Admin’s Trip Reports
Explore 261 Trip Reports (trail reviews) by MyHikes contributor, Admin
Paint Run Falls & Dave's Waterfall Paradise
State Game Lands 268
Morris, PA
Morris, PA
0.4
miles
/ 0.6 km
April 12, 2023
Super buggy already with swarms of black flies - this Spring has just been too warm. Ticks are out in abundance too, so the bushwhack is truly a bushwhack this time of year. Less of a paradise right now, but the water is flowing nicely. Storm/flash flooding has caused large rock piles to form on the banks of Paint Run adjacent to the road right by the culvert, which is a neat display of how powerful the water flows can get around here. Also, a new sign labeled "Daves Waterfall Paradise" now sits near a scenic waterfall view near mile 0.2.
Hiking
Haunted Mine Falls
Tioga State Forest
Wellsboro, PA
Wellsboro, PA
0.1
miles
/ 0.2 km
April 09, 2023
3rd trip here in 3 weeks - great spot. Water was looking quite turquoise today.
Hiking
Hike & Bike Trail
Lambs Creek Recreation Area
Mansfield, PA
Mansfield, PA
3.0
miles
/ 4.8 km
March 26, 2023
First wildflowers for the year - buttercups and dandelions. Hiked to the graffiti bridge, north and out to the road, then back. Peepers (frogs) are already out chirping away.
Dogs
Hiking
Mt. Tom Loop
Tioga State Forest
Wellsboro, PA
Wellsboro, PA
2.5
miles
/ 4.0 km
March 10, 2023
Hiked half of the loop starting from the service road trailhead and up to the vista along the steep Mt Tom Trail. Several blowdowns along the service road right now - a couple of which are annoying to pass. Snow had just fallen, about 3 inches or so, with some very small snowpack from earlier in the week underneath in higher elevations on the mountain. Jax and I were the 2nd (and likely last) people on Mt Tom for the day. Really nice difficult hike in the snow - ice spikes were handy for the steep trail back down. View of Ansonia and the valley were washed out by the clouds and snowfall, but the village made a slight appearance before we hiked back down.
Dogs
Hiking
Mocassin Trail
Cowanesque Lake Recreation Area
Elkland, PA
Elkland, PA
1.4
miles
/ 2.3 km
March 04, 2023
Short hike out to the 2nd bridge from the western trailhead before turning back. Previous day had a light snow and hail mixture, so the trail was totally soaked and melting from the high 30 degree temps on this hike. Nice views of the lake / river as always, even in the late Winter.
Dogs
Hiking
Mt. Nessmuk
Tioga State Forest
Wellsboro, PA
Wellsboro, PA
6.3
miles
/ 10.1 km
February 26, 2023
First hike out to the Mt. Nessmuk Vista since Summer of 2020. Because of this, I fixed some previously-wrong notes I had in the original write-up. This is a great Winter hike since the road is always plowed for fracking truck access, thus, getting to the trailhead is generally easy. We hiked out in the morning a day or so after a couple of inches of snow fell on the ground. Followed several paths of footprints out to different spots where others turned around or seemingly were walking the Green Monster Trail. Hit the red blazes of the Mt. Nessmuk Trail and no further footprints existed aside from some deer, rabbit, and coyote prints. Made our way down the trail, passing several large boulder outcroppings (which were more hidden during the Summer), and eventually got out to the vista. During the cold months, the vista provides more (albeit somewhat obstructed) views of the village of Asaph, the surrounding mountains, the steep slopes of Mt.Tom, and Ansonia Valley in the distance. During the Summer, most of these additional views are hidden by the trees. On the hike out, the sun had warmed the snow enough to have melted most of it away. Glad we came back to check this one off for the Pine Creek Pinnacles Winter challenge.
Dogs
Hiking
Barbour Rock Trail
Tioga State Forest
Wellsboro, PA
Wellsboro, PA
1.0
mile
/ 1.6 km
February 25, 2023
Hiked out after a fresh morning snowfall. Snow was very powdery and slippery. Attempted to walk down to the main vista point at Barbour Rock but this wasn't smart at all without ice spikes. Need ice spikes in the winter just in case. View of the canyon with fresh snow is always a nice sight - being able to view the steep and rugged canyon walls, snow-covered evergreens on the ridges, and snow blowing off of the trees and canyon rims is always welcomed. First folks on the trail for the day, but not the last. Light foot traffic today.
Dogs
Hiking
Nakalele Blowhole Trail
Kahakuloa, HI
0.5
miles
/ 0.8 km
February 17, 2023
Finally hiked down to the blowhole instead of just watching from above. Annoying to get there after it's been raining as the slick dirt quickly turns into slippery mud. The rocks leading down aren't bad, but in places require you to use your hands for extra support to reach the Nakalele Blowhole. Neat natural feature. Stand on the upper cliff for the safest up-close viewing experience.
Hiking
Kealia Coastal Boardwalk
Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge
Kihei, HI
Kihei, HI
0.8
miles
/ 1.3 km
February 17, 2023
Rainy sunrise walk along the Kealia Pond Boardwalk. Lots of migratory birds hunting for their breakfast in the shallow swamp waters. Nice views of the West Maui Mountains as the sun came up. Love this trail.
Hiking
Ohai Trail
Wailuku, HI
1.3
miles
/ 2.1 km
February 16, 2023
Awesome hike, first time back since 2018. A bit busier than it was then, but still quiet if you show up early. This part of the island is generally wet and rainy so the trail tends to be muddy. This time the trail was extra muddy, slick, and slippery, which made it slow-going compared to our first hike here. Not as much Lantana in bloom during the Winter as there is during the Summer, but still plenty of Winter wildflowers to look at, including a much smaller number of Lantana.
Hiking
Wailea Beach Path
Wailea, HI
3.0
miles
/ 4.8 km
February 15, 2023
Sunrise walk along the entire trail out-and-back, first time on this trail since June 2019! Really nice colors facing west while watching the West Maui Mountains, the island of Kaho'olawe, and Molokini Crater got uncovered by the rising sun. Trail was not very busy before sunrise, but still people out. Trail became a lot busier by 7:30AM. Awesome walk, love this spot.
Hiking
Pinafore Falls
Tioga State Forest
Wellsboro, PA
Wellsboro, PA
4.0
miles
/ 6.4 km
February 04, 2023
2nd "freeze solo" ice climb in 2 days at Pinafore Falls. Climbed up and beyond the 20-foot multi-tier Pinafore Falls (main waterfall in the write-up) to find more large waterfalls upstream. Note that these waterfalls are only accessible via ice climbing, with proper gear and experience, as the bedrock and canyon slopes here are far too slippery and dangerous to attempt to climb during warm months. Beyond Pinafore Falls lies several 5 to 7-foot tall waterfalls, a 13-foot tall waterfall I named Ice Scale Falls, and finally, the last monster waterfall I named Wall Falls (named after the Game of Thrones ice wall). Wall Falls is a 30-foot tall waterfall with a flat tier 2/3 of the way up. Just beyond the flat tier is another 10-foot waterfall, making the entire waterfall about 30-feet tall. Wall Falls is where most ice climbers would stop, unless looking for another vertical challenge. Adjacent to Wall Falls waterfall is a canyon hillside stream that freezes over in the winter, making Wall Falls appear as if it wraps around the entire canyon here, hence the name. Down-climbing back to the rail trail from Wall Falls wasn't easy - this took a lot of upper-body strength as I found footing in the frozen waterfalls with my crampons, then would pick away with my ice axes to find holds, finally slowly lowered myself down these large escarpments of ice after jiggling each ice axe out of their holds. Once back down the 20-foot main waterfall, Pinafore Falls, the ice climbing out felt much easier, as I noted before that these are beginner ice climbs. Beautiful day on the ice, can't believe I climbed that much vertical ice safely with no rope, just my crampons, ice axes, and a helmet "free solo". I say that not to encourage others to do the same, but to preserve my experience here.
Hiking
Ice Climbing
