Published August 4, 2004 12:00AM
The Flick
The latest atmospheric thriller from chills maestro M. Night Shyamalan is set in Covington, PA, circa 1890. The woods on the edge of town are littered with nonhuman footprints; Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard enter them, stirring up a raft of evil baddies.
The Hike
Keep the chills alive in 160,000-acre Tioga State Forest, the woods that inspired the movie (most of it was shot on private land). Hike the 30-mile West Rim Trail and camp along the 1,000-foot-deep, mile-wide Pine Creek Gorge, which turns crimson and gold in autumn. Other options: Trek to a dozen eerie swamps or tackle Pine Creek’s 18 miles of rapids. The monsters aren’t real, but this suddenly scary state forest is still a prime place for you and your imagination to run wild.
Plan It
Tioga State Forest
(570) 724-2868
www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/tioga.asp
Pine Creek Outfitters
(570) 724 3003