QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERS
Ridge & Valley Outings Club publishes a quarterly newsletter for members. It includes the calendar of outings, and articles of interest. A subscription is sent by mail to members.
The current newsletter may be downloaded below in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, you can download it free at Acrobat
2008: Winter Spring
2007: Winter Spring Summer Fall
2006: Spring Summer Fall
LATE BREAKING NEWS
- TUESDAY EVENING HIKES by Greg Tothero
Evening hikes have already begun. Our first hike, in Musser Gap, was attended by thirteen hikers. Due to conflicts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we have begun hiking around town on Thursday evenings. We will continue hiking on Thursdays through April 17. On April 22, we will begin our regular Tues¬day night hikes.
Each week, we will meet in town to carpool to a trailhead in the surrounding area. We are planning hikes in Rothrock State Forest, Moshannon State Forest, Mt. Nittany and the Barrens. The hikes are between three and seven miles in length and are at a brisk pace. They are moderately strenuous in difficulty. Tues¬day Night Hikers should bring hiking boots, drinking water and flashlights. We occasionally finish hikes after sunset.
The destination for each hike is determined several days before each hike, and communicated by e-mail using the listserv. Occa¬sionally a hike may be changed at the last minute due to weather conditions. All hikes begin at 6:00 PM.
- GAS MONEY FOR DRIVERS
The RVOC Counsel has put forth the following policy regarding helping driver to the trail head with gas money:
"As we all are aware, gas prices keep on going up. The drivers who volunteer to take us to the Trail Head, so we can enjoy a hike are using their gas. I propose we give a donation to anyone we drive with, to help out with the gas. Who ever volunteer to take their car receives a donation from each hiker who rides in their car.
The RVOC will start asking each hiker to donate for gas money.
Rule # 1 ____ Drivers must NOT refuse to accept gas donations.
Rule # 2 ____ Riders should NOT give more than the designated amount.
Either action would ruin the system for others.
25 miles or less, round trip $1.00 donation (per hiker to volunteer driver.)
26 miles to 50 miles round trip $2.00 donation
51 miles to 75 miles round trip $3.00 donation
76 miles to 100 miles round trip $4.00 donationSince some folks always want to drive, while others never want to drive, sharing the cost of gas takes away guilt and uncertainty about who should drive and how much to give.
- Oops! by Greg Tothero
In the Winter Newsletter, I described a hiking route between Shingletown Gap and Musser Gap. Over the Christmas holiday, I went out to hike part of the route. I was surprised to come across No Trespassing signs along the route. The signs had not been there several weeks earlier.
Several days later, I received a phone call from a forester in Rothrock State Forest. He called to inform me that the route crossed private land. During our conversation, he told me that a trail connecting Musser Gap to other trails in Rothrock State Forest was in the planning stage and would be built this summer.
At this time, there is no route available between Musser Gap and other trails in the area without hiking off-trail. The view from the power lines at the top of the small ridge is not accessible.
You can still do a nice out-and-back hike in Musser Gap. There are nice views from the fields in the lower part of the hike. As you climb up into the gap, you enter a hemlock forest with a small stream.
Musser Gap is a nice place for a short hike. Longer hikes will have to wait until connecting trails have been built.
RVOC 2008 - Ridge & Valley Outings Club
WebPage Keeper: Lew Logan - LPL103@psu.edu