Vacation Part II - Hiking @ Hawk Mountain

So after some time in Amish country and visiting with my bro, it was time to head out for some hiking. We stopped at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. It is a non-profit, large (2500+acres) mountaintop preserve for raptors and other birds of prey. I can remember visiting there as a kid with my family and wanted to show Paul the great views.

We stopped at the visitor center to pay our trail fees. We stopped at the South Lookout, where a large group of birders were enjoying the views. We then took the Lookout Trail and stopped at the various lookouts to check out the scenery and the birds. After checking the map and the trail head (first picture below), we decided to tackle the Escarpment Trail. It was an amazing, rocky trail that reminded us of our backpacking trip to Isle Royale, but at the top of a mountain instead.








We completed that trail, stopped at the various lookouts, tested out the panorama function on my phone camera, enjoyed the view at the North Lookout, and took the much more leisurely Lookout Trail back to the car. More pictures (including the panoramas) are posted at our gallery webpage.

After changing shoes it was time to jump in the car and head to Tuscarora State Park for some yurt camping - or "glamping" as my neighbors called it :P