I definitely agree with balzaccom--November is not the time! You'll not only have wet feet; you'll be wet all over and in serious danger of hypothermia. You need to hone your skills before venturing out alone, especially in bad weather.

Evidently not well-known to newcomers to this site is the excellent body of knowledge about gear and other aspects of backpacking on the home page of this site. (www.backpacking.net)

I particularly recommend the article on the "27-lb., 7-day gear list." A very similar list has worked fine for me for 3-season backpacking in the Cascades of the Pacific NW and in the Rocky Mountains. It might be a bit of overkill for insulating items in Pennsylvania summers.

I also strongly recommend lots of practice with your gear in the back yard (yours or a borrowed one) or car-camping in a nearby state park. While you're learning, it's a good idea to have somewhere dry and warm to retreat to when things go amiss, which they often do (that's how we learn!). Especially practice putting up and taking down the tent. You don't want to be trying to set up the tent for the first time on a dark and stormy night with flashlight in one hand and instructions in the other!

Your first trip or two really should be an overnighter in good weather, not too far from your car.

Probably the two most important skills to learn are navigation (compass and map reading and "translating" between the map and the terrain) and keeping your critical gear (insulation items) dry. The first can be practiced while day hiking or, if you're really unskilled, join an orientation club. The second should, again, be practiced for the first time or two in your back yard or while car-camping.

I remember day hiking in Black Moshannon State Park with three kids (10, 5 and 1) while pregnant with #4! (Hubby carried the 1-year-old and the 5 year old kept up just fine.) It is a beautiful area! That was a long time ago, so I don't have details.

Are you by any chance a Penn State student? If so, I'm sure they have an outing club where you can borrow gear and find company for trips!