About a 7.5 mile loop of classic central PA hiking.
Start from the parking area at Bear Meadows Natural Area. Hike north, either along the road, or take the Jean Aron Path towards North Meadows Road.
Across from the North Meadows Road parking area (alternate parking here), look for the the red blazed Tussey Mountain Trail. This is a multiuse trail, so keep an eye out for mountain bikers. It is a fairly gentle and smooth climb to the top of Treaster Kettle. You will follow the ridge top for a couple miles, passing the intersection with the Kettle Trail. As you are hiking along the ridge top, you will get a couple glimpses of State College through Galbraith Gap to your left. Scenic Bechtol Gap to your right (east) leads to Colyer Lake.
This is a fairly unusual ridge in that it is extremely narrow, bordering on knife-like (at least by local standards). You will also hike through a recovering forest fire area. This ridge suffered a wildfire in 2006, and even 11 years later (at the time of this writing) you can still find charred logs and dead trees. Evidence of how very permanent man's impact on wild areas can be.
At the time that I hiked this, the sign for Shingle Path was missing, but the post was there, and it's an obvious trail down to the right. This is a hiking only trail, as it is extremely steep with moments of hanging on to rocks and roots along the decent. As you reach the bottom of the mountain, the trail seems to dead end in a clearing, although some casting about in a more or less straight line down should bring you to the last few blazes and Treaster-Kettle Road. If you turn right here, you can road walk back to your car. Alternatively, you can continue across the road on Shingle Path, and up the next ridge (Little Mountain), although we will only be going to the bench, and not all the way to the next ridge top. Shingle Path is clearly a hiking path here as well, as the trail has been pretty effectively blocked with ditches and piles of rubble. Carefully work your way through this obstacle course, and you will shortly be back on a nice trail. Eventually you will reach a gas pipeline. Our trail continues across, but you can cut the corner by turning right and staying on the pipeline and catching the John Wert Path in a bit.
Shingle Path from this point becomes very unique, as there are no longer blazes, but the trail is marked by cairns (rock piles) as you continue up the hill. Feel free to add a rock to each cairn in thanks as you pass by. Eventually you will reach the top of Little Mountain (really a bench below Thickhead Mountain) and descend briefly to Sinking Creek. The trail appears to dead end into a cabin's parking area, turn right here and pick up the John Wert Path. You are once again on a multiuse path, so watch out for motor vehicles prior to passing the gate, and for mountain bikes at any point from here back to your car.
Follow the wide, well marked trail about two miles, very gradually uphill and back to Bear Meadows Road. When you reach the road, turn right and you will see your vehicle.
Like many of my ridge walks, this is lovely in the fall and spring when the leaves are down and you can get better views. The last couple miles take you along the Sinking Creek and are very picturesque. Shingle Path is a classic central PA trail in that it descends straight down a mountain, and straight up the next one. In addition, the opportunity to cairn hike, is pretty unique in the area and something to try out, if you've never had an opportunity to do so.
