This 4.5-mile, easy-to-moderate, loop hike includes segments of the Dutch Alvin Trail, Chestnut Spring Trail, and Brush Ridge Trail.
The hike is located just 5-10 minutes from the Alan Seeger Natural Area in Rothrock State Forest, and starts at a parking lot adjacent to Coopers Gap Road.
HOWEVER, WE WILL MEET AT 1 P.M. AT THE JO HAYS VISTA ON RTE 26 ON THE CREST OF TUSSEY MOUNTAIN ABOVE PINE GROVE MILLS AND CARPOOL TO THE TRAIL PARKING LOT FROM HERE.
Once on Dutch Alvin, we will pass through “early successional” forest in an old logging clearcut undergoing natural reforestation, obtain nice views of surrounding mountain ridges, and traipse through lovely stands of mature, second-growth forest, and one dense stand of rhododendron.
The route is mostly on gentle slopes and not very rocky, but there are approximately 400 vertical feet of ascent involved in total.
If I can find them again, we may be treated to the sight of the largest sassafras trees (Sassafras albidum) I have ever observed, boasting their leaves with three different shapes. As a species, smallish sassafras is typically confined to the understory of Appalachian forests, but these big guys managed to break out of the understory, defy stereotypes and categories, and go on to bigger and better things. Ecologically, S. albidum serves as a host of the caterpillars (larvae) of 37 species of native butterflies and moths.
While sassafras is best-known today for its bark being used as an ingredient and flavoring in a traditional herbal tea, all parts (leaves, fruits, flowers, stems, bark, wood, and roots) of S. albidum were once heavily utilized by Native Americans for a number of medicinal purposes, as well as a dye, flavoring (for bear fat, among other uses), and even a fire-starter.
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Hunting season has begun (for bobwhite quail, at least), and so as a general rule, it's a good idea to wear bright colors, although our merry and boisterous group will offer a certain "safety in numbers."
