THIS MONTH:

Camping in the Bald Eagle State Forest and doing a bit of wheeling and exploring around the area…

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…

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.

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

MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
16-31 May – Central PA
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]