A beautiful day to scout out a trail for an upcoming teacher's professional development experience later in June. Amos was especially excited to go since I've been down with a bad cold for a week and we haven't had any long walks, not even at night. Texter Mountain is the highest point in Lancaster County and is as far into the northeast corner of the county as you can get. Though the preserve is at around 1,600 feet, the actual summit of 1,800 feet is on private property adjacent to the preserve's boundary. Add the steep double-dip to Harnish Creek twice crossed on this loop, this is a nice hilly walk.
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| Harnish Run |
These are the Triassic Lowland Furnace Hills section of South-East PA and not far from here are the ruins of several iron furnaces, forges, and quarries. Within a twenty-five mile radius are the ruins of Speedwell Forge, the great Cornwall Iron Works, Hopewell Furnace, Warwick Furnace, and the Joanne Furnace Complex. Hiking this 2-mile loop we are in the heart of Colonial iron ore country. Lots of industrial history. Furnaces required forests and Texter Mountain was certainly logged over several times to supply charcoal fuel. Old logging roads form about half the loop trail.
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| Old Yellow Birch |
The current forest is mature Hickory, Birch, Beech, and Cherry. I met up with an very old Yellow Birch with a base diameter of ten feet around. Pignut Hickory, Mockernut Hickory, and (my favorite) Shagbark Hickory are abundant with a great age-range from sapling through hundred-year mature trees. Ovenbirds accompanied us the whole way.
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| Shagbark Hickory |
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| Crossing Harnish Run again... |
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| ... and a snack break, mesmerized by the water. |
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| False Hellebore |
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| Dame's Rocket |
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| Blue-Eyed Grass |
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| Black Snakeroot |
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| Devil's Walkingstick |
We completed the loop despite my having to stop a lot to catch my breath. I'm still coughing my way back to feeling 100% after that cold. This did not make His Holiness, the Minor Prophet, very happy as he knows only one speed and that is forward. He tolerated my many requests to "stop and wait" but just barely.
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| Amos, the Minor Prophet |
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