Allegheny Front Trail - July 22-24

“planning on doing the entire trail/loop starting with a 3-4 mile night hike/dusk hike Friday July 22nd. Saturday the 23rd, probably will hike 22-25 miles and then finish the loop on Sunday. I would like to hike the loop counter clockwise.”

“there is a cutoff trail, so you don't have to do the entire loop if you don't want to. This is supposed to be one of PA's best trails and per the guide, it is fairly new.”

“I gotta get my other knee fixed! No way I will be able to keep up with you guys. The knee gravy will start a flowin after day one.”

“

There is a 7 mile cutoff trail that crosses the center of the loop. It is called the Shingle Mill Trail. That gives options to thoses who would only want to do part of the loop and also gives potential bailout if need be.”

“nice trail, beautiful streams. lots of rhododendron. nice views, too.

WK- it isn't a hard trail, the quehanna we did is much harder.”

“the mileage is hard, but the trail itself looks to be fairly easy, I plan on taking it easy even with the long mileage days. I won't be in a rush”

“Really?

No way I could do it after this weekend in West Virginia anyway.

Take lots of pictures!”

“"Taking it easy"?

So, only 4mph? ;)”

“lol a ginger 2 to 2.5 miles per hour and breaks at the all the highlights.
last edited: 7/11/05 5:43:24 PM”

“I wish I could go :( I'll be in the Presidentials through the 24th.”

“Count me in. You using the hammock or tent ?”

“definitely hammock”

“Is Pennsky gonna be there to show you how to operate the hammock?”

“Lots of rocks, lots of puds - but some nice views. The blueberries should be ripe for you.”

“And the bears !!”

“nah, I graduated from Pennsy's school of hammock setup with a B GPA!

MarkO, want to come with us? we haven't hiked together in a while.”

“OK, when is this??”

“Hmmmm, that's a weekend "off" for me.

This coming weekend is the Cookoff.

28 July I'm joining pedxing West Of Eden in Vermont.
H-man and I will hike the Long Trail with pedxing until Sunday, 31 July.

We will bail out at Smuggler's Notch and will check out Mansfield and it's many peaks.”

“that would mean 3 straight weekends of backpacking for you. But if you can make it, it would be good to see you. It's pretty close to State College, PA, so it wouldn't be all that far from you and it is on the Allegheny Plateau, so it may remind you of WV in a way.”

“I would like to join you guys but I have a trip planned in the DWG. It might get cancelled so there's a chance I can make it.”

“this is going to be an awesome trip. The AFT is one of the best trails in PA. Only a little more than a week away.”

“Be very careful while there...

last edited: 7/13/05 10:14:59 PM”

“ARGH! I hate that kid!!! Creeeeeeeepy! Saw that movie for the first time about a month ago and had nightmares aboot that kid for days. *shiver*”

“Hey, thats the same weekend I'm gonna be climbing:



Mummy Mountain

(image hosted by www.summitpost.org )
last edited: 7/13/05 10:37:24 PM”

“that pic is creepy.

Buddur, this isn't far from you, what say you join us for this hike?”

“my mountain is not creepy.

the name of it is, well, sorta.”

“After checking out that area map, we could also base camp at Black Moshannon state park, and day hike it in either direction. Its kinda like old loggers path, with the trail going right past the camp grounds.
Spotting cars would be easy too.
basecamp = good food and drink.”

“my ankle is still sore and swollen. I may have to bail on this backpack trip.

I'll see how it feels in a few days.

if that's the case though, maybe still get a stretch of the AT in, south of Duncannon.
last edited: 7/17/05 11:09:36 PM”

“Did ya take those boots back ? The AT is fine with me. I'd like to get that valley section out of the way.”

“You hurt your ankle eating pizza??”

“AwwK! Don't bail. I'm a serious possibility on this one.I need to check on Friday off to see when I can get there.”

“I don't want to bail. The AFT is going to rock. My ankle has been giving me some trouble the last few weeks, due to severe sunburn I received when I went to the beach.”

“I understand. Either way I'm backpacking this weekend. Come Hell or high water : S”

“Base camp and day hike it in 2 parts. no pack weight and you can wear trail runners.
Its a win win.”

“Soak it in beer.”

“Marko - beer is an internal medicine !!”

“Dat's what I'm talkin' about!!”

“sounds great. Just let me know the logistics.”

“I took back the boots and I am getting the new asolos. They didn't have the colors I wanted, so I have them on order. I can't wait, they are nice boots and they feel pretty good.

-

yeah, that sounds like a good idea CP. I'm in the mood to backpack, but with my ankle, it may be good to just dayhike. I'm surprised it is still giving me trouble. It's still swollen and red. It's been almost two weeks.”

“Get it checked out ! you could be causing more damage.
There is alot of options with that trail, based on the map. But, decide after you get your ankle checked.”

“my ankle is feeling and looking a lot better tonight. I think it will be ok.

I'm in the mood for a backpack trip. I really want to use my new pack too.

The weather is looking pretty nice for Saturday. It will be in the low 80s, but sunny. Sunday we could see some isolated Tstorms. Hopefully we will get views from the front.”

“the hike into camp on Friday night should be an easy 4.5 miles.

I think we should drop cars at both trailheads on 504 and also in the state park.”

“Ok then. Game on.
Hey, are you sure there are camp sites there ?
I would hate to take the tent and have no place to put it.
BTW - hammock - you got the hennessy asym ultralite backpacker right ?”

“I have the hennessey asym expedition. Slightly bigger and weighs a half pound more.

-

yeah, they are the campsites listed in jmitch's guide.”

“well, I kinda just orderd the ultralite.
I'm addicted to getting new gear.
The clark just takes too long to set up and has alot more guy lines and ropes.”

“the ultra light is pretty nice, that is what I thought I had until I saw Pennsy set up his. But I am pretty happy with mine. It's great on long trips. I think you'll like the hennessey. Maybe you can put the clark on ebay.

I'm addicted to gear buying right now too. I just loaded up my pack and it is so light and feels good. I think I am going to love this pack.

last edited: 7/18/05 8:49:13 PM”

“the hennessey is actually pretty easy to set it up. It really only takes one time to get it down.”

“I overnighted it, just to make sure I get some practice time in.
That pack looks cool. just keep me away from it, or I'll buy one!
I'm gonna use the g pack. Most of my stuff is set out already.
still thinking about that frog sac.
last edited: 7/18/05 9:04:25 PM”

“I think I may have left my tent stakes in the sack with your henry shire. I don't remember putting them in there, but I can't find them anywhere.

friggin tent stakes. They're too hard to keep track of.”

“this trip will be a good hammock trip.

Jack, what are you planning on for a shelter?”