Sunday 9/8 Promised Land Hike!

Join us for a long hike in what was known as the "Promised Lands" of the Poconos. When originally settled, these properties were sold off to hopeful farmers in search of a successful life in the new world. Unfortunately, they found the area to be harsh and no good for farming at all.When farmers attempted to plant their fields, the freezing and thawing made the rocks come to the surface, which are today referred to as "Pocono Potatoes".
For this hike, we will be meeting at 9 am at the main entrance to Promised Land State Park on Rt 390, Promised Land Road. Google Maps also shows this as Fairview Lake Road. A map of the park can be found here: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_003250.pdf
From the meeting point, we will shuttle with as few cars as possible south to our beginning, near the northern end of Thunder Swamp Trail.
DO NOT  go solely by GPS!!!
 GPS units are not good for finding trail heads. If you're looking for a store or whatever, they're find, but with trails you should always read my trip description first with meeting point and then adjust accordingly. GPS units often send people to the middle of nowhere in the Poconos. Directions are also on the brochure at the park website for which I posted the map. I don't want anyone to get lost! I often have people calling me and asking how to get to the meeting point, and often I am not familiar with the roads in the area either. Sometimes we have to do a little homework before blindly driving! This time everybody should be ready because I may not have any cell phone reception for much of the day!
The hike will be about 18 miles, but shouldn't be so tough because so much of it is plateaued areas with only gently rolling hills. Much of what we will be following are dirt, gravel, or otherwise unpaved woods roads interspersed with trails and a utility right of way.The route is at first within Delaware State Forest. We ill follow the Burnt Mills Swamp Trail, really a woods road, and continue to Pine Flats Fireline Trail, another woods road. We take this to a dirt road known as High Line Road. We'll follow this, then pick up a utility right of way with an ATV path along it. This is the only serious climb on the hike, as we ascend High Knob, with views from the top.Beyond High Knob, we'll follow the utility right of way to a series of dirt roads from which we'll pick up Big Inlet Trail. This will lead us into Promised Land State Park. We'll utilize the state park trails to reach our end point along the lake.
Because of the distance, this hike is not for beginners. While the woods roads will often make for a relaxing route, there will be a couple of difficult sections.
Contact me for further details:908 343 8374