Be A Hiker by E. L. Berkowitz

The sun's up and promises to warm the banks of Sand Run before noon. It's May in Tioga County and I can barely wait to get outside and be a part of it! My fingers stumble in excitement as I rush to lace up my new hiking boots. I reach for my day pack and go over the checklist in my head. Water, snacks, first aid kit, headlamp and of course my dog-eared guide to wild flowers. A beautiful, twenty minute drive later I'm at the trail head to Sand Run Falls and ready to go. I walk into the woods and everything slows down. This is the perfect time of year to shake off that winter slump and start hiking again! Temperatures are cool and comfortable. No bugs, no undergrowth and lots of wildflowers waking up and rising out of last years leaves.

Now is the time to be a hiker. Who can be a hiker? What is it that hikers do that make them feel they can, well, call themselves hikers? To be a hiker you need only to have a desire to walk in the woods and then go do it. People ask me all the time, "What do I need to go hiking?" New boots, a pack, rain jacket? Maybe. Hiking equipment will allow certain freedoms and comforts, such as hiking on a rainy day. But all you really need is that sense of adventure. The desire to know what's around the bend in the trail or wonder if a waterfall is just another half mile up the creek. You might find yourself craving granola, raisins and snickers bars. Water and plain bagels smeared with peanut butter were never tastier. Stopping to watch a bird build it's nest or sitting on a mossy, wet log at level with spring beauty and hapaticka so thick and brilliant white you forget it's not snow but spring flowers. These are the little things that a hiker craves. These are the little things that make

Tioga County one of the most beautiful places in the Mid-Atlantic states and this is the reason you should lace up your boots and be a hiker. Sand Run Falls Trail can be found just outside of Arnot, PA. A seven mile circuit hike consisting of easy ups and downs. The trail is rocky in places and wet through most of the year, especially springtime. You'll find a rewarding waterfall at Sand Run as well as a good selecction of wild flowers through out the spring and summer seasons. If you're still hungry for more try wandering up the side streams that meet at Sand Run Falls. You'll find many other waterfalls and a true feeling of solitude. For more information on this hike or it's location visit Wild Asaph Outfitters of Wellsboro, PA or email the author at dothemountain@yahoo.com.