On top of the world

Wow just wow. If you have not hiked Hawk Mountain in Kempton PA yet you are missing out. This hike is definitely not for the faint of heart as there is a massive amount of boulder scrambling and climbing you will have to do. I promise you though, the views are worth it!

So a little bit of background before we get into the actual writeup of this badass hike. Hawk Mountain is a raptor sanctuary and the world’s first refuge for birds of prey. Back during the Great Depression, hunters would shoot birds of prey for sport. Thousands upon thousands of carcass’ littered the ground as hunters and sportsman would track down shoot and kill these majestic birds.

An activist, Rosalie Edge, saw photos taken by a photographer who photographed the scene decided to do something about this. In 1934, she came to Hawk Mountain and leased 1,400 acres. She had a warden on the property and the shooting stopped immediately and the next year, Mrs. Edge opened the Sanctuary to the public to see the birds of prey. She purchased and deeded the 1,400 acres to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, incorporated in 1938 as a non-profit organization in Pennsylvania. Today Hawk Mountain has now grown to 2,600 acres and welcomes more than 60,000 visitors a year.

The sanctuary now offers summer camps, education, and so many different events for the public to take part in. The goal is to educate about these magnificent birds. More information here: Hawk Mountain

I arrived Sunday morning at 7:30am. It was a cold and wet morning, the fog was extremely thick and there was not a soul in sight. It was quiet, so quiet I could hear every twig break in the woods, every chirp from a toad. Tranquil does not even begin to describe how peaceful it was.

When you first walk through the sanctuary doors there is a little stand for a park ranger. Admission to Hawk Mountain is $10 (fyi) and goes towards keeping the conservation up and running. After a few short steps you are welcomed by the gorgeous view featured above. The fog was thick this morning, so difficult to see very far, but none the less the view is magnificent.

I decided to hike counter clock wise which would take me down to the river of rocks. It was wet and slippery this morning so getting traction was difficult. I noticed my pace was much slower than normal. With the amount of rocks on the path, if I slipped, would immediately end my hike and have me limping back to my vehicle.

Immediately you begin to descend down the mountain and into a valley as you hike along the River of Rocks trail. This proved to be more difficult due to the slippery conditions of the trail. It was a slow and steady decent, which allowed me to take in the silence and beauty around me. Since it was so quiet, I was able to hear a lot of the wildlife lurking in the woods. Birds chirping and flying around, chipmunks scurrying along the path and even a few deer who yards away from me and yet I never would have known they were there. As you descend to the bottom of the valley you will go through a rhododendron forest, pass some very small streams, and obviously walk over some big ass boulders.

And may I present to you… shocking I know, The river of rocks!

Yep, it is exactly how it sounds. It is a bunch of rocks, all over. It’s actually pretty neat… just watch out for any snakes who may be lurking underneath. The River of rocks was formed during the last Ice Age. Due to the extreme climate change consisting of freezing and thawing, causing the rocks to crack into boulders, thus the river of rocks is born.

*** Fun fact. Some of the rocks in the sanctuary are from the Pre-Cambrian period, dating more that a billion, yes BILLION years ago. How wild is that?! ***

As you get through the river of rocks (please make sure to explore!). You come to the next checkpoint. Remember when I said it was all downhill? Well, now it’s time to climb back out of the valley… 800’ to be exact. The Golden Eagle Trail was definitely a workout. It seemed like the elevation was never going to end. I do have to toot my own horn for a second though because I was able to climb the entire elevation without stopping!… well I did stop once to snap a selfie of how exhausted I was. Picture below for your viewing pleasure LOL

During my climb it was completely silent (besides my heavy breathing). You want to talk about serenity, get into the middle of the woods. I promise you all of your stress and worries will melt away. I spotted a couple of deer grazing maybe 20 yards to the right of me. They had been watching me the entire time. As soon as I tried to grab my phone to snap a picture they ran off into the brush. As I finished and got to the top I stopped and gave myself a minute to regroup. That was a badass climb, but now the fun was really about to begin.

The next mile of the trail is not for the faint at heart. You literally are walking on boulders, boulder hopping and climbing the entire time to the North Lookout and the highest point in the sanctuary. This trail links up with the Appalachian Trail as you keep heading East. The trail is gorgeous though, and the views are even better. Slow and steady is the best way to tackle the Skyline trail.

If you are wondering what the blue and yellow paint is for… that is the trail marker.

Since this was a solo hike I attempted to get a selfie on top of the world. Unfortunately my phone decided to focus on the pine needles LOL.

As you get closer to the North Overlook the brush begins to thicken and the rocks are a little more wobbly and difficult to go across. I knew I was getting close. One final climb left and then I will have reached my destination.

And up we go! For your viewing pleasure I attached a video of my climb to the North Lookout. This was an awesome and honestly quite easy climb. The boulders are large enough there are many different ways to get to the top. You have secure footing the entire way and there are plenty of places to grab onto the rocks and pull yourself up. There also are spots to rest if needed. The overall climb took me maybe 4-5 minutes and that is going at a slower pace.

When I got to the top I could not believe the view. The fog was slowly starting to move out and visibility was a little further than when I had begun my hike. I stopped and sat down for about 10 minutes and took it all in. There were a couple of bird watchers sitting up further at the top of the rocks.

After my protein break I continued to the lookout trail. There are a couple of check points as you round back to the entrance. The slide was a neat spot. Apparently that is where they used to have a pully that carried rocks and boulders up the side of the mountain. Sunset Overlook is a neat little spot to see a sunset I assume lol. There are multiple other raptor outlooks as well. All providing gorgeous views of the mountain.

Pictured above is me pointing to the River of Rocks, 1500’ below. All in all I ended up hiking around 5 miles total and I was out for about 3 1/2-4 hours. Overall it was an amazing hike that I would do again. I will most likely be planning another hike during the fall to check out the foliage. I can only imagine how breathtaking it must be. If you are looking for a challenging hike with amazing views this is a good one to add to the list!

If you made it this far thanks for following my journey. Catch you out there next time!