Pennsylvania’s large forested landscape traces back to a 1681 land grant that shaped the region’s vast old-growth tree coverage. Nearly 60 percent of the state remains forested, supplying abundant dirt and gravel roads close to home. A rider and a friend repeatedly explore these routes using Honda Trail 125s, ranging from easy gravel to difficult expert sections of the Mid-Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route. One ride begins near Rothrock State Forest and quickly reaches a network of paths that makes access to nature feel like a gift. Bear Meadows Natural Area is remembered from a late-winter visit when crossing an ice-covered bog led to a fall into waist-deep water, followed by continued hiking plans.
"My first visit to Bear Meadows was in the late winter of 1974. A woman I was dating, a serious hiker and backpacker, brought me here to to enjoy one of the local natural areas that she visited often. It was a cold, bright day without a breath of wind. The temperature was hovering just above zero as we started across the ice covered bog. A hundred yards out I fell through the ice. Thankfully, the water was only waist deep and she helped me out and I remember how fast my pants froze."
Read at Scooter in the Sticks
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