Hike Local

10/26/2024

A beautiful afternoon for this autumn plant walk! We discovered so many plants along this easy three-quarter mile path. Among them witch hazel, sassafras, black birch, maple-leaf viburnum, wintergreen, and fairy wand. I am so grateful for my fellow plant-lovin’ people and to do this work sharing in the magic and medicine of the plants with others. Though, I will tell ya, it’s not really work when you love what you do❤️🌿

10/22/2024

The final blogpost of my Pennsylvania Wilds Wander🥾🥾The 27-mile Old Loggers Path was a true walk in the woods. Sparkling creeks, vistas, and so many trees to meet🌲The natural world has so much to share if we only take the time to listen, to see, to hear, to sense. This presence is how we can give back. What a close to a beautiful and healing journey! Thanks for following along y’all!🙏🏻⛰️🌲🥾🥾🐶🌸🦌

Click the link to read more!

Old Logger's Path signage crafted from an old saw We were slated to head home after the Allegheny Front Trail. I hadn't set out on this wa...

10/20/2024

While wandering Pennsylvania I had the opportunity to do some dayhikes as well, finishing up some miles on the Susquehannock Trail and also exploring the enchanting and remote Hammersly Wild Area. The Hammersly Wild Area is the largest area in PA without a road. Check out the link to read more about these special places and my experience there🥾🥾

Amos and I taking shelter from the rain beneath the awning of a hunt camp On my Pennsylvania Wilds Wander I also had time to enjoy some da...

10/19/2024

Here’s a write-up about my time of the Allegheny Front Trail! A beautiful 40-mile loop trail located in Moshannon State Forest in the PA Wilds. It packed so much, I know I will be hiking this trail again🌿🥾🥾⛰️
Click the link to read more:

All smiles heading off on the Allegheny Front Trail As part of my Pennsylvania Wilds Wander, I embarked on a third loop, Allegheny Front T...

09/30/2024

What a hike it’s been on the Susquehannock Trail! Yesterday I completed my northern 30-mile loop of this beautiful trail system. Open the door and simple step outside, wonder awaits! Here’s a blog post detailing my hike:

Amos looking out from Dynamite Shelter The Susquehannock Trail System is the longest loop trail in the state of Pennsylvania, totaling in ...

09/25/2024

The Quehanna Trail was enchanting, a walk through rocky gorges, forests with towering trees, along old roads and remnants of dwellings, where elk wandered the woods and rattlesnakes sometimes slithered. What a hike! Here’s a blogpost detailing our forty-mile eastern loop.

Amos crossing the bridge over Red Run The Quehanna Trail is no ordinary trail. It may be located in what some believe to be ordinary woods...

09/19/2024

The Quehanna Trail is stunning! And despite the Quehanna Wilds Area’s unfortunate history, it is wilder than ever. This is a Pennsylvania I never seen. More pics to come tomorrow. Here’s a blogpost sharing a little about our adventure thus far:

The Botanical Hiker and Amos Thunderfoot on the Quehanna Trail! A week ago today, I loaded up the car with weeks-worth of food, extra hi...

09/07/2024

What a season we had with the Plant and Place Immersion! Participants completed 120 hours of study in bioregional herbalism, starting back in May and finishing the last week in August. Curious as to what we discovered? Read more here🌿This program will run again in May 2025!

Enjoying black birch tea at the conclusion of our opening forest bath in the Milford Experimental Forest I spent my spring and summer in t...

07/26/2024

Tomorrow at the Pocono Environmental Education Center, join me for Plant and Place Connection! Learn about our edible and medicinal plants on a through the senses, enjoy guided meditation and journaling!

07/08/2024

This weekend, three opportunities to meet our edible and medicinal plants! Join me for an Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk:

🌿Friday 4:00 - 6:00, Earthly Treasures in downtown Milford. Take an easy stroll along and meet those plants that inhabit our yards and side streets. Enjoy a wild tea tasting to close!

🌿Saturday 10:00 - 12:00, Pocono Environmental Education Center. Discover precious woodland natives and easy-to-identify edible weeds along a meandering forest path within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

🌿Saturday 3:00 -4:30, the Arnold House in Livingston Manor. Explore meadows and forests rife with medicinal wildflowers and trees. Wild tea to close!

This is high plant time! Every day new flowers and fruits emerge, abundant with food and medicine. Get outside and take it in! Pre-registration is required for all of these events. Dm me for more info and to secure your spot!

04/19/2024

Kick off your shoes! Spring is here! What better way to forage than barefoot? Take a wander sans shoes…I promise you’ll notice all the tiny green edibles popping up underfoot and so much more🦶🦶🌿 Read all about it in my latest article in Dirt Magazine:

This spring, I invite you to take a walk on the wild side. Grab your foraging basket and kitchen shears but leave your shoes behind. The grass is soft...

01/26/2024

What a lovely afternoon with Christy and Chrissy crafting black birch tincture! This session was part of Christy’s private mentorship series which she began back in August🌿

💫There is a special energy that happens when a group of women gather round a bundle of branches and twigs freshly harvested from nearby woods. As we peel bark, stories are shared, insight gleaned, and heart energy permeates. We sipped black birch tea, made tinctures using both the scientific and folk methods, and had enough birch branches leftover for infused oil preparations! Thank you, Christy and Chrissy for the plant perfect day 🙏🏻🌿

If this sounds like your kind of day too, then register now for this year’s Immersion with the School of Plant and Place Connection🌿Explore herbal medicine through 12 in-person classes. Folks are already signing up, so be sure to reserve your spot soon! https://schoolofplantandplaceconnection.com/immersion

01/19/2024

🌿Want to learn more about the wildflowers, trees, and mushrooms that grow around you?

🌿Want to know how to weave wild and cultivated plants into delicious meals and herbal remedies?

🌿Want to learn in-person with a group of likeminded plant-lovin’ people??

Then reserve your spot now for this year’s Herbal Immersion with the School of Plant and Plant Connection, located in Milford, Pa! We’re located in the woods just outside a quaint downtown, just 90 minutes from NYC and minutes from NJ. Deep dive into the practice of herbal medicine. Learn how to properly identify wild plants, prepare them as food and medicine, enhance wellness, and connect more deeply to the natural world of which you are a part!

Follow the link to learn more and sign up! https://schoolofplantandplaceconnection.com/immersion

12/20/2023

Are you ready to deep dive into herbal medicine? Then check out the Plant and Place Immersion starting this spring!

This in-person program, located in Milford, Pa, will give you all the tools you need to confidently work with wild and cultivated plants for food and medicine. You'll learn how to identify and sustainably harvest wild plants and work with homegrown medicinal herbs. Discover how to prepare plants as teas, tinctures, salves and how to weave them into meals for wellness. We'll spend most all of our time in forest and field, not only getting to know the plants as medicinal and nutritional allies, but how they can offer deep connection to the place in which you live and those places you visit.

Learn more about this special exploration into the world of herbal medicine and nature connection by clicking the link here: http://thebotanicalhiker.blogspot.com/2023/12/your-herbal-medicine-immersion-spring.html

I'm offering a 10% discount if you register by January 15th. I hope you'll join me in cultivating kinship with the natural world!

Participants in the 2023 Plant and Place Connection Series bundling goldenrod. I am beyond excited announce the launch of the School of Pl...