Blue Marsh - Old Church Road

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'

Oh, what a beautiful day

I've got a beautiful feeling

Everything's going my way...

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Hi Blog!

Today is Day 53 of our Covid Confinement here in Lancaster County. We had a chance to Zoom with some of our RV friends last night and everyone is pretty much hunkered down. Not sure when all our paths will cross again, we just have to keep in touch and see where the wind blows us once the pandemic has passed. Until then, we will do our best to keep on keeping on.

By the time we hit the trail, the morning frost had melted away. The weatherman promised us that this was the last freeze warning. We may finally get a few days of Spring before Summer arrives. We are still hiking our way around Blue Marsh Lake. Today's hike started at the Old Church Road Trailhead.

In just a couple of day, the grass is higher, the leaves are fuller and the flowers are popping out all over.

As we hiked up to the height of land, we could look down a powerline easement to see the lake below. The color reminded us of some of the glacial lakes we encountered in our trips to Canada and Alaska.

We came across this plant during our hike. It is really unusual. We tried to figure out what it is, but couldn't come up with anything. Do any of you know what this plant is called?

The area around Blue Marsh Lake had once been farmed. When the land was cleared, farmers would leave individual trees in the fields to provide some shade for livestock. These big old trees are known as wolf trees.

The Army Corps of Engineers created the dam that flooded the town of Blue Marsh creating Blue Marsh Lake. The Corps still manages the property as a recreational area. While the main purpose of Blue Marsh was to provide flood control to part of the Schuylkill River Valley, over the years the lake has become a recreational hotspot. With over 36 miles of trails, 6200 acres of land, 1148 acres of water, picnic areas, a small beach and boat launches the lake can accommodate all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts, while at the same time, allowing other uses like farming, electric and gas line easements, like this one.

If you looked at the elevation gain and loss graph of this hike, it would like like an EKG - up and down, up and down, up and down. After crossing the pipeline easement, we headed down into a creek valley. Here, Dave hangs onto a crooked bridge over a crooked creek.

Kathy took her turn to admire the babbling brook.

As we followed the creek down to the lake, we found a goose family enjoying the great weather.

After saying goodbye to the goose family, we stopped to take a look at some unusual pipe sculptures.

What goes up must come down. Here we are back down along the lakeshore.

The trail then took us into a deep verdant valley. In the photo below, Kathy soaks in the sun on a small footbridge.

The little stream valleys are full of skunk cabbage. This perennial wildflower grows in swampy, wet areas of forest lands. This unusual plant sprouts very early in the spring, and has an odd chemistry that creates its own heat, often melting the snow around itself as it first sprouts in the spring.

The hike out of the valley took us high above the lake. We were going to hike 4 miles, turn around and hike back. However, when we arrived at 3.5 miles, the trail went straight down for more than a half mile. Not wanting to hike back up that hill after eating lunch, we decided to stop at the top and enjoy the day.

After lunch, we meandered our way back to the trailhead. We stopped by this hay field. There was a tiny yellow flower poking out from a sea of green.

After waiting out rainy days and bundling up against the cold, we feel like we earned this day. We hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy your day. Stay safe my friends.