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 This week it's time to lace up your hiking boots and hit your favorite trail for Boots on the Ground. This quote attributed to Susan Sontag pretty much sums it up!
Explore PA Trails is a great place to start to find just the right adventure for you and your companions. With 490 trails covering nearly 11,000 miles, there is sure to be a pathway to happiness with your name on it. You can search by trail name if you already know it, browse by location whether you want to stay close to home or tick another box off the list, filter by trail length for a challenge or a stroll. With links to hikes from several organizations and state parks/forests, there's opportunity join a group if you're not ready for a solo excursion.
So, to paraphrase John Muir, the trail is calling and you must go!
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Jen posted a link to Charles Fergus' book on Pennsylvania's wild and natural areas to the GPOC Facebook page last week. Pam happens to have a copy and would be delighted to share it with one lucky winner. (Last year's GPOCers might remember that we had the occasional book club contest. This is a good time to reinstate it!)
How about we send the book to a randomly drawn GPOCer from all photographs submitted between today and next Wednesday afternoon? Post to Facebook or the website Social Center forums. Or just email them!
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The week's "Big Day" is National Trails Day on Saturday, June 7. Conceived by American Hiking Society, National Trails Day is "designed to promote and celebrate the importance of trails in the United States" and in many instances that "celebration" takes the form of volunteerism. It's the perfect day to find a trail care event and pitch in for the health of the trails for us all.
Check out the PPFF Calendar of Events for a list of places in our state parks to lend a hand.
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PPFF On the Move
Where will we be on National Trails Day? The Home Office crew will be at Little Tinicum Island in the Delaware River (William Penn State Forest) (pictures of wild and natural areas to follow!) on Friday for the annual island clean-up, then spending a little time Saturday morning assisting the Friends of Pine Grove Furnace with their BIG Iron Run Half Marathon.
Meanwhile, Pam will join the Laurel Mountain Volunteer Group at the Laurel Summit warming hut for a little work around the hut and along the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.
Come on out and say hi or join in the fun!
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Walk Off the War
One of our favorite subjects at PPFF is the health benefits of being outside (see Health Watch below) and in no instance is that more true than in the case of Walk Off the War. This program, founded by Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Sean Gobin, works to help veterans transition back to something like normalcy by supporting expeditions on America's long distance trails (AT, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide).
Did you know that famous "first AT thru-hiker" Earl Shaffer undertook his journey on the Appalachian Trail in 1948 for the very same reason?
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Health Watch
Walking! It's such a perfect activity that the American Heart Association has devoted an entire section of their website to promoting it and making it easy for everyone to plan an individual program. You can even design your own walking path and upload it to the site to share with others.
 It's been said what seems like a million times - regular exercise will make you feel better, happier, calmer, less stressed. In a sister publication (Explore - April 2014), Marci talked about how continuing to exercise even after an arthritis diagnosis has resulted in a reduction in her stress level, both about the disease and "just because." Friend Wendy just told Pam this weekend that she's now participating in a medical study about the best walking program for people with arthritis in their knees. The question is whether it's better to do one long daily walk or several short ones. Note that the proof is already there - walking helps!
The Arthritis Foundation agrees. So. Sneakers or boots. Day hike on the Lehigh Gorge Trail or full-on backpacking excursion on the Mid-State Trail. National Walking Day (April 2) falls outside the GPOC parameters and can easily be bookmarked for next year. But don't wait until April to start putting one foot in front of the other!
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