Ricketts Glen waterfalls ablaze

  

While it's not an endurance hike, the Falls Trail to the bottom of Ricketts Glen makes you wish you hadn't eaten that last doughnut for breakfast. Four miles of this rocky, slippery and steep trail will make you wonder why you chose to climb the glen. Then you see the first waterfalls, and remember.

Ricketts Glen State Park is about a pleasant three hour drive north of York. The park is the second most visited park in the state, says a ranger there, and autumn weekend crowds are ridiculous. Can't keep something like this a secret, so pick a weekday is possible.

While the park offers the usual park niceties, like a lake, woodland hiking, camping, picnicking, its jewel is the falls trail. Before you hit the trail, be aware that it's not the usual walk in the park. From the top of the glen or canyon to the bottom, it's a 1,000 foot drop.

That's good for making remarkable waterfalls, but tough on the legs and lungs. The rock steps can be extremely slick, and the rock paths are uneven and rough. Such is what you have to suffer through to see visions like this. The trail is in great shape for the shape it is. It's steep, on cliffs, through mud, over creeks.

On the way, you'll see waterfalls that range in size from ripples to a 90-foot tower of water. Twenty two of them are big enough to warrant a name, and many others are equally impressive, but just not as tall. Autumn color over the weekend wasn't spectacular-- mostly yellow, or shades of green-- but there were pockets of red maples. Check the woods opposite the creek for birds, mushrooms and mosses.

Once at the bottom, look forward to the return uphill. Actually, climbing isn't as tough because stopping for pictures or stopping to exclaim "Beautiful!" every three minutes will give you the break you need. Many of the hikers were using hiking poles and good shoes. Photographers were using monopods for walking sticks, helping navigate the path in soaked sneakers.

Of course, there was also a soon-to-be-mother slipping her way downhill in flipflops, and a father who was perturbed because he couldn't take the stroller. Apparently, the obvious warning signs explaining the dangers weren't enough. Or the newspaper articles at the head of the trail showing a recent rescue.