THIS MONTH:

The Trail Repair workshop with the Off Road Consulting group at AOAA is a great opportunity to learn field fixes and hacks to get vehicles safely back to the road or trailhead…

COMING UP SOON:

All public events have been cancelled across the country including several of those that USnomads had been scheduled to participate in such as the Texas Rovers’ April SCARR event, the May Overland Expo West and the June Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival. The annual Jeep Safari in Moab is cancelled and all camping in the area is temporarily prohibited. International travel has been disrupted as well meaning our upcoming travel to Paris has been put on hold and even the summer Serbia trip to help with the plum harvest is in question…


The 5th Annual 2020 Ladies Offroad Challenge starts on May 4th. Ladies will participate in a series of challenge tasks that are built to educate and encourage stepping into some unknown territories. The Challenge goes on over ten weeks with participants striving to “Do the Best They Can” at each of the tasks. Ten Participants from the Challenge will be invited to the very special Top 10 Weekend hosted by Charlene Bower…


For the moment the August LON Convention remains on the schedule, as we are hopeful that the situation will be such that the event can go on. So as of now the plan remains heading to Michigan for the Ladies Offroad Convention, an action-packed, interactive 4-day weekend educating, motivating, and guiding for offroad ladies. The 4th Annual Convention will be held in Grand Blanc, Michigan from July 30th to August 2nd. Ladies will have many hands-on opportunities to gain all types of offroading skills, learn and engage with others as they share their stories with plenty of laughs along the way…

ABOUT HICKORY RUN

Hickory Run is a 15,990-acre state park spread across the Pocono Mountains in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. With 44 miles of hiking trails, there are a variety of experiences available, but the park’s most notable feature is the huge boulder field located in the northeast corner. The boulder field can be reached via a graded dirt road or by hiking the 3.5-mile Boulder Field Trail from the trailhead on SR 534. The field comprises about 720,000 square feet (16.5 acres) in area and the top of the boulder layer is virtually level with the approaching path. The largest of its kind in the Appalachian region, the Boulder Field consists of a gently sloping expanse of boulders occupying the axis of a small valley. It is surrounded by a coniferous forest with stony loam soils. The Boulders are between three and thirty feet in diameter and are hard, gray-red, medium-grained sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone from the Catskill Formation which forms the adjacent ridgelines. There are two widely accepted theories about the formation of the boulder field. One theory suggests that boulder-size blocks are generated from the fracturing of an upslope bedrock outcrop by alternating freeze and thaw. As boulders accumulate at the base of the rock slope, periglacial ice-catalyzed heaving and sliding transports them downslope during cold climatic periods to form boulder fields. The second theory says that boulder fields are formed by the exhumation of corestones initially formed underground by the action of spheroidal weathering on jointed bedrock. Later, the weathered rock, which is called saprolite, is progressively removed by erosion from around the corestones to expose them as isolated boulders. In time, these boulders are altered and redistributed by the accumulation of unconsolidated soil and sediment; freeze and thaw; and perhaps by periglacial action or glaciation during cold periods to form boulder fields. The presence of glacial erratics south of the area of the Hickory Run boulder field indicate that this area has been covered by an ice sheet at least once. The most extensive ice sheet to cover the area containing this boulder field occurred prior to 900,000.

BALD EAGLE STATE FOREST

The Bald Eagle State Forest is located in central Pennsylvania, across Centre, Clinton, Mifflin, Snyder, and Union Counties. Bald Eagle shares a common border on its western extent with Rothrock State Forest and on its northern extent with Tiadaghton State Forest. Five Pennsylvania State Parks are contained within the forest: Poe Valley, Poe Paddy, R. B. Winter, Reeds Gap, and Sand Bridge, as well as two former state parks: Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area (formerly Snyder-Middleswarth State Park) and Hairy Johns Picnic Area (formerly a state park known as both “Hairy John’s State Forest Park” and “Voneida State Forest Park”). Named for the famous Native American Chief, Bald Eagle, it spans the high, sharp ridges of central Pennsylvania and features miles of pristine mountain streams and numerous tracts of old-growth forest. Bald Eagle forest district lies in the beautiful ridge and valley section of the state. From the limestone-rich Susquehanna Valley in the southeast to the Allegheny Mountains in the northwest, the forest district is dominated by a series of sandstone ridges, some of which reach heights of 2,300 feet above sea level. The confluence of the west and north branches of the Susquehanna River occurs on the eastern boundary of the district, opposite the town of Northumberland. Many streams within the area originate in its forested ridges and flow in several directions, eventually emptying into the Susquehanna River. Public watersheds comprise over one-third of Bald Eagle State Forest, making the wise management of this land essential. The Bald Eagle State Forest was actually formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Dr. Joseph Rothrock became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and Iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. They clear cut the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfires that prevented the formation of second growth forests. The conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests. The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today’s Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of “unseated lands for forest reservations.” This was the beginning of the State Forest system.

BALD EAGLE STATE PARK

The 5,900-acre Bald Eagle State Park is in the broad Bald Eagle Valley of northcentral Pennsylvania. The 1,730-acre lake laps the flanks of Bald Eagle Mountain, surrounded by forests, fields, and wetlands. With two campgrounds, boating, fishing, swimming, the Nature Inn, and diverse habitats that are excellent for wildlife watching, Bald Eagle State Park is a great destination in the heart of Pennsylvania. The Nature Inn, voted the #1 Eco-Lodge in the nation, offers sweeping lake views, comfortable modern accommodations and amenities, all within the natural setting of Bald Eagle State Park. Everything in and around the lodge was designed with the environment in mind, so it all blends right in. Throughout the inn, one theme resonates above all others – Birds. From the bird tracks leading you to our front lobby, to the Audubon and Ned Smith prints in each room where binoculars and birding books encourage visitors to get out and observe the birds — including a nesting pair of bald eagles just behind the inn in Hunter Cove.

ABOUT OFF ROAD CONSULTING

The Off Road Consulting group is led by Kyle Buchter a certified International 4 Wheel Driver Trainer (I4WDTA), with over two decades of experience in guiding, teaching and recovery. Based in central Pennsylvania, Off Road Consulting provides training, guided rides, mapping, trail design and layout, obstacle course construction and consulting for a client base that includes the automotive industry, military, law enforcement, and utility companies in addition to recreational enthusiasts.

Nesconset | Paris | Tremont | Shamokin | Pine Grove | Howard

MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
1-15 May – Re-opening Trails
April – Lockdown NY
16-31 March – Lockdown NY
9-15 March – Roadtrip Home
1-8 March – Moab
23-29 February – Vegas to Anza Borrego
15-22 February – Southwest Roadtrip
8-14 February – Southwest Roadtrip
1-7 February – Glamis to Vegas
27-31 January – Yuma to Glamis
15-26 January – Nevada to Arizona
1-14 January – Starting the New Year
24-31 December – Holidays on the Road
16-23 December – Cross-Country Drive
9-15 December – New York
1-8 December – Paris
16-30 November – Paris & Rennes
1-15 November – New York
14-31 October – Arizona
8-13 October – LON TOP TEN
1-7 October – Girl Gang Garage
16-30 September – Women’s Wheeling
1-15 September – Long Island
9-31 August – Serbia
1-8 August – #LONCON2019
16-31 July – Roadtrip to Atlanta
1-15 July – Cape Cod
15-30 June – Eastern Long Island
1-14 June – Bantam Jeep Festival
May – PA Trail cleanup
Archive

REFLECTIONS

EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS

A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]

SPECIAL REPORT

ALGERIA SCOUTING

A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]