On the Penn State’s 10 Things You Should Do Before You
Graduate, it states you should climb Mount Nittany. Mount Nittany is not only a
Penn State landmark; it is a total of 9 miles of volunteer-maintained hiking
trails. Alumnus, local residents, and students can hike the Mountain for
healthy fun. It is found Lemont, PA off route 26, on a dirt path.
There are 2+ trails; two included are the blue trail and the
white trail. Named perfectly for Penn State. The blue trail is around a 4.6
loop and the white trail is a 3.5 loop.
The hike itself is intermediate level and reaches 650-elevation gain.
Hiking up Mount Nittany is beautiful but can also be done
for quality exercising. Hiking burns calories, reduces bad cholesterol, chances
of depression decrease, and overall keeps a person calm and content. From first
hand experience, hiking creates joyfulness for being outdoors. I love seeing
wildlife and I usually hike with my younger cousins.
In addition to exercising, the climb can be sociable. Bring
your friends for lasting memories and take a camera to record the event. The
friends, family, or loved ones hiking with you would love to see the pictures
in years down the road of the fun everyone shared on that beautiful day.
For the climb bring lots of water. Hydration is key for your
body’s muscles- no matter the physical movement your body is performing. Also
you can bring a healthy homemade trail-mix to quench your hunger on the trail. These
snacks will be nutritious and delicious for any activity, but perfect for the
climb.
A sample of a healthy recipe is
adding all or some:
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raw almonds
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raw peanuts
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raw sunflower seeds (already shelled)
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raw macadamia nuts
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raw pecans
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raw Brazil nuts
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raw cashews
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raisins (I like both black and gold)
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* craisins
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dried apples
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dried apricots
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* dried pineapple chunks
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* dried bananas
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and Cheerios (or any other cereal for some extra crunch)
Hiking Mount Nittany is a beautiful experience. I've hiked it a few times in the past 5 years and my only word of caution is not to go the day after it rains because parts of the trail seem to dissappear. Also, even if it looks faster, don't wander off the trail or you'll meet a very fast drop that you'll end up running down... Bring a light snack and enjoy the beautiful look outs that give you an entirely different view of State College.
ReplyDeleteWell, this information would have definitely have come in handy a few months ago. For a Chem Lab Report, I had to attain a water sample and decided to get one at Mount Nittany. What I thought would be an easy trip to the mountain turned out to be the journey of my life. My friend and I rode our bikes to the mountain in the pouring rain. We had no idea how to get there so it took us about 2 hours to arrive and by that time it was getting dark. We were unaware of these paths so instead we simply climbed up some random part of the mountain in the woods. It was actually a little creepy up there; there were these small little busted up houses in the middle of nowhere and we were hoping that we would not come face to face with some wild animal in the middle of the dark woods. Those paths would have come in handy.
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