Mount Nittany: Fall Adventure Hike led by Centred Outdoors

This Sunday, September 21, on the very eve of autumn (fall equinox) Centred Outdoors, a program of the ClearWater Conservancy, is sponsoring a hike up Mount Nittany similar to the one Mount Nittany Hikers did last October.

Its focus is on the remnant specimens of American chestnut still scattered across the mountain, especially its crest, and the dedicated, long-term efforts to restore this great species to some semblance of its former prominence throughout its range, which included Appalachian and other eastern deciduous forests.

Mount Nittany Hikers members are welcome to join this educational and fitness event.

In the last century, the American chestnut was smitten by an exotic and deadly fungus called the chestnut blight. Chestnut populations were decimated. The American Chestnut Foundation has been working since 1983 to bring back this grand tree.

From the Centred Outdoors Mount Nittany Hike web page:
Hike Distance: 3.6 mi.
Ascent: 875 ft.
Difficulty: Difficult
Outing Map

This 3-mile hike starts with a climb of approximately 875 feet (vertical ascent) to the crest of local landmark Mount Nittany, on a trail system maintained by the Mount Nittany Conservancy. Hikers will be treated to the sight of numerous American chestnuts (Castanea dentata), an iconic species in Appalachian deciduous forests, but one which was devastated in the last century by the appearance of an exotic fungus known as the “chestnut blight.”

Lake Graboski, Regional Science Coordinator for the American Chestnut Foundation, will recount the compelling story of this resilient tree, and inform us about the Foundation’s efforts to restore it to its place in our forests.