Trail Magic Flows Both Ways
On the Rachel Carson Trail, brutally steep hills earn a name. I remember the first time I found myself at the bottom of Rich Hill, just north of Emmerling Park. My heart sank to the bottom of my muddy shoes at the idea of climbing, almost hand over hand, up the deeply eroded crevasse and out of sight beyond the first false summit under the hot June sun.
Elizabeth and Jim Henry call Rich Hill their home. Elizabeth’s grandfather bought the property in the 1930s and she remembers going down the hill to find wildflowers in the spring as a little girl. Her grandmother would warn her to, “zig zag on your way back up. It’s too steep!” When Elizabeth grew up and moved to the Denver, Colorado area, her love of the outdoors continued. Living there she saw the community enthusiasm for the annual Bolder Boulder, a 10K event for runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers – the 2nd largest such event in the US. People would bring out cotton candy, orange slices, bananas, and cheer the participants on.
Elizabeth and Jim moved back to Pennsylvania and began to build their home on the property in 2015. Leaving the construction site with Jim one rainy, miserable day she recalls hearing voices from the other side of the woods. When they made their way to the gas pipeline they found a string of Muddy 2015 Challenge participants. They told Elizabeth and Jim about the annual event and that year’s Harrison Hills Park destination. Despite being filthy dirty, Elizabeth was impressed by their enthusiasm for “this challenge thing”.
The next summer, inspired by the Bolder Boulder experience, the Henrys wanted to show support for the RCTC hikers that managed to get to the top of Rich Hill. Since there wasn’t any electricity on the pipeline, they set up a cooler with ice pops, and a welcome bit of trail magic tradition was born. Stories of the treat at the top of the hill were retold by hikers and the idea caught on. This past year, all over the challenge course, people set up unofficial aid stations. The magic has spread.
In this story, the magic has worked both ways. In 2024, to combat the erosion on Rich Hill and improve the hiking experience, volunteers from the conservancy moved the trail into the woods and added switchbacks. This significant change happened to coincide with a couple of serious surgeries for Jim Henry. The newly renovated trail and the Henry’s new puppy Nico have become a key part of Jim’s return to health. Now Jim and Nico can walk down to the stream and back regularly and rest on the new bench halfway up. Jim’s stamina is returning and Nico is delighted to stare at the deer and search for chipmunks along the way.