Photos

Hawk Mountain, so named because it sees the annual migrations of more than a dozen raptor species, is the world's first sanctuary for birds of prey and a beautiful park for hiking. We went hiking there in early May, so we were outside of the migration season. It was a good thing we were not planning to do any bird-watching, because a very thick fog blanketed the entire mountain and we could not see anything at all from the vistas! (I've put an example of that in the workshop). However, it gave me a chance to test my camera's abilities in fog, and I must say it did quite well, preserving color and clarity without whiting out too badly. The photo as posted here has had no editing besides resizing.

The trail was extremely rocky, requiring quite a few scrambles up cascades of boulders, some along a cliff face. The forest, which was mixed hardwood and coniferous (lots of hemlocks, the state tree), was so gorgeous that even without the vistas, it was one of the most memorable hikes I've taken.

To plan a trip (highly recommended if you are in PA!), see the Hawk Mountain Website: http://hawkmountain.org/index.php?pr=Home_Page