I returned to the Standing Stone Trail this past weekend to scope some things out for my big end-to-end trek, which is planned for the summer of 2021. This time, instead of staying up on the highest peak around, I ended up setting up camp on a lower ridge that sits in the shadow of its taller neighbor.
My campsite was right on the trail, which I did not like, but it had a nice view off to the west despite being on a lower ridge. I have long watched movies on my iPad or iPhone when I'm backpacking alone. It takes my mind off the scary night creatures that could be lurking in the forest. On these two nights I bought and downloaded the old classic, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."
The ultimate test of my courage would be to watch "The Blair Witch Project" in my tent alone at night in the woods. I've never seen it because it came out when I was living in Africa. I have a friend who often backpacks with me, but he will not do it alone because of that movie! Rocky Ridge is an aptly named hill of about 1000 feet elevation. It runs alongside Stone Mountain, which stands at 2000 feet. As evening falls across the countryside, you can see the shadow that the smaller hill casts on the larger.
This area of the trail passes through some huge rock cities that are very much worth exploring. That's probably why it's named Rocky Ridge. It's also relatively close to the VERY cool little town of Huntingdon, so there were quite a lot of rock climbers who came out and interrupted my sense of solitude...except at night. After dark, I had the whole vast forest to myself. I think. Note to self: If I can possibly ever move to Huntingdon in this lifetime, I should definitely do it! Quaint, picturesque, surprisingly fashionable with microbreweries, and coffee shops, and antique stores. And it has a daily train into Philly and New York.
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