My First Hike In The Thornhurst Tract Of The Pinchot State Forest.
The Pinchot State Forest is a 50,000 acre forest located on several tracts in Lackawanna, Wyoming, Wayne, Susquehanna and Luzerne Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I have hiked in the Crystal Lake and Mocanaqua tracts before but I made my first visit to the Thornhurst Tract in Luzerne County last Sunday. It won’t be my last. I loved the trails in the forest, although my planned 7 mile hike was shortened by an unexpected thunderstorm. 
I arrived early, around 6:30 am, at the parking lot for the Pinchot Trailhead on Bear Lake Road. I was unfamiliar with the forest , so I began my hike at the entrance to Tannery Road thinking it may be the trail. 
Tall native red spruce trees,
and hay-scented ferns grew along the gravel road. 
And, after a short distance the road passed through large thickets of rhododendrons. The rhododendrons had already finished blooming
and I missed what looked like a spectacular display of these native flowers, as can be seen by the few beautiful flowers if found. 
There were a few eastern towhees scampering beneath the rhododendrons. This is a female,
and this a male. They and their noises calls are common throughout the woodlands on Northeastern Pennsylvania. 
After about a 1/4 mile I realized I wasn’t on a trail and so I checked my AllTrail App. and found the trailhead to the McClintock Gate Trail. Shortly after beginning my hike on the trail passed through a forest of towering rhododendrons. 
At times I was hiking through a tunnel of the lush green evergreen shrubs. I loved walking on this beautiful, peaceful trail. I didn’t see another person on this five mile hike.
I did see and hear a lot of birds but it was difficult to photograph them in the thick vegetation along the trail,
however, when there was some clearings I was able to see, and get a few photos of this chestnut sided warbler,
this black and white warbler,
a black throated blue warbler, 
and this Canada warbler, 
enjoying a morning meal.
There were few flowers growing along the shaded trail, but I did see these native dewdrops, the first time I saw these flowers that grow in bogs and moist forest in northern Pennsylvania.
There were a few mushrooms, including this one, I believe it is yellow patches,
and this common white plant that many mistake as a fungus, it is ghostpipe or indianpipe plant. It is actually a flowering plant that does not produce chlorophyll and obtains it’s nutrients through a complicated process involving tree roots and fungi.
The trail continued through the rhododendron thickets for about a mile. It was one of the nicest trails I have hiked in a while. The trail then entered a heath meadow,
that a few weeks ago would have been covered in pink and red sheep laurel flowerers, only a very few still bloomed, 
the rest have gone to seed. 
I also saw some fly poison flowers growing along the trail. This plant was crushed, mixed with honey and used by the early colonist as fly poison. 
There were also some low bush blue berries growing along the trail. 
I heard some common yellow throats in the meadow and heard and saw a few gray catbirds. 
The trail continued through the meadow for only about a quarter mile when it proceeded through a forest of mainly aspen, birch and an occasional oak tree.
The trail took me into some older woodlands, where, 
under the shade of the large oak trees I found some mushrooms growing including a few edible black trumpet mushrooms,
these poisonous jack-o-lantern mushrooms, 
and, I believe this is a deadly destroying angel amanita mushroom. 
Cinnamon ferns,
and interrupted ferns also grew along the shaded trail. 
The McClintock Gate Trail intersected with the Stone Lookout Trail, and the trail became strewn with stones,
as it took me up a steep ridge. 
As I was reaching the top of the ridge, I heard and saw this hermit thrush singing in a tree. 
While photographing the wood thrush I thought a heard the distant rumble of thunder. I waited and listened and heard it again. I was surprised since there was no storms in the forecast. The thunder got closer and I saw on my iPhone that a storm would arrive in a 1/2 hour. I was out 2 1/2 miles and thought for sure I would not make it back and I would get caught in the storm. I felt the best place to be would be under the rhododendron thickets so I began to walk quickly back to my Jeep. 
The skies darkened and the thunder got closer but the rains held off until I got to the Tannery Road. It began to rain hard, and I got soaked, but there was no lightning so I was relieved. I love thunderstorms but not in the middle of a forest. 
I almost made it to may Jeep when it began to pour, I got soaked, but I was only in the rain a few minutes. I sat in my Jeep and waited the storm out. It lasted for about twenty minutes. I had only walked 5 miles of my planned 7 mile hike so when the rain stopped I decided to drive a short distance and hike on Powder Magazine Trail. 
It was still cloudy with a light rain when I began my hike on the trail. The trail first part of the trail took me through a woodland of pine and spruce trees with hay-scented ferns along the trail. 
The cinnamon ferns, 
interrupted ferns and
bracken ferns along the trails were wet from the passing storm,
as were the teaberry plants which were now blooming.
I also saw this coral fungus growing along the trail. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the flowers and plants I saw on my hike. Pinchot State Forest. flowers and plants July 14 2024.
The trail then continued up a steep ridge through another thicket of rhododendrons. There were a lot of rocks and roots on the trail. 
As I continued up the ridge, the sun broke through the clouds. The raindrops on the leaves along the trail sparkled in the late morning sun. 
Along the trail I saw this rain soaked black-capped chickadee 
and this, I believe, immature eastern towhee. 
I also saw this moth, I believe it’s a peacock moth, drying it’s wet wings in the sunshine. 
I continued throw the narrow trail , which at times, was overgrown with ferns and shrubs. Here, even with my Ranger tick and insect repellant, I had to remove almost a dozen ticks. 
I followed the trail for about a 1/2 mile when I decided to hike back to my Jeep.
On the way I saw this veery ,
and a few common yellowthroats in the woods along the trail. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike in the state forest . Pinchot State Forest. birds July 14 2024.
I walked back under the now strong July sun as the temperatures climbed into the 80’s. I saw a few of the high bush blueberry bushes along the trail that were pulled down, a sure sign there are black bears in woodlands. I finished up my 2 mile hike, arriving at my Jeep shortly after noon. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from my hike in the state forest . Pinchot State Forest. birds July 14 2024.
I really enjoyed both my 5 mile and 2 mile hike and plan to return this weekend to explore more of this forest and it’s many trails and hopefully see a bear or two. 
All forests have their own personality. I don’t just mean the obvious differences, like how an English woodland is different from a Central American rain forest, or comparing tracts of West Coast redwoods to the saguaro forests of the American Southwest… they each have their own gossip, their own sound, their own rustling whispers and smells. A voice speaks up when you enter their acres that can’t be mistaken for one you’d hear anyplace else, a voice true to those particular trees, individual rather than of their species.”
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