Ricketts Glen.

I've been spending quite a bit of my outdoor adventure efforts on Ricketts Glen State Park. From old growth forest to ice climbing to trail running to bouldering, this Pennsylvania gem is where my heart is, at least for now.

It's a 62 mile drive, door to door.  The other nice thing about this park is that it links up with State Game Lands 57 to the north and northeast, as well as State Game Lands 13 to the west. The public land tracts here are massive.

Which leads me to my next project, something that I've been thinking about since before old man winter's approach. Is it possible to link Windy Valley in Forkston Township (Mehoopany Creek watershed) with Ricketts Glen State Park? It absolutely is, and depending on mother nature, it can be done via foot, cross country ski, snowshoe or mountain bike. Pick your poison.

A good friend of mine who has a cabin in Windy Valley and myself are going to take on the project in the coming weeks. It should include some ice climbing along the way, and most likely just some old fashioned hiking. Unless we should see a good amount of snow, then by all means we'll dawn the cross country skis for covering the tops of the mountains. So, consider this just a small introduction to a many part series on Ricketts Glen, a wild little place in the world.