September 22nd 2012
Betsy and I decided to drive up to Ohiopyle State Park for some new hiking. It was a gorgeous day and there was some beautiful scenery along the trail. We started out on the Baughman Trail and returned via the Sugarloaf Trail.
We ended up hiking about a mile the wrong direction when we reached the Sugarloaf Trail so we are still not sure exactly how far we hiked.
The relatively new Ohiopyle SP map is very nice put the labeling is poor and there are no point-to-point mileage indicators. Very amateurish cartography and it is obvious the map maker is not a user of the product.
Click on the photos below for a larger image.
View of the Youghiogheny River Gorge from Baughman Rock overlook.
The top of the ridge is capped with Pottsville sandstone and there are boulders of all sizes and shapes along the trail. The trail section to the south of the overlook has some nice, weathered sandstone walls which are covered with ferns, mosses and lichens.
In the foreground is Intermediate Wood Fern (Dryopteris intermedia). I am leaning on a boulder covered in Common Polypody (Polypodium vulgare) and the wall in the back is peppered with Rock Tripe (Umbilicaria), a lichen.
There were some open meadows on the Sugarloaf trail and the Goldenrod (Solidago) was in peak bloom
Peeking through these Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) branches made me think about how great the fall color would be here. We will definitely be back in a few weeks to enjoy that!
'Till next time...