Second Hawk Rock Cleanup a GREAT Success!

The cleanest Hawk Rock has been in more than 35 years.

The cleanest Hawk Rock has been in more than 35 years.

Our second outing to clean the Hawk Rock area was a GREAT success thanks to the many wonderful volunteers who donated their time on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I think almost everyone managed to get at least a gallon of water up to Hawk Rock.  We were hoping for 20 gallons of water at the top of the mountain but ended up with about 35 gallons and we used every last drop to blast off as much graffiti as possible. There’s still some paint left in the nooks and crannies but nothing is legible and you can see more of the rock’s natural color coming through.

Third Rock, the rock closer to the bottom third of the mountain, came out almost perfectly clean since it only had a couple layers of paint on it.

In addition to hauling water and removing graffiti, volunteers from Day Hikers of Central PA, Reddit, DATC, MCM and SATC also helped: trim back trail vegetation, clear water bars, slide a big rock off the trail in the avalanche area, fix the step at the bottom of the stairs just before Hawk Rock, and collect 2 HUGE bags of trash from below Hawk Rock. Continue reading

DOC October Hike at Ricketts Glen State Park

DOC Logo
On Sat., Oct. 18th join the Duncannon Outdoor Club (DOC) for a day at one of the most beautiful state parks in PA. We will be spending the day at Ricketts Glen State Park, known for its 24 pristine falls ranging from 9 foot to 94 ft. We will be learning about the history of Ricketts Glen and hiking safety from park naturalist, Judy Adamic. Then we will hike over moderate to strenuous terrain at an average pace as we walk a total of 3.2 miles down the falls trail and back up again. It is known as the most magnificent hike in the state and one of the top hikes in the East. Pack a lunch, plenty of water and your cameras. Wear hiking boots as the trails by the falls are wet and slippery. This is an all-day event in that the ride there will be approximately 2 hours one way. Meet at 8:00 am at the Duncannon Family Health Center to carpool. Please reimburse drivers 10 cents per mile for gas. Call 395-2462 or email dtakach@duncannonatc.org to register.

DATC Newsletter – September 2014

Duncannon AT Community SignTHE JUNE DATC FESTIVAL:  The DATC Festival went pretty well.  We probably had about twice as many people in attendance than we did last year, we had a lot more volunteers, vendors were happier, and everyone seemed to like the location on High Street.  I would say it was a successful collaboration between the Appalachian Trail and the Duncannon community.  We polled the vendors after the festival and we received overwhelmingly positive responses with almost all saying they would return for next year.  We still have plenty of room to grow and look forward to your cooperation and participation next year on Saturday, June 20th.

HAWK ROCK VANDALISM: Some time during Friday, August 1st, a lovestruck loser decided to proclaim his love by setting up a table and chairs at Hawk Rock, painting about 30 red hearts along the Appalachian Trail, painting graffiti on a large rock a third of the way up the mountain, and spray painting a love message across all of Hawk Rock.  You can read more about it here.  We also happen to have a pictue of a guy who might know something about it.

HAWK ROCK CLEANUP – PART 1: On Sunday, August 24th, the DATC, the Mountain Club of Maryland and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy joined together to remove a large amount of the new graffiti and some of the old stuff too.  Hawk Rock is looking better than it has in years but our work is not done yet.

HAWK ROCK CLEANUP – PART 2: We have scheduled another cleanup day for this coming Sunday September 14th, and we are asking volunteers to carry water and help with some light trail maintenance.  We will be at the Duncannon Recycling Center between 10AM and 2PM and you are welcome to come out and help us or just bring some water jugs and get to know us.  Either way, Continue reading