Cowan's Gap State Park Part 2: Tuscarora Trail and the Standing Stone Trail

A friend and I went out today to hike the other half of the Tuscarora Trail in Cowans Gap State Park, Pennsylvania.  We made a nice 10.9 mile loop with the Todds Trail, and the Standing Stone Trail.  It was nearly 11 a.m. by the time we arrived at the same trailhead we used a couple of weeks ago.  We crossed the dam that forms Cowans Lake and turned right to follow the Tuscarora Trail down the valley. 

The Tuscarora Trail mostly follows an old roadbed that is nearly level, making a pleasant walk through the young, open forest.  We made good time, passing several trails that climb straight up the ridge.  Near our turnoff, we happened to meet a trailrunner and his dog that we met two weeks ago on the other end of the Tuscarora Trail.  He and another woman were signing the turns for the Holy Cowans Gap 50 km Race.  Our trail notes said to keep an eye out for the sharp left turn the Todds Trail makes up the hill and that it was easy to miss.  The signs for the race next weekend made it nearly impossible to miss today.  The climb up from the turn on the Todds Trail was reminiscent of the climb on the Horseshoe Trail two weeks ago - crazy steep.  In this case, though, at the worst part of the climb, there were actually switchbacks.  We were very happy to see them.

We reached the junction with the Standing Stone Trail at the top of the ridge.  We took a short side trip out to a nice view where we took a short break.  The weather was just perfect today:  Breezy and warm, but not oppressively hot.  Back on trail, we headed south on the Standing Stone Trail.  The trail stays to the top of the ridge and is one of the rockier trails I've been on in a while.  It felt like we were rock-hopping for miles at a time.  We made good time on the Tuscarora Trail at the beginning of the hike and we lost that time up on the ridge weaving through fields of rocks and boulders.  Not to mention the blowdowns and brush.  That is not a complaint.  It was pretty spectacular.  The top of the ridge is really narrow and we would occasionally get sweeping views to the east. 

After passing the Horseshoe Trail, we finally reached the Knobsville Road Trail.  From there, we had an easy descent back to the car.  Except for the area near the lake and parking lots, we saw four people in six hours of hiking. 

Pictures (click to enlarge):

Sitting at one of the overlooks on the Standing Stone Trail (photo by A. Ricciuti). 

Sisyrhinchium angustifolium (Stout Blue-Eye Grass) on the Tuscarora Trail

 A little toad on the Standing Stone Trail.

Vaccinium stamineum (Appalachian Deerberry) on the Standing Stone Trail.

 The Standing Stone Trail along the ridge.  The trail follows the rocks. 

 Ferns lining the Standing Stone Trail.

 More ferns (if anyone knows what this one is, let me know and I'll post the identification).

 The view to the northeast from the Standing Stone Trail.

Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel) on the Knobsville Road Trail.

Spring Flowers: Cancerroot

Orobanche uniflora (Cancerroot, Naked Broomrape, ) is a member of the plant world's misfit group:  the plants that don't photosynthesize.  These are the plants that cause you to say, "wait, I learned in elementary school that the definition of a plant is that it makes its own food."  Which is true.  Except when it isn't.  This group of plants includes parasites (feeds on living things) and saprophytes (feeds on decaying matter).  Many plant families included species that are parasitic or saprophytic. O. uniflora is a member of the Broomrape Family (Orobanchaceae), of which all of the species are at least partially parasitic. The fully parasitic plants (holoparasites) are pale white or cream colored, since they lack chlorophyll, and their leaves are reduced to stubby scales. Orobanchaceae also includes some plants that are hemiparasitic, meaning they both photosynthesize and feed on other living plants (I guess they have their bases covered).

O. uniflora is a holoparasite that is found throughout North America.  In the Mid-Atlantic it blooms in late spring.  The flowers are usually 3-5 inches tall and pale white to very pale lavender.  Common host plants include Solidago spp. (Goldenrods),  Saxifraga spp. (Saxifrages), and Helianthus spp. (Sunflowers).  The flowers are pollinated by insects or can self-pollinate.

I profiled another parasite last year, Monotropa uniflora (Indian Pipe), which is a member of the Heath Family (Ericaceae).

Pictures:

 Orobanche uniflora on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road in April of this year.  (Shenandoah National Park).

A group of O. uniflora on the Old Rag Ridge Trail in May 2011 (Shenandoah National Park).

Another example from the Tuscarora Trail in Cowans Gap State Park, Pennsylvania.

Cowans Gap State Park and the Tuscarora Trail

One of my goals this year is to hike more in Pennsylvania.  I regularly see great pictures of hiking attractions in the Keystone State on hiking boards and some of the trails aren't any further away than those that we hike regularly in Virginia.  Yesterday, I took a step toward meeting that goal.  A friend and I drove up to Cowans Gap State Park, near Chambersburg to hike a loop including the Tuscarora Trail that is supposed to have spectacular views.  We wouldn't know, we never actually got to see them.  In spite of that, we had a fantastic hike.

The first quarter of a mile of the Tuscarora Trail is flat, followed by a long, winding climb to the top of the ridge.  Blueberry bushes, wet from the misty fog, lined the trail on both sides.  As we climbed, the trail got narrower, hemmed in by blueberries, mountain laurel, and various other members of the forest's undergrowth.  Everything was soaking wet from the misty fog, which left us soaked from the hips down.  There just wasn't any avoiding the wet leaves.  Fortunately, the temperature was relatively warm, so being soaked wasn't a big deal.  Pink Azaleas (Rhododendron roseum) blooming in the mist stood out in bright contrast to the gray fog and green leaves.  Birds sang as we walked.  I really enjoyed this part of the trail.

Once we reached the top of the ridge, the trail became easier in terms of effort required to walk it.  It became quite a bit harder to find, however.  At one point, it appeared to dead end in a mass of young saplings.  We looked up on the rocks nearby to see if we could see a footpath, before finally determining that we had to push through the saplings.  It continued that way for about 100 yards before slowly getting better.  Then, we reached a trail junction in a clearing and the fog was so thick that we couldn't see the opposite side of it and, thus the continuation of the trail.  Fortunately, it wasn't a very wide clearing and once we ventured a little ways out into it, we were able to see the path ahead.

From there, we hiked along an old road to an overlook that is probably pretty cool (although graffiti strewn).  The fog was so thick that we couldn't see a thing, but it made a nice place for lunch.  Strangely, there were pigeons there.  I don't think I've ever seen pigeons outside of a city before.  After lunch, we returned partway down the Tuscarora Trail and then took the Geyer Trail down off the ridge, leaving the fog above us.  The Geyer Trail seemed steep at the time, but a later trail would make us think otherwise.  When we reached the creek, we turned north on the Plessinger Trail, which turned out to be a very pleasant walk along the stream.  At the end of that trail, we turned uphill again on the Knobsville Road Trail, which was another road walk.  We passed the site of a 1996 landslide that resulted from heavy snowfall followed by rain.

At the top of the hill, we continued down the road a short ways before turning uphill on the Horse Shoe Trail.  There is actually a sign at the beginning of the Horseshoe Trail warning of its steepness.  They weren't kidding.  It was a really steep climb, made more challenging by leaves and loose gravel.  We decided it was steeper than Hannah Run, which has a reputation in Shenandoah National Park as a thighbuster.  Fortunately, the climb up the Horseshoe Trail was short.  Unfortunately, the descent down the other side was just as steep and four times as long.  The fronts of my toes actually hurt a little today from being jammed into the front of my boots.  And the loose gravel and leaves are much less entertaining on the way down.  We made it down just fine and, from there, had an easy stroll to the car along the lake.

We'll definitely do this one again.  It was a beautiful hike, even without the views.  We hiked a total of 11.2 miles and saw a total of four other people on trail. 

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 The Tuscarora Trail south of Richmond Road in the mist.

Rhododendron roseum (Pink Azaleas) along the Tuscarora Trail.  The scent of these filled the air along the trail.

A little red eft on the trail.

 The badly overgrown section of trail.  My friend and I (taking the picture) are both actually on trail in this picture.

 The foggy junction with the Geyer Trail.  The Tuscarora Trail continues straight across the clearing, but it was a little hard to tell that at first.

 Water droplets on a strawberry leaf.

 A fiddlehead on the Plessinger Trail.

 Hypoxis hirsuta (Yellow Star Grass) on the Plessinger Trail.

 Cypripedium acaule (Pink Lady Slipper) on the Knobstone Road Trail.

 The sign for the Horseshoe Trail, with the warning!

 A little toad in the leaves on the Horseshoe Trail.

 Cowans Gap Lake from the dam.

A tiny cricket near the trail.  This little insect was about the size of my thumbnail.