Come hell or civil air patrol finding my body in the spring I was determined to get this shot. I've seen hundreds of images of the Pinnacle but never one in the winter with snow. So this past weekend when the northeast got hit with 10 to 20 inches I set out on the 8 mile round trip hike. About one mile in I started to feel the back of my heels burning. I quickly realized that even with 30 years of hiking experience I had made the very novice mistake of not having properly broken in boots before hitting the trails. I was left with having to decide to go on or turn back. After some thought I figured what are the chances of getting another snow fall this deep and on the weekend when I can get out so I pushed on. By mile three I could feel the skin on my heels ripping off my feet, every step was painful but I made it to the top. Spending about 20 minutes on the vista was all I could handle with the cold, pain and wind-chill attempting to crush my spirit. The trip back was so difficult that I started walking pigeon toed to ease the pain on the back of my heels when suddenly both my legs cramped up from the cold and unbalanced walking. Never, even in my marathon days have I ever felt leg pain so severe, naturally I fell into the snow. Upon seeing that I had zero cell phone coverage (thanks Verizon) I knew I had no choice but to shake it off get up and continue. Well, the fact that your reading this means I obviously made it back to my truck and home. Later on that night after patching up the several silver dollar sized blisters on my feet and removing chunks of hanging skin I processed this Image.........I hope you like it :) :)

At 1635-feet, The Pinnacle is the highest point in Berks County Pennsylvania. A 3.0-mile strenuous hike on the Appalachian Trail leads to the summit with views reaching out to the surrounding valleys. This unique overlook has a wide expanse of rock outcropping, and provides one of the most spectacular vistas from the A.T. in Pennsylvania. Due to the drastic fold in the Kittatinny Ridge at this point, you can look northeast and get a spectacular view of the Ridge on a clear day.

Come hell or civil air patrol finding my body in the spring I was determined to get this shot. I've seen hundreds of images of the Pinnacle but never one in the winter with snow. So this past weekend when the northeast got hit with 10 to 20 inches I set out on the 8 mile round trip hike. About one mile in I started to feel the back of my heels burning. I quickly realized that even with 30 years of hiking experience I had made the very novice mistake of not having properly broken in boots before hitting the trails. I was left with having to decide to go on or turn back. After some thought I figured what are the chances of getting another snow fall this deep and on the weekend when I can get out so I pushed on. By mile three I could feel the skin on my heels ripping off my feet, every step was painful but I made it to the top. Spending about 20 minutes on the vista was all I could handle with the cold, pain and wind-chill attempting to crush my spirit. The trip back was so difficult that I started walking pigeon toed to ease the pain on the back of my heels when suddenly both my legs cramped up from the cold and unbalanced walking. Never, even in my marathon days have I ever felt leg pain so severe, naturally I fell into the snow. Upon seeing that I had zero cell phone coverage (thanks Verizon) I knew I had no choice but to shake it off get up and continue. Well, the fact that your reading this means I obviously made it back to my truck and home. Later on that night after patching up the several silver dollar sized blisters on my feet and removing chunks of hanging skin I processed this Image.........I hope you like it :) :)

At 1635-feet, The Pinnacle is the highest point in Berks County Pennsylvania. A 3.0-mile strenuous hike on the Appalachian Trail leads to the summit with views reaching out to the surrounding valleys. This unique overlook has a wide expanse of rock outcropping, and provides one of the most spectacular vistas from the A.T. in Pennsylvania. Due to the drastic fold in the Kittatinny Ridge at this point, you can look northeast and get a spectacular view of the Ridge on a clear day.