Welcome, October. The turning of the calendar has already brought us some splendid sunsets.
Here’s our itinerary:
Uncovering a lush space: Get the story behind Cherry Hill’s Magic Forest.
A test of resilience: Join Inquirer reporter Jason Nark on a hike of Pennsylvania’s toughest trail in 2.5 days — all 43 miles of it.
Stay grassy: How long can Grassy Sound, an iconoclastic Shore community, keep from floating away?
☀️ Your weekend weather outlook: Sunny, highs in the 70s.
— Julie Zeglen (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)
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There’s magic lurking in suburban South Jersey.
A reader asked The Inquirer’s Curious Cherry Hill forum about the origin of the plot of land colloquially known as the Magic Forest. So, we did some digging. Here’s what we learned about it:
🌲 Cherry Hill Township bought the site from a developer nearly 50 years ago after supporters rallied to protect its wild landscape.
🌲 Residents had been growing concerned about the area’s dwindling green space, as farmland was taken over by neighborhood construction. (Blame the hype around the then-new Cherry Hill Mall.)
🌲 They rallied again in the ’80s, after which the township council rejected a bid from the Cherry Hill School District to turn parts of the woods into soccer fields.
Learn the full story behind Cherry Hill’s Magic Forest.
News worth knowing
One of Pennsylvania’s newest trails is in a turnpike rest stop. Sideling Hill Plaza in Waterford now offers green access for cyclists and hikers.
A federal ruling has cleared the way for Philadelphia to acquire land in Callowhill to expand the Rail Park, the elevated green space built on the old Reading Railroad Viaduct.
Philly has sued two companies that it says deceive city residents into putting plastics that aren’t recyclable in their blue bins.
Pennsylvania State University released a guide on identifying the more than 440 (!) bee species in the state.
Philadelphia Birding Weekend returns Oct. 10 through 12, with events held across the city’s nature spaces.
🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to Jason Nark.
It was some time after lunch, on a recent Saturday afternoon, that I began to regret my decision to hike Pennsylvania’s Black Forest Trail.
Maybe it was the $1 bag of beef-flavored ramen I’d cooked, or the gnats drinking my sweat, or the 30-pound pack that was digging into my hips.
Mostly, it was the trail itself. The Black Forest Trail is named after the ubiquitous eastern hemlocks that shade the landscape with their dense canopies. It’s widely considered Pennsylvania’s most difficult trail by the state’s hiking enthusiasts. Reviews of the North-Central Pennsylvania loop on the ever-popular AllTrails hiking app attest to that.
“This is without a doubt the hardest trail in PA. The ascents and descents will test your mental fortitude, not just your physical fitness,” one hiker wrote. — Jason Nark
It’s all in Nark’s full feature story. Keep reading to finish the hike together.
Grassy Sound is a unique area near North Wildwood that dates back to the 1880s. But worsening erosion has residents fearing their homes will float away.
It’s not an unfounded fear: During a powerful storm last year, a neighboring home broke from its pilings and drifted into the channel.
Residents are asking for help from the state or federal government. Among their concerns are wracks — mats of dead marsh grass that move about like floating islands looking for a place to land.
Environment reporter Frank Kummer has more.
Orange you glad
I mean, nature was just showing off this week, right?
🌳 Your outdoorsy experience
Reader Melissa Straiton sent in this helpful tip following last week’s edition on trail safety:
I recently attended the Women In the Big Woods weekend at French Creek State Park and took a few courses with wilderness survival themes. The number one rule that they all stressed was making sure someone knows where you are. If you’re going camping for a weekend, send someone your itinerary. If you’re going for a few-mile day hike, tell someone which park and trail and set a time for a check in. Many of our state parks do not have cell service, so you may not be able to call for help if you find yourself lost or disabled. But if first responders have an idea of your whereabouts, it will help to narrow down the search area.
Thanks for hanging out with me outdoors(y) these past two weeks. Paola will be back with you next Friday.
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