Epic Winter Dayhike- Ketchum Run Gorge ( TR)

“Having the pleasure of being on the trail on a perfect day can be a rare treat; to have the trail all to yourself is rarer still. On Friday and Saturday, a storm came through dumping several inches of fresh powder. Today was a beautiful day with a deep, crystal blue sky and not a cloud in sight. I wanted to do a loop encompassing the incredible Ketchum Run Gorge, so this was the day to do it.

First, on the way out, I took a few backroads to take pictures of the winter scenery.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/562600366DkDRYx?vhost=outdoors

I reached the trailhead and entered a winter wonderland of snow coated hemlocks and streams with muffins of snow nestled on rocks. Everything was like a Currier & Ives print. The hemlock forests were deep and green as I broke the trail. The snow was so light, hiking wasn’t hard.

I followed Ketchum Run downstream with beautiful cascades, frozen waterfalls, and icicles. The scenery was incredible. This gorge is a really beautiful place. I entered a chasm with water slides and reached the top of Lee’s Falls, which was frozen over, but had tubs of ice that caught water as it cascaded down. I followed the Red X trail, which is barely a trail and very rugged. I crossed the stream immediately below the falls and further downstream. I reached the top of Rode’s Falls and took the ladder down to an incredible grotto of icicles and ice flows.

I climbed the trail up to two great vistas of the surrounding plateaus. The hiking became harder as I was tired and the snow was thicker and heavier since it began to melt. I followed cross-country ski trails through the forest back to the car. Overall, this was a 7-8 mile loop, one of the nicest I’ve done. This was an excellent hike.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/562600377QjGeWD?vhost=outdoors
last edited: 2/24/08 6:08:18 PM”

“Great pictures, I've always loved that section of the Loyalsock trail.”

“Good grief Mitch, you are a Bonehead with whom I have not hiked.

I must join you on one of these hikes.”

“Richb, I should've invited you, it was a last minute trip.

MarkO,

Come on up, lots of nice places. You'll like the Mid State Trail trip in March, very nice section.”

“Beautiful pics! That's my fav bit of Loyalsock.”

“Hey you Pennsylvania people, the North Fork Trail in West Virginia is coming up in 2.5 weeks.”

“There's no rocks in WestbygodVirginny.

We can't hike without rocks.”

“Great waterfall pictures.”

“Jmitch, I've been doing last minute hikes myself lately. Yesterday, was a nice day to hike so I did a short hike locally.”

“Marko, tell Spindle about the Roaring Plains and North Sods.”

“Man, lookit all that frozen waterfall!”

“jmitch! any chance of moving the MST hike off Easter weekend? I'd love to get up there. I did go to Ricketts Glen last December and had 6 in. of fresh powder, and mine were the only footprints there. Only got to see 10 of the falls, but saw the 94ft one and was happy. I only had 4pt instep crampons so I was a bit limited on how far I could go. I was amazed at all the animal tracks, even fresh bear tracks. I hope to do the Loyalsock this summer.”