Mid State Trail (PA) Trip Report

“this past weekend two friends and i backpacked the extension i scouted for the MST, from blackwell to stony fork. the scenery was excellent.

first was a tough 1,000 foot climb up to the top of the canyon on fork hill, with great views from the top. the trail returns to the rim with more incredible views of the grand canyon of pa.

the trail moves away from the rim, crosses a stream and climbs gradually along rock outcrops to a dirt forestry road. we crossed the road and descended through huge boulders and rock outcrops.

the trail steeply descends right along mossy run with several waterfalls and cascades, it usually runs, but it was dry due to drought. beautiful little stream. we then reached incredible stony fork with deep pools, cascades, falls, chutes and slides. we same in a couple of swimming holes. minnows were trying to jump over one small falls. we camped next to one waterfall and a huge pool with a rope swing and ledges. we camped here, awesome campsite and scenery. downstream are more falls and pools. stony fork is incredibly beautiful.

afterwards we stopped at the state parks overlooking the canyon and saw a bald eagle soaring, it was incredible.”

“Nice report and it sounds like a good section that I'd like to hike.”

“Very cool! Thanks for the report. I would like to hike this one too!”

“Sounds like a great hike jmitch, definitely a must do.

Could this mean Wounded Knee will come east again?”

“richb- stony fork is a nice sized stream with many pools containing trout.

maybe i'll sched a trip sometime.”

“I'll be up in this area in 3 weeks...
last edited: 8/20/05 1:07:47 PM”

“Jmitch thanks for that info about the trout. I'll have to look up that stream in the PA. fishing handbook and see if they have any additional info on it. PA. has so many nice streams to fly fish. Planning a trip there would be great and with the fall colors coming up would be a nice time.”

“A walk on the wild side: Pennsylvania’s magical Mid-State Trail

by Brook Lenker

A perky south wind teases away the remnants of autumn. It smells like winter but feels like spring driving through the village of Stony Fork. The neatly painted general store, church, and grange seem lost in time. An American flag flies proudly next to a sign saying “Beware of Dog”. This is vintage Pennsylvania Wilds. The chasm of the Stony Fork Valley finally appears, walled by parallel ridges flaunting steepness beneath a confused cirro-stratus sky. Civilization dissipates. The switchbacks of Clay Mine Road are crowded by wispy pines and forest hollows painted silver with laurel reflecting late-morning sun. Crispy leaves crinkle beneath the BF Goodrich’s. Thought of the harsh realities of the coming months at 2,000 feet shivers the spine, but November days are no more pleasant than this one.

I then find what I am looking for- the crossing of the newborn section of Mid-State Trail dressed in shiny blazes of orange—right from the womb of Tioga State Forest, a sylvan wonder to be taken seriously. This isn’t your Grandpa’s woodlot nor is the trail Granny’s garden path. Tough and tenacious, the Mid State Trail is one of the great hiking opportunities in the Pennsylvania Wilds spanning over 280 miles from the new terminus near Morris in Tioga County to the Mason-Dixon line in Bedford County. The new section of trail, cleared and marked this year, travels 9.9 miles and connects the Pine Creek Trail near Blackwell with the end of Tannery Road northwest of Morris. According to Peter Fleszar, the regional manager for the trail, the ultimate goal is “to link up with the Finger Lakes Trail in New York.” Fleszar adds proudly, “We’ll be part of a chain of trails from Alabama to the Adirondacks.”

The sign says foot traffic only and immediately I know why. The trail is as sinuous and undulating as an angry rattlesnake, and in summer, I bet there are more than a few of those. I’m doing what I told others never to do—hiking alone. Teaberry and partridgeberry are red and cheery underfoot, like intentional decorations for the holidays soon to arrive. Then I witness a ghost of Christmas past—a Chestnut, 20 feet tall and three inches thick living on borrowed time awaiting the inevitable and fatal blight. A bronze-leaved, American Beech beauty offers distraction. Mustard-colored foliage on another tree serves as a condiment to the endless visual buffet.

Entering an acres-wide labyrinth of rock, outcroppings of emmense sandstone harbor bear-sized crevasses inviting hibernation. The place is so peaceful I could nap, except I keep anticipating an ambush from a lost band of native people or one of the mountain lions that no longer prowl Penn’s Woods. My rich imagination aside, that’s the lure of the Mid-State—the unexpected.

On this northbound trek, the trail dramatically begins to descend and the vista broadens. Propelled by gravity, cartwheeling leaves touch down with the grace of a lunar module on a resupply mission. Hundreds of feet downhill waterfalls whisper to streams that babble in aquatic jubilation. Surprises overflow on the state’s longest footpath. I have only walked hundreds of yards, but I can’t imagine how glorious the hundreds of Mid State Trail miles must be. It’s time to turn back and already I can’t wait to return—with a partner, of course.

Since the first strides in 1969, the Mid State Trail has tugged at the laces of many bold hikers and has come to be recognized as the “Wildest Trail in Pennsylvania.” The new section of trail more than meets the standard. The Mid State remains rugged and remote, a seasoned backpacker’s dream or a naturephobe’s nightmare, but promising equal opportunity for solitude and adventure to all.

Brook Lenker is DCNR’s Director of Community Relations and a connoisseur of reefs, rivers, trails and the other fine things in life.

For a guide and maps for the Mid-State Trail, visit http://phoenix.goucher.edu/MSTA

Or write:

Mid-State Trail Association
P.O. Box 167
Boalsburg, PA 16827”

“Nice. I bought the maps earlier this year and did about 35 miles of the old trail. I look forward to getting out and doing the entire trek some day.”

“The new bit's only mapped online at the MST web site.”

“Yeah, I've already been looking at it and planning an around the canyon trip: hooking up both the West and East rims ;-)”

“NG- the new section is a real gem. it's a great summer trail with the many deep swimming holes along stony fork. big rocks, cascades and waterfalls.

i hope to plan a TT trip sometime next year.”

“OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!! A TT trip planned by an accomplished author and an experienced outdoorsman!! Bring your books and get 'em autographed kiddies :-)

If you plan it, they will hike ;-)”