Today I hiked the daunting 10.5 mile journey through the New Florence Game Lands. New Florence is a small village that lies a few miles south of Route 22, in the middle of, basically, nowhere. It does, however, encompass the entrance to one of many designated state game lands. According to the sign posted at the town's entrance, it was named after Florence (Firenze), the city in Italy. Not much else to say. Churches, volunteer fire department, Elks club. You get the picture.
My hike began at the entrance to the state game lands. The "parking area" was unremarkable and, despite the sign posted that read "parking area," there was no other indicator that one could park there. No actual lot, simply a large, globular dirt/gravel area that was actually part of another road. Oh well.
To begin, I walked up the gated road past the signs that strictly prohibited motor vehicles and around a bend where I could see some garages and storage buildings belonging to the state forest folks. The road was an unpaved, gravel road that doubles as a snowmobile trail in the winter. Horses are also permitted, though I saw no signs of recent horse activity (i.e. horse-poop). I found that the uneven gravel was difficult to walk on. Really tough on the ankles. If you attempt this hike without good, sturdy boots, you will undoubtedly find yourself very sorry and likely heading back to your car before too long.
The road suddenly became very sloped and continued to rise 1500 feet in elevation over the first 2.5 miles. I had to stop and rest more often than I'd like to admit. Steep climbs are rarely fun, especially when they are at the very beginning of a hike. Along the incline, I saw examples of different types of forest management, including deer fences, clear-cutting, terra-forming and re-forestation. Tom Thwaites' book was actually quite verbose on this hike with detailed descriptions of the different types of land-management activities presently going on in the state forest.
Upon reaching the top of the hill (elevation - 2700 feet), I was rewarded with my first and, sadly, only view of the valley below. I got some good photographs of it, but the view was marred by the large and un-ignorable nuclear power plant that also occupies the valley. Trudging onward, I came across about a dozen or so whitetail deer, crossing the trail ahead of me. Unfortunately, they were too quick for me to get a photo.
Now the "trail" had started to descend the mountain. Steeper in some parts than others, but a nightmare on my knees, nonetheless. At the bottom I crossed a bridge over a small creek and kept plugging along. Soon, I came to an old iron furnace. Apparently these things are scattered all over Pennsylvania. This has to be the fifth one I've seen in my travels. I also noticed some bizarre, red, foot-shaped shelf-type fungi growing on some trees nearby. I'll post a pic. If anyone can identify it, let me know.
After a seemingly endless trek, I arrived back at the storage buildings and soon I was back in my car. Overall, I give this hike a 6/10. Got to see some wildlife, but only one good view. A real shame for having to do all of that uphill work. Also, the trail is a true boot-buster. Expect sore knees and/or ankles. Trekking poles were a must for the climb, but more of a liability in the thick, narrow LHHT segment. To enjoy this hike you need lots of time (it took me about 4.25 hours) and excellent joint health. Or a horse. 
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