An Ode to Tussey's Plants and People

 

One of the many views from Tussey Ridge

Okay this trail has truly proven itself as Pennsylvania’s “wildest” trail. Tussey Ridge has been reminding this hiker just what it’s like to hike in the mountains. And our mountains, that is. I have been sorely reminded over the last few days that the last long trail I hiked was entirely flat and never reached an elevation above 250 feet – the Florida Trail. I am out and about on a regular basis, but nothing, and I mean nothing, prepares you for hiking for days on end with a heavy pack, but doing just that. Tussey Ridge has had respectable steep climbs – and I’m not talkin’ switchbacks – straight on up. 

A climb onto Tussey Ridge

Sometimes carefully picking your steps over slabs of loose rock and sometimes forgoing your sticks to use all your limbs to climb. The top of the ridge is like a rocky spine, sometimes with long pointed vertebrae, other times with just a jumble of rock and you wonder if by the time you’re done, your spine might just resemble that: all misshapen and crooked. 

Walking along Tussey's spine

But enough with the hard stuff. Tussey Ridge is alive with plants. I foolishly thought that all this rock would make for a barren landscape. Quite the opposite. The plants thrive here – those hardy rock-loving natives and strangely enough, those adaptable non-native weedy plants too that one would usually only find down below amidst civilization. How on earth they came to inhabit this perch is unimaginable to me, considering I can’t envision people ever living atop this rugged cliff. My only theory is perhaps the many birds that frequent this ridge deposited seed collected from the lowlands. And the trees – oh the flowering trees – so many. So let’s get onto the good stuff: the plants.

My first long stretch on Tussey – 16 miles from Rainsburg Gap to the town of Everett – was by far the most vibrant. It was here that the non-natives truly ruled. However native trees also called this perch home and have persisted along the length of the ridge thus far. Garlic mustard was all prevailing – a weedy pest of a plant – it has the ability to not only claim space that our natives would inhabit but it also releases chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth of other plants. Although, it tastes mighty fine. And for a hiker lacking fresh foods, it was pretty wonderful to just hike along and periodically pluck a flowering cluster from the tip of these plants. Garlic mustard is related to broccoli and before its flowers open, its cluster look just like a little broccoli floret. The whole plant tastes of garlic with a hint of bitter. Deelish.

Garlic mustard florets (Alliaria petiolata)

Then there was the chickweed. This stretch of Tussey was grassy and green, especially green after the steady rain that had come the night before. But sometimes there was more chickweed than grass. It grew like a carpet at my feet and around the bases of slabs of rock. Chickweed, as I mentioned in the last blog – and which I featured on my video with the Delaware Highlands Conservancy www.facebook.com/delawarehighlandsconservancy – is an edible non-native plant. One can eat any of the above-ground-parts. It is sweet and crisp and rich in nutrients that feed the glandular system. Medicinally it is considering a cleansing, cooling plant. It is also just what the hiker ordered when used topically for bug bites.

Common chickweed (Stellaria media) - a daily occurrence on the Mid State  Trail

Ground Ivy was prevalent as well. This non-native plant is a member of the mint family and its leaves emit a strong aroma when crushed. However, its fragrance is different from mint, unique onto itself. Leaves and flowers may be steeped in hot water for an infusion that is a powerful diuretic and also helpful in clearing the sinuses.

Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

And mullein. How of earth did mullein find its way up here? This is typically a plant that enjoys roadsides, old pastures, and construction sites. It really like railroad tracks. When mature, this plant can reach six feet tall with slender spikes of yellow flowers, however I saw only the fuzzy rosettes (first-year plants) on the ridge. Their leaf arrangement truly is a rosette. Mullein’s leaves also make a tea helpful in clearing the bronchial passageways and lungs.

Mullein rosette (Verbascum thapsus)

But let’s get onto some of those natives. The non-natives diminished some as I made my way toward Loysburg. Two of the most prominent trees I spied along Tussey Ridge thus far were Serviceberry and Black Cherry. Serviceberry is presently in flower with long floppsy white petals. Come roughly June, this tree will bear sweet edible fruits that look like a reddish-purple blueberry. The trick is to get to them before the birds do.

Serviceberry (Amalanchier) flowers.

Black Cherry ruled the mountain for sure. Young saplings stood spry and flexible and mature trees stood stunted yet strong. The inner bark and twigs of black cherry were historically used in cough medicines – hence while so many of our cough syrups and cough lozenges are cherry flavored. The bark is a powerful anti-spasmodic and anti-tussive. But be cautious. Cherry contains cyanic acid (think, cyanide), and although the bark is safe in moderate doses, the leaves and pits are not and could prove fatal if ingested.

Mature, but stunted black cherry trees (Prunus serotina)

 Young black cherry leaves and immature racemes preparing to burst with flowers

And oh, the polypody ferns and rock tripe that called these giant slabs of rock home. I am not familiar with the uses of polypody fern if there are any, but it is a darling fern that perches in clusters atop boulders and in soil amidst rocky woods. Another name for it, most appropriately, is rock cap fern. In summer, its sori (which contain its spores) are particularly prominent and look like perfectly round, brown, fuzzy circles on the underside of the leaflets. 

Common polypody (Polypodium virginianum)

Rock tripe, on the other hand, is that lichen that looks like wet leaves on its upper surface and like anti-slip paper on its underside (like what you’d put on stairs). It is technically edible but it must be boiled to death and is really considered a survival food. Considering lichen takes so long to grow, it’s really better off left to be.

Rock tripe (Umbilicaria) - a lichen, which is not a plant but an organism that is produced from a symbiotic relationship between an algae and fungus.

Now an ode to Tussey ridge would not be complete without the very special people I have met in its valleys thus far. In Everett, I enjoyed a night at Tenley Park and was greeted in the morning by Debra Dunkle – long time Everett Region trail manager, although she's now passed the torch, or should I say the pickaxe. Deb was so sweet to sweep me away to Marteens for breakfast and she gave me a good scoop on what I had ahead of me. I also had the pleasure of meeting Jake, her 12-year old pooch, who adores a day on the trail. Thank you Debra for your assistance and company!

With Debra Dunkle at Marteens Restaurant in the town of Everett

While in Everett, I quickly learned that Sheetz is the place to be. I chatted with Renee who had helped out a hiker last year with a home-cooked meal and a place to shower. I also met Curtis, lifelong resident of Everett who just couldn’t figure out how on earth I was going to get to State College given the direction I was headed. He made for good company as I devoured my disgustingly large and incredible delicious cheesy burrito stuffed with tater tots – that’s right, stuffed with tots – and he had his evening cup of coffee.

Along Yellow Creek - a popular fishing spot - here, a man had come with his horse and buggy

 to do some fishing. Follow this gravel path into town and to the the Loysburg Mobile Home Park and Campground.

Loysburg, too, proved to be a lovely stopover. I hit some really good plants on the way down the mountain, but I'll save those for the next post. I enjoyed a stay at the Loysburg Mobile Home Park and Campground thanks to owners Randall and Gloria Smith. There I was blessed with a shower with hot water, a place to charge my electronics, and a lift from Terry to and from the Dollar General and Subway, which mind you, is up a very long, steep hill. Terry has been coming to this park for fifteen years to fish in the creek. I also met Audrey, who has been coming here since her children were little – they are now in their forties. It is these moments of kindness, conversation, and generosity that can make a day a good one. I was awfully tired when I rolled into this campground – and Everett too – but these seemingly small gifts from these kind strangers kept me afloat. Thank you, Randall and Gloria, Terry, and Audrey!

In the last few days I have gone from wearing all of my warm clothes to sunburned and sweating. Who knows what’s next. One thing’s for certain, Tussey Ridge continues.