Chapman State Park & State Game Land 29

I hadn't been to Chapman State Park in many years, and I didn't intend to go there yesterday either.  But the vicissitudes of time being what they are, I found myself there again.

Chapman's a smallish but pretty park, surrounded on all sides by public lands: State Game Land 29 and the Allegheny National Forest. 

It's got pretty much anything you could want...a campground, a lake, a swimming beach, hiking trails, cabins, yurts, enclosed pavilions for winter use, and a big sled-riding hill that they light up on snowy nights--not photographed.  

My goal was to hike north along Allegheny National Forest Road # 536, which follows the West Branch of Tionesta Creek through State Game Land 29 all the way into the Chapman State Park--maybe 6 miles?  

But somehow, that didn't happen.  Instead, I ended up going straight to Chapman from its main (north) entrance and hiking south into SGL 29...pictured here.

The rock formations in the game land were fun.  Someone left a pair of boots at the top of this boulder, which is maybe 15 feet high.

I mean, it could be Big Bird...with a long stride like that, right?  What kind of bird walks with its feet in single file and its footfalls 24 inches apart?

It would be worth taking a day or two to explore SGL 29.  That's what I love about the North Country: No matter how much of your life you spend exploring it, there's always so much more to discover.  Strangely, I did actually meet 3 other solo hikers out in that far-flung place, plus one oil company employee on a weirdly silent "gator"...because, of course, the state game lands are exploited for maximum profit.