Monday, September 13, 2010

Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle


This morning my brother Kris and I drove the Pennsylvania Turnpike west to I-176 and into the hamlet of Hamburg, Pennsylvania for a loop hike at the Pinnacle on a section of the Appalachian Trail. It was my fourth visit at the Pinnacle and I have to admit that this is my favorite section of the A.T. in Pennsylvania.

The hike started out pretty easy with a nice smooth, level trail.

We spotted several red efts on the shady, moist trail and stopped at the Windsor Furnace Shelter for an early break.
Red Eft
After our shelter stop the trail got a little bit rougher and soon we encountered some of the infamous Pennsylvania rocks. We stopped again a bit later when we arrived at the overlook at Pulpit Rock. The view from Pulpit Rock was very nice and I paused there to eat my lunch.

When we resumed hiking we encountered some more rocky sections of trail, interspersed with a few smooth sections and the walking went pretty fast to the Pinnacle. The views at the Pinnacle were, though hazy, very nice. We spent some time exploring and checked out the small talus cave near the summit.
Eric's Throne

I also found some black vultures perched on a high cliff there.
Black vultures
After relaxing we moved on for the easy final stretch back to the car. A thoroughly enjoyable hike!

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