Hiking Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle in Pennsylvania

by admin

After spending most of the summer bunkering down at home, my friend and I waited for a cool weekend at the end of September and hiked a popular section of Appalachian Trail in central Pennsylvania.

The Pinnacle

Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle Loop

On the morning of September 25, my friend and I drove from our homes in Washington DC suburb into the Pennsylvania town of Hamburg. Located next to the Appalachian mountains, it featured a few popular hiking trails nearby. For this day, we decided to take on the “Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle Loop” (AllTrails link). Both “Pulpit Rock” and “The Pinnacle” were rocky outcrops that should offer views overlooking the nearby fields.

We arrived at the trailhead at approximately noon, and found the parking lot to be pretty full. At the same time, it seemed that people just used whatever open space along the access road as overflow parking, so we joined the trend.

After that, I readied myself with DEET and sunscreen, and we were ready to go.
Here’s GPS tracking:

Trail

The first (and last) 750m of trail was along “Reservoir Road”, which was wide and directly exposed to the sun. After that, the remainder of the trail was in the shade.

We decided to follow the AllTrails path in the counterclockwise direction, heading for “Pulpit Rock” first. For those not in shape for hiking, “Pulpit Rock” was also accessible via a maintained gravel road. But we decided to use the Appalachian Trail for a classical hiking experience.

Trail
From trailhead to Pulpit Rock following Appalachian Trail, a typical walk in the woods.
Trail
From trailhead to Pulpit Rock following Appalachian Trail, a typical walk in the woods.
Trail
From trailhead to Pulpit Rock following Appalachian Trail, a typical walk in the woods.
Trail
From trailhead to Pulpit Rock following Appalachian Trail, a typical walk in the woods.
Trail
From trailhead to Pulpit Rock following Appalachian Trail, a typical walk in the woods.
Trail
From trailhead to Pulpit Rock following Appalachian Trail, a typical walk in the woods.

The trail went on a steady elevation gain towards Pulpit Rock. It’s worth noting that approximately 1.2km (3/4 mi) from trailhead, the trail would reach an intersection with a spur leading to Windsor Furnace Shelter. To continue towards Pulpit Rock one should make a right turn at the intersection. The turn was rather inconspicuous, and my friend and I actually missed it and headed towards the shelter at first.

Trail on Rocks

Approaching Pulpit Rock the trail made its way through some fields of rocks, which wasn’t any technical.
Trail on Rocks

Approaching Pulpit Rock the trail made its way through some fields of rocks, which wasn’t any technical.
Trail on Rocks

Approaching Pulpit Rock the trail made its way through some fields of rocks, which wasn’t any technical.
Trail on Rocks

Approaching Pulpit Rock the trail made its way through some fields of rocks, which wasn’t any technical.
Rocks next to Trail
These rocks extended up the slope towards Pulpit Rock.

After losing the trail twice and battling with a non-obedient GPS along the way, we reached Pulpit Rock at 1:30pm.

Pulpit Rock

Pulpit Rock was a rocky outcrop facing east. My friend and I spent a few minutes there soaking in the views. It’s also where I had my lunch.

Fields from Pulpit Rock
Fields from Pulpit Rock
Mountain
Fields from Pulpit Rock
Fields from Pulpit Rock
Interstate 78 in the distance center.
Fields from Pulpit Rock

It seemed to me that a lot of visitors to Pulpit Rock took the maintained “Reservoir Road” up and down the hill. Only a few of them were making “The Pinnacle” Loop like us.

View from Pulpit Rock

After that, we left Pulpit Rock and headed towards The Pinnacle.

Trail on Rocks
Leaving Pulpit Rock and heading for The Pinnacle, the trail passed through some rocky sections.
Trail on Rocks
Leaving Pulpit Rock and heading for The Pinnacle, the trail passed through some rocky sections.
Trail on Rocks
Leaving Pulpit Rock and heading for The Pinnacle, the trail passed through some rocky sections.
Trail on Rocks
Leaving Pulpit Rock and heading for The Pinnacle, the trail passed through some rocky sections.

The trail between Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle had minimal elevation change. Despite a few rocky sections right off Pulpit Rock, it’s still easily manageable.

Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Obstacle
Tree Missing Bark
I guessed that was caused by a fire?

Trail in Forest

Along this part of the trail, many trees seemed to have rather narrow trunks. I guessed the previous forest was destroyed by fire, and those trees sprouted after that.

The Pinnacle

Finally, we reached The Pinnacle at 2:50pm.
Compared with the previous “Pulpit Rock”, “The Pinnacle” was a larger and more exposed rocky outcrop facing south, with wider and better views. In particular, the sights of peaceful villages along slow rolling hills were rather calming.

View from The Pinnacle
View from The Pinnacle
The Pinnacle
Pulpit Rock from The Pinnacle
View of Villages from The Pinnacle
View of Villages from The Pinnacle
View of Villages from The Pinnacle
View of Villages from The Pinnacle
View of Villages from The Pinnacle

Birds in the Sky

The trail we hiked today sat on the seasonal migratory paths of some birds, and the nearby Hawk Mountain Sanctuary was thus named for being a famous spot to watch migrating hawks. From The Pinnacle, we saw this group of birds right in front of us. My friend was interested that they were flying around in circles rather than towards their migration destination. I guessed they were chatting or finding food or shelter along the way.

One thing I didn’t quite enjoy about today’s trip was that, I smelt something unpleasant at both overlooks. Previously at Pulpit Rock it was cigarette, now at The Pinnacle it was marijuana. In both instances, I scouted around trying to find the sources of those smells but failed both times.

View from The Pinnacle

But once the marijuana smokers had left The Pinnacle, we found ourselves surrounded by bugs. It seemed to me that marijuana was very effective at repelling bugs. My friend and I would love to sit on these rocks enjoying the breeze and the scenery, but the bugs made it an annoying experience. So we left quite disappointed.

Trail
Initially the trail back was a bit rocky.
Trail
Then the remainder of the trail was actually a fire road, which was great condition for hiking.
Trail
Then the remainder of the trail was actually a fire road, which was great condition for hiking.
Trail
Then the remainder of the trail was actually a fire road, which was great condition for hiking.
Trail
Then the remainder of the trail was actually a fire road, which was great condition for hiking.

Trail

Probably due to erosion, there were a few muddy patches along the fire road, some of which were hard to circumvent around.

Alternative Trail Downhill

This is marked as “Furnace Creek Trail” on the map, which seemed to be another viable trail downhill that’s closer. However, my friend and I decided to stick to AllTrails app and took the longer route downhill.
Open Field

Right next to the intersection of trails, I was surprised that this was marked as a helipad on OpenStreetMap.
Open Field

Right next to the intersection of trails, I was surprised that this was marked as a helipad on OpenStreetMap.

2.8km from The Pinnacle, the trail reached an intersection, where a left turn here seemed to lead to a shorter trail back to the parking lot. But following AllTrails, we continued on.

Trail
Trail
Leaves
Starting to put on autumn colors.
Trail
Trail
Reservoir
Providing water for the nearby town of Hamburg.

After leaving The Pinnacle, the remainder of the trail was fire-road grade, which was a lot easier to tackle than the initial Appalachian Trail. In the end, we got back to the trailhead parking lot at 5pm, finishing this 15km loop trail much earlier than expected.

As a result, we figured we had enough time to drive to Chickies Rock to watch the sunset.

Chickies Rock

Chickies Rock was located outside Columbia, Pennsylvania, part of Lancaster County Park. It directly overlooked over Susquehanna River towards its west. From the parking lot, it’s a 750m one-way trail with minimal elevation change to the vista.

Sunset over Susquehanna River
Sunset over Susquehanna River
Sunset over Susquehanna River
Sunset over Susquehanna River
Houses along Susquehanna River
Fireplace Dinner

Unfortunately clouds were thick over the distant horizon, so it wasn’t a proper sunset. (Lately I just didn’t have good lucks watching sunset.) But my friend and I still enjoyed the sight of fiery clouds.