Appalachian Trail: Blue Mountain Ridge to Port Clinton

Thru-hikers know Pennsylvania by the name Rocksylvania. Before too long, day-trippers on this 15-mile hike along the Blue Mountain ridge discover why. Truth be told, there are some early stretches of this walk through a maturing oak forest where a footstep will land on soil instead of sharp rock. Enjoy them. By the hike's end they will be distant, obscure memories. Mostly there are the rocks: gray-green, often jagged, quartzite shards, ranging in size from pork chops to pumpkins to Plymouths. Hikers will find them generally unsorted by size, and occasionally unsecured. Natural history feature: Auburn Lookout. Social history feature: Port Cling, "Buzzard Capital of the Northeast."