March Madness on the Link Trail

“Where? the Link Trail from Greenwood Furnace SP to Thousand Steps, in central PA.

Should be a good fun challenging end of winter hike!

hope to see ya there!”

“this section is about 25-27 miles long.

there are about 20 vistas, maybe more, beautiful old growth hemlock, sinkholes, the fascinating rocky ridge natural area, very rocky terrain, trail is mostly dry so bring extra water containers. 1000 Steps are impressive.

relatively few established campsites.

very little road walking. this section is one of PA's best.

toughest part will be the southern end. big climb and descent over Jacks Mountain.”

“Would that be 25-27 miles each day, crazy legs??”

“probably 12-13 miles each day.”

“Hmmmmm, that ain't bad!

Even an old broke down guy might be able to hack that.”

“hope to see you mark!

I figure we meet at the Thousand Stairs Trailhead (US 22 near Mt. Union, PA) at 830, leave vehicle(s) and shuttle to Greenwood Furnace State Park and then hike south on the Link. I'm hoping there is a good camping spot about 13 miles into the hike. I have to read jmitch's book to see where we can camp. I think I remember there being some camping near Rocky Ridge natural area.

Sunday, continue south to Thousand Stairs. It's only Sunday, we have almost a week to go, but the weather is looking like it'll be really nice.”

“looks like it will be cold compared to last weekend, low 40s as a high and high 20s as a low, but sunny and clear.”

“That's a pretty section of the Link...Rocky ridge area is really nice as is the trail after the second Frew road crossing. There is a nice side trail(on the right after dropping off the ridge, steep upclimb)that takes you to Hunter's rocks. Nice outcrop of oriskany sandstone with a small shelter cave. Many vistas along ridgetop...ENJOY!”

“I really hope to make it. If the weather is clear, expect an amazing trip, the views are excellent, and along some sections, almost non-stop. I think there are well over 20 views along this section. I've always enjoyed the hike from Greenwood Furnace to the first vista, Stone Valley Vista. There is so much along this trail.

Remember to bring extra water containers.”

“If I can make it, I plan to go to Hunter's Rock, very cool.

Pennsy and ENS will enjoy the scramble through Rocky Ridge Natural Area.

It'll be great to go back to my old hiking trails.”

“cool jmitch, I hope you can make it too.

Where should we camp? Is there a good spot in the middle of the hike?

Hunter Rock does sound cool.”

“of course it could change, but according to the National Weather Service, we're in for a beautiful weekend.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high around 40”

“yeah, that weather sounds perfect.”

“Is there water at the campsite for this trail or just no water sources for the two days of hiking?”

“water is near the possible camping area.”

“Jmitch, I checked your book today for the details and noticed that you listed where water is located. The dry stretch was the 11 miles between Greenwood Furnace and Martin Gap.”

“is Msilver coming? It'd be great to see him?”

“Martin Gap has water, with seep springs between Martin Gap and Saddler Run. There's a good spring on top Jacks Mtn. There is absolutely no water for approximately the first 11 miles; the trail is on top of a very rocky ridge.”

“There are two areas of very beautiful old growth hemlock, one on stone mtn, near the beginning of the trail, the other on top of Jacks Mtn.

The descent of Jacks Mtn is very interesting, not only is there the 1000 Steps, but also a series of long, gradual, switchback old RR grades through the talus slopes. Tons and tons of views.”

“the weather is still looking sweet for this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. What say you Mitch and Rich, youz guyz gonna make it?”

“let's meet at 830 sat morning at the thousand steps trailhead. There is a small pull off on 22 if I have the right place and then there is a little sign that says thousand stairs. We parked my car there last time. It wasn't the best parking lot, but my car was ok when we got back the next day. Is there another parking lot specific to the Link Trail in that area that is larger?

From the Thousand Stair parking lot, we'll shuttle north to Greenwood Furnace and commence hike.”

“this looks like another night where I'll sleep with my face looking up at the stars like the last time I was on the link. The weather looks absolutely perfect. I'm stoked!”

“I'll know tomorrow afternoon if I can go. I have to go for a PET scan in the morning and I'm hoping I don't have an allergic reaction to the contrast dye like I did with a CT scan. If I don't feel anything happening by tomorrow afternoon I should be OK.”

“You guys will love that part of the Link. Nice views abound. The bird watch platform is an awesome place for lunch. You may see some early flowers at Rocky Ridge. Your car will be fine along the Rt. 22 trailhead. I'm
sure there will be others there with it as the Thousand Steps is very popular. I grew up here and have been hiking here for many years and have never had my car bothered. Relax...enjoy and have fun! Show us some pics of the wind shaped,one sided pines on top of Stone Mountain.”

“I'm on my way out the door for some hockey and beer and St. Patrick's Day festivities in downtown Reading, PA! Phantom of the Lost Souls is on his way to Reading for the game as well and we'll be at the trailhead bright and early tomorrow morning. We won't wreak of alchohal this time.

the weather looks kick ass. This is going to be some fun.
last edited: 3/17/06 1:37:01 PM”

“I'm in and it looks like this will be a nice trail to hike. Does anyone know if we can get safely across the streams or should I bring waders just in case?”

“i'll be there too. no stream crossings, leave the waders home.

if you guys don't enjoy this trail, then you're just hopeless!!”

“Excellent!! Got your voice back, Rich?

It seems that streams everywhere are low these days. Last week, we were warned about notorious crossings in the Catskills, and they were quite low. Hopefully, we'll be ok without waders.”

“Sounds good and I'll leave the waders at home. The streams are a bit low around here too, but I wasn't sure how much rain fell out there from the last storm we had.

My voice started to improve yesterday, but it's still not what it should be. I'm hoping it keeps improving through the weekend.

See you at the trail head on Rt. 22.”

“I had a great time on the hike and the weather was awesome for all the views the Link Trail has to offer. It was a rugged ridge trail that will eat a pair of hiking boots for breakfast with its rocky sections. Nice hike, nice trail!”

“great trip and trail. we began with a ridge walk with many views in a hemlock forest. the terrain was rocky and the views became even more impressive. at one point i saw a fox trotting down the trail towards me, it was an awesome sight, it was about 15 feet from me when it noticed i was there. at first, i thought it was someone's dog.

we dropped from the ridge and passed a nice spring and entered rocky ridge natural area with huge rock formations. we camped along a small stream that disappeared into the ground.

the next morning was a beautiful forest walk passing sinkholes and more rock formations, the trail was awesome. we dipped down into a small valley where three streams met underneath towering rock formations- a beautiful campsite.

we then followed rolling terrain for several more miles along the side of them mountain and crossed saddler run.

next was a huge, steep 1,600 foot climb (according to pennsy). At the top were more views and on the descent we passed through hemlocks and more incredible views. we passed the dinky house and began the descent down the Thousand Steps with more views.

We hiked about 28 miles, it was a great time with so much to see.”

“Got pictures?”

“28 miles??

I'm glad I went to West Virginia!”

“I can tell by the pictures the views were great and ... Oh, wait a minute.

Never mind.”

“Any trail conditions concerns on the "huge" climb? That's my section and I'd prefer not to have to carry a chain saw the whole way if I didn't have to....”

“I'm assuming you mean the climb to the summit of Jacks Mountain. I don't remember any areas of blowdowns there. There were a few blowdowns on top as we hiked across to the towers, but nothing major.

Nice trip report Jmitch.”

“I Was wondering if you guys saw anybody else on the trail? I'm sure you did around the Thousand steps area, as that place has become "crowded".”

“the trail was in pretty good shape, except the southern half of SGL 112, lots of debris on the trail, not well established. it was blazed alright.”

“ki0eh - the big climb was in excellent condition. I don't remember seeing any blowdown at all until the trail flattened out up top. Even then, it was very manageable. I wouldn't want to carry a chain saw up that climb either. Part of that section was as steep as anything I've climbed in Pa. For a few hundred yards, I don't think my heels ever touched the ground. I knew there was a reason why I've been doing so many calf raises in the gym. ;o) Mitch's book says it's a 1300' climb but I zeroed out my altimeter when we crossed 655 and it said 1575' when we took that break near the crest. I'm going with 1575'. That was a good buttkicker.

We met a very nice man and his wife on that climb. He also maintains a section of the Link, a small section in Hooper's Gap I think. Dang it, but I didn't get his name.

lordlink - On Sat, we saw a couple of kids at Greenwood Furnace dayhiking and a few people near Hunter Rocks who were bouldering. (I definately want to go back there and do some exploring) On Sun, we only saw that couple dayhiking and only about 4-6 people on Thousand Steps.

Fabulous trail, I really enjoyed the weekend. The north section COULD have fewer rocks, but hey, this is Pennsylvania.

Soooo, where's the dang pics?”

“(Yeah, I'm a little slow for this one...)
http://community.webshots.com/album/549174498twtnRM/0

Enjoy...
last edited: 4/03/06 8:36:26 PM”

“really cool pics”

“The pictures look great and thanks for posting them.”

“Soul...

Great pix! Thanks.”

“Nice pics.”

“very nice pics”