treat water if for no other reason than keeping the stomach feeling well and not runnin out of toilet paper.

A few miles down these roads leads you off to the North onto even rougher roads no longer fit for cars but left to the 4 wheelers and trucks. A guy with a dirt bike would have a tremendous time riding these trails. Not sure what the ranger would say about it though.

It's along these trails the forest canopy encloses you and even the hottest August middays are cool and shaded. I suppose that is what allows for so many different kinds of mushrooms to grow and bugs for the turkeys.

Mushrooms are funny fungi....Coming in such a variety of shapes sizes and colors. I suppose you have heard the warnings about DO NOT EAT wild mushrooms as some are VERY poisonous. And that is very good advice although my grandparents used to pick quite a few back on their place in rural Western Ohio (course they both died of mushroom poisoning -just kidding). The survival books I have read say there is little nutritional value to them as well so there really is NO reason to take the chance.

Now that you've reached the top don't make any loud noises nor pant too hard from the climb as the top of this ridge is a great place to sit and watch deer and black bear cause it is full of the largest berry patch I know of excluding Alaska. I don't even know how large it is but I have walked up here for hours wandering through the fields till you reach the edge of the ridge then circle around all the time in these wonderful berries.

The only thing I can guarantee is that if you eat handful after handful you will get a belly ache as my dad warned and then let me learn the hard way as I would not listen to his words when I was a little boy. Dad seemed to know when to let me learn on my own and when to shield me from too much danger. Allowing me to keep my adventurous spirit but safe from any real harm. If I could only have my father's wisdom.

You'll enjoy handful after handful of these sweet seedless berries as you sit motionless and silent on a log. It's not hard to bet a bucket of these to add to the morning pancakes but it is hard to keep from eating the whole bucket full before you get home... If you do sit still I will bet it won't be too long before some wildlife will show itself as this patch always holds some game. The bushes are perfect height for this too cause your eyes are about the only thing exposed.

Ok, I'm back.

First thing you'll notice about the "LT" is that it goes through a little thicker woods than Red Ridge as the canopy above gets thicker so does the undergrowth. The sounds of the deep woods echo all around you with sounds of Mountain thrushes (birds), and the loud alarm chirp of a chipmunk you've snuck up on and scared the "bajeebers" out of and occasionally a breeze working through the pine needles making a soft whoooosh. All this makes me wonder why I worked soo long behind a terminal (perhaps that's the cool beverage talkin. Here's to you DH)

As a few more downhill miles pass the woods open up a bit and the berries will wean away. You'll notice the dew covered bushes which soaked your hiking boots and socks are opening up to a clear path.

and the thought will definitely come back into your mind to turn around and climb back up and spend the rest of the day in the berry filled patches of red ridge...

Ah but there are good things to come ahead as well. A really good part of hiking is that you move a lot slower than any other mode of transportation. In a car you zoom by things at 60 miles an hour or more and even a mountain bike means you'll zing by at a speed too fast to notice the tiniest colorful growth.

Ah but there are good things to come ahead as well. Not many more miles and you'll hit a logging road that was used for years to get some of the huge timber off the ridge and all the way down the susquehanna to many communities along the east coast but the same mountain road lately has been used by forest rangers to put up 4 inch "pig wire" fences. Not sure what they are doing with these huge enclosures but the road is there nonetheless.

Seems the logging road is a good decision as I got to see several tracks of turkey, grouse, coon and deer (but not a single bear track). However I did get to sneak up on a small herd of deer. We must have noticed each other at about the same time. Here's a look (at a distance, sorry for the weak camera work) if you look really close there are two does in this pic.... Both are in the center of the frame. One is looking right at you and the other to the right is only the back end

Here's a little better close up of the two does. Tough to see the tail and rump of the one on the right.

I froze and played with these two deer for a few minutes only to find at least 2 more in further back in the brush. We played the summer game deer will play (when not in hunting season of who will move first)