PA. Grand canyon WRT

“Has anyone else out there hiked this trail. It's 30.5 miles long
and the scenery is great. There are
a few families of Bald eagles living in the gorge, which is a rare sight in this area.”

“I gotta run, but yes, there were a couple of trips there last fall. I did the southern half with Splash and RichB.

Splash, RichB, and MSilver (and someone else? I wasn't there and don't remember) had done the northern half a few weeks earlier. They'll have to let us know the threads where that was discussed.”

“Landsurfer, Sept.28-30, six TT'ers hiked part of the Black Forest Trail, and then Oct.19-21, four of us met at the WRT. Steiny, from Mass. and RichB, from PA, started at the southern terminus on Friday morning. M.Silver and I couldn't get there until Friday late afternoon, so we met them at Bradley Wales. We four camped a ways north of Bradley Wales parking and picnic area, and then hiked north. We camped at mile 4, near a creek 12 miles up on Sat. night, and then hiked the last four miles up on Sunday. Then we shuttled everyone back to their cars. Those last four miles on the north side were the prettiest, with the fall foliage really bright with oranges and reds, and lots of vistas looking out on Pine Creek Gorge. But it is also very crowded with dayhikers.

At the beginning of Nov., RichB, Fritz, Ian (Fritz's son) and I hiked from the Bradley Wales parking lot south to the southern terminus (Rattlesnake parking lot). The leaves were mostly down by then, and that section of the trail is often overgrown with mountain laurel. But it was a pretty hike, especially along the creek the last couple of miles. I'm hoping to go there again with my husband sometime this year.”

“What a small world. The last time I was there was also the weekend of
October 19-21.I was there with the Boy Scout Troop I am a counselor with. There were 4 adults and 5 scouts. We camped friday night at the vista near Bradley Wales and
hiked north from there. Sat. night we camped at the 6 mile mark above the Painter Leetonia Rd. Maybe you saw us.”

“Landsurfer - You must be the Scout troop we played leapfrog with all weekend. You may not remember us, but how could you forget our dogs! Some of your guys even took our picture at the end of the trail.”

“Hey, what a small world! I remember thinking that those boyscouts were lucky that their leaders would take them out backpacking like that. Glad to have you aboard, landsurfer! Where else have you backpacked with the troop?”

“Landsurfer,

Yeah - what Steiny and Splash said.

WRT - great place!”

“Autumn is a great time to see it, as the foliage is spectacular! I have been there in Spring also, when the waters are raging. Both have their appeal. Nice trail.

:)”

“I could never forget the dogs.What great companions to have on a hike.I also remember the guy who said he used to be a wedding photographer and wanted to charge us to take a group picture.
Some of the other trails we have been on include the Loyalsock,Old loggers path, and a section of the AT. Im going to a seminar on 1/11 at the Magee center in Bloomsburg to hear Tom Thwaites speak about the Mid State Trail.Mr. Thwaites is the auther of the 50 hikes in PA. series. Nice chatting with you.”

“See. Scouts and hikers can co-exist. Now who was the guy who tried to charge the thrifty scouts for taking their picture! (fer shame, fer shame.)”

“Landsurfer...

I'm the former wedding photographer who took the pictures!!! Oh no! ..not you guys -- again!!! I don't believe this!!! (This is weird!)

If you like, you can see some of the pics I took of our group at this website:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=m_silver
(Sorry, I don't know how to do the link thingie). Click on the West Rim Trail album.

PS: I'll send you the bill for the pics. Hmmm lemme see... now, what troop was that? ;-)”

“AmyG!

Welcome back!”

“just wanted to join in on the thread. I was one of the other scout leaders with landsurfer. We had a great time. The dogs were a hoot. Hope to bump into you again. I'll bring some extra $ for the photo's!”

“Hey M Silver
I veiwed the pics in your gallery.
Great photos.What kind of digital camera were you using?
I will never forget the look on your face when we all pulled back into Bradley Wales to pick up our vehicles. You thought you had seen the last of us at the northern terminus.
Also hello to Splash and Sparky,Steiny and Leroy,and Rich B”

“Didn't Steiny and his dog run into some of you at a fast food place later on that evening? I think he mentioned that after the trip.”

“Yo Scouts,

Yup, that was me and Sparky at Bradley Wales! And since I believe it was one of you who took our group shot at the Northern Terminus (the last one in my online album), we can just cancel the bill for the photos I took of you all.

Digital camera is a Ricoh - 2.1 megapixels.
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Splash: Yeah - that's right! ...Steiny did said he ran into the scout group again on his way home. This continues to get weirdier.
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Baume: Thanks for doing the link thingie.”

“Steiny stalks boyscouts???”

“Boy Scouts'll lead you to Girl Scouts - sweet young things in green that they are!”

“Boy Scouts gotta eat to. It wasn,t Quite as tasty as those Mountain House meals we ate on the trail though.
Be prepared is the BSA motto.Im sure finewhine will be back to put in his 2pennies worth. Back in June 01 when we did the WRT from north to south a better name would have been whiny hiny.
What upcoming trips do you guys have planed? Not that Im looking to play leap frog agian, Just curious.”

“Surfer:

Some of us may get together for some winterwonderland stuff soon. Snowshoes, gearsleds, crampons, chilly nose and toes, down booties, hot soup for lunch, etc. Maybe the Catskills or Adirondacks. "A post shall appear in the East." Otherwise, I expect some folks will be itchin' to get out once Spring arrives.”

“Hey surfer, I'll give you whiney hiny! Wait till your an old man and I'll be handing you a big ole cork for your whine! Hey M Silver...nice pics. I think I was the one who shot the last pic. I'm surprised you all still have heads! Happy trails!”

“Hey Central Pa guys... how's the snowshoeing out your way? I need to do some testing on my new shoes. Old Loggers Path, BFT etc?”

“I have been trying to convince the other leaders in the troop that we should try some winter packing. Just a short trip to start with. I have most of the gear I will need, but I wasn,t planning on snoeshoes. Not much snow right now.
Thinking about doing a loop trail. Any suggestions?”

“Surfer,

Pinchot Trail near Thornhust in the northern Poconos might make a nice introductory winter trip. It's relatively level, so even if the snow is deeper, it'd be doable getting through without snowshoes. Thunder Swamp Trail (eastern Poconos) might be similar to the Pinchot. In northcentral PA, the new Allegheny Front Trail might be good, and the Chuck Keiper Trail has some easy/moderate sections too. Black Forest Trail might be tough with snow on the ground, because it has many steep ups and downs, except for the northwestern stretches, which aren't nearly as extreme. Another possibility is the Old Loggers Path.”

“Thanks M Silver
Been considering the Old Loggers Path,but thought we might stay with a trail under 20 miles for the first winter outing.I have some maps of the Pinchot, and Thunder Swamp Trails and will check it out.
Thanks again.”

“I would go for Pinchot. Thunderswamp will be loaded with snowmobilers at this time of year. grrrrr”

“Is it still wabbit season for the Elmer Fudds in Pa? I'm getting tired of slapping on all those orange vests.”

“Surfie: you can break down the OLP (and many other PA trails) into shorter loops by using x-country ski trails, state forest roads, jeep trails, etc. I've done that many times.”

“I just picked up a copy of PA. Hiking Trails put out by the Keystone Trails Assoc. I also checked my OLP map and I see What you mean. There is the hawkeye Ski trail, and 3 other loop trails connecting to the OLP.I think I have atleast 2 others talked into joining me, but it probbily won't be until early March.That gives me plenty of time to decide on a destination.”

“hey Pennsy, I don't know about wabbit season or not, but I saw some Fudds in the woods Friday...I am thinking it may be quail or some such season?

=:0”

“Hey AmyG,
Must be why the call it Thunder Swamp. Thanks for the tip.”

“LOL, actually Landsurfer, I think it is a great beginner trail, as it is mostly flat and a nice wooded area...some great swamps(obviously) and tannin-colored streams.

Also, every time I have camped there, I have enjoyed coyotes serenading at night. I just wanted to warn you that portions of it - near painter swamp, in particular - allow ATVs and snowmobiles.”

“i was in scouts once didnt last to long. I made it to star before quiting.

but hey their were resons for me quiting. for one my scout master was so corupt (he later was kicked out). second it was like a revival of the class systom the troop was divided into 3 patrols. 1 was poor people, 2 was rich, and 3 was richer. third the scout master passed me up for promotion so many times it wasnt funny and i met the reqiurments too. seemed his kids made it to eagle in record time. they coudnt even tie a half-hitch”

“AmyG,
I knew what you meant. I would not want to plan a peaceful getaway and end up listening to ATV's and sleds all weekend.
-----------------------------------
Hey poppinfresh
Sorry you had a bad experiance with scouting. I was never a scout in my youth, but I've been around it since 1990 when my son first joined cub scouts. So far my experiances have been good.”

“well i picked the wrong troop i guess boy was it lord of the flies their

i left after an egg incodent”

“The Pinchot Trail is loaded with snowmobiles too. It's become like a snowmobile park over the last 5 years. The only part of the trail where you won't hear them is Painter and Choke Creek. The snow pack is relatively thin for them now so if it doesn't snow anymore they my be gone soon.”

“Thanks Amy - I donned the orange anyway but didn't see any Fudds. On the spur of the moment (at 5am Sat), I decided to spend the weekend on the Black Forest Trail. It wasn't snowshoeable but what an awesome trail.

As we speak, I am at work starting to 'work' the only co-worker who can bail me out for the Dacks trip. Wish me luck!”

“Cool that you hit the BFT, Pennsy! Bummer that is wasn't snowshoeable - I have been getting antsy to try mine out for the first time this season too!

Next weekend!!! Hope you can make it. :o)

Hey landsurfer - if you are up for a bit more of a drive, the Quehanna trail is very nice. I did a stretch through Elk State Forest last year and it was fabulous! Abundant with wildlife, including elk - which are grand, and I even saw a bobcat!
=^..^=”

“The real bummer was the branch that poked a hole in the top compartment of my brand new Gregory Whitney. I'm taking it to EMS tonight and hoping they can do something. Shoot, it's only 5 days old.

The GOOD NEWS is that it looks like I'm a go for the Dacks!! :-)Guess I should post it on the proper tread, eh?”

“Pennsy,
How much snow was on the BFT? I saw Silvers picture gallery of the BFT and it looks like a nice trail.”

“landsurfer - there was hardly any snow the first few miles of the trail but once I got up into the mountain, there was anywhere from 2 to 6 inches.

I only did a section of the trail going backwards from the beginning and then cutting across a bail-out trail on Sunday. From what I've seen of it, it's as good if not better than the Old Loggers Path. The climbs were lung busters but I am looking forward to doing the whole trail in the Spring. A TT trip perhaps?”

“Pennsy,
Let me know when your thinking of hiking the BFT, I'd love to go if my schedule will cooperate.”

“Pennsy, Add me to the list to do the entire BFT this spring. I hiked much of the trail, but would like to do the whole trail in one trip.”

“AmyG,
The Quehanna Trail sounds good, but I'm starting to lean toward the eastern loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail. Looks like a 22 mile loop near Renova, PA”

“Put me on the list for the BFT too, please. Depending on the weekend, I'd like to try to do some of the trail with you all.”

“Landsurfer, I was just on the Chuck Keiper trail a few weeks ago with MSilver, but we hiked a loop on the other side. The trail was nice with some good climbs and relatively flat hiking. Some of the sidecut trails in the hollows make for some more difficult hiking. Only a few of the streams have bridges for crossing, but I liked the trail a lot.”

“Thanks
I sent for a map from the Sproul Forest district.
Looking forward to the BFT.”

“Looks like theres not much of a pulse left on this one.I've done that trail 3 times and enjoyed it every time.But its time to move down another path.Black Forest Trail, here we come.”