Xplore n More Philly: Skiing, Snowboarding, Adventure Group

Let's go get a little bit of exercise on the mountain bikes or hiking trails, and then get our first XNM paddle for the year at Marsh Creek State Park - West Ramp(at the end of Marsh Creek Park Rd, off of N Reeds Rd) near Downingtown, PA. Meet some new folks, ask about upcoming adventures!

We will meet at the WEST RAMP parking (do not get confused and go to other side) at 10:30am. For biking, wheels will be rolling at 10:45. We will split up into mountain bikers and hikers.

For mountain biking - we will split into two groups based on ability. We plan to have an advanced and intermediate/beginner group, so beginners are welcome! Plan for the bike ride to last for about two hours. Bring water for the ride.

At 1:00PM, we will set up some blankets or grab some tables to have a picnic. Bring your own food and drinks. Bring a folding chair or a blanket if we just want to grab a space in the shade.

At 2:00PM, we will start gearing up to get in our kayaks/SUPs and we will plan to be on the water by 2:30 (for those who have their own kayaks). Assuming that some people will need to rent kayaks, rentals can only be done on the other side, where you must drive to. If you need to rent, single kayak rentals at Marsh Creek are $60 for two hours. If there are a few renters, we can meet the renters across the lake over on the East side, at around 2:30PM, and then we will head into the wind, whichever direction that may be.

We will plan to kayak for 2 hours and then be back to the cars at around 4:30/5PM.

Afterwards, for those that still have energy, we will head to a local beer garden... Details to be announced on location.

Feel free to come for any of the 4 parts (mountain biking/hiking part, picnic, kayaking/SUP part, or just the beer garden, but let us know which parts you plan to join, and note that on nicer/warmer days, the parking often fills and they "close the park" until more parking opens up, so getting there earlier is better.

Sunset is after 8pm so we will do the 3 climbs and 6.5 miles with over 1000 ft of elevation gain.

This is an intermediate/advanced 6 mile hike (not for beginners), and we will move at a moderate pace of about 3.3mph, and unfortunately with the parking restrictions, we can't wait for slower hikers since we need to finish before dark. There are two fairly large hill climbs on this Mount Misery/Mount Joy hike, so you need to be in pretty decent shape, and the rocky terrain requires hiking shoes. We need to keep a good pace to be able to finish before dark.

The meeting spot will be the parking lot at the "Knox's Quarters Parking Lot".

This is a "dog friendly" hike, if your dog will keep up and is friendly with other dogs, but you can not bring your dog afterwards unless it can stay in the car while we eat/drink. Your dog is your responsibility and needs to be on a leash in order to join on our hikes (I hate this rule too but we need to comply with it).

FOOD AND DRINK AFTERWARDS (BYOB):
Happy Hour is on Thursday the 24th in Manayunk, so we will keep this simple... We will go to HG Coal Fired Pizza for some pizza, cheesesteaks, etc which is only about 5 minutes away. I recommend the "Chesterbrook Salad". Dogs can not come inside. We can bring alcoholic beverages.

We will paddle for a few hours at a more unique location for our group. We will launch and paddle around to one of the inlet creeks where we can take a dip in the super cold and fresh spring water. Bring your own beverages and snacks for the lake. There are NO RENTALS here, so you must bring your own kayak/paddleboard. They do require the PA boat launch permits (even for SUPs/Kayaks)... They are very cheap to buy online or at some sporting goods stores.

This will be a relaxing paddle, nothing too strenuous.

PARKING: Often the parking lot says that it is full, but if you tell the rangers that you are going to launch your boat there, they will usually let you through to park there.

We will have some games like paddleboard dodgeball, etc and you are participating at your own risk. You assume all risk for anything that happens on the lake.

This is a cross-post with the Its Better Outdoors since a lot of the XNM group will be up rafting and camping that weekend with them.