Bob Webber Trail

This hike is mentioned in Tom Thwaites’ book (50 hikes in central PA). I wanted to do some hiking in this area for some time. I did this on Memorial Day. This was my first solo hike away from State College ( I earlier hiked Mt.Nittany solo), so I took it easy and opted for a smaller (although more challenging) trail instead of the nearby Golden Eagle trail or the BFT. I reached the trailhead by 2:00 pm. A note of caution: The trailhead is on the creek side (left side, when driving north) of the road, at a place called Ross Run Canoe Access Area, just outside the village of Cammal. There is a sign for Wolf Run Wild Area on the right side of the road.

There were a few cars in the parking area. The view of Hemlock mountain and Pine Creek was magnificent. I started hiking at ~2:30 pm after signing at the the trail register. As the book mentions it, the trail gets very steep around 600 m although leveling off before the switchbacks. It was good hiking. The only downside was that I forgot to pack my recently purchased hiking pole (which would have come handy for the downhill return). I came across ~ 3-4 groups of hikers, all returning. It took me ~1.1 h to get to the top.

On the way, I passed the Raven’s Horn vista, took some pictures of some nice wildflowers and saw two worms sunbathing on a rock . The switchbacks were what I was looking for, after being disappointed in the Falls Trail in Ricketts Glen State Park. The book mentions two springs off the trail.

I was pleasantly surprised to find teaberry/wintergreen shrubs along with the hemlocks and oaks mentioned in the book. I first came across teaberry on my Mt. Nittany hike (Mothers’ Day, 2007). They were bearing fruit (as shown in the photo from my Mt.Nittany hike) back then. The leaves have a minty smell (due to methyl salicylate).

I had my lunch at the top, enjoying the magnificent views of Wolf Rock, Hemlock Mtn. and others. It was a really quiet place, the only sounds coming from the rustling of the wind and the bird calls. I also saw a couple of big birds (eagles/falcons ?) soaring above Wolf Rock.

I finally began to make my way down at 4:15 pm. I did not come across anyone going up. I saw a couple of frogs (probably tree frogs) well camouflaged amongst the leaves on my way down. The other vista on the trail (Pine Cliff lookout) was hidden by the trees. I also came across a pile of poo which was fibrous. Although I do not fancy myself to be a scatologist , I was curious about the animal which did that. I thought it looked like bear scat (bears are known to eat fresh leaves, grass in the spring time but cannot digest these very well, unlike say, deer or cows). Another, more mundane explanation would be a dog eating grass. Luckily for me, the poo was not fresh .

I went to the canoe launch area and enjoyed views of Pine Creek and the Hemlock Mtn. before driving back home.