Penn Grand Canyon Trail -Fall

“Wanted to have a newly named thread for this trip. Get out your calendars so we can pick a weekend, okay everyone. I can do this on Aug 18, but would rather do it in Sept or Oct. Is Baumme66's family joining in? RichB, Buddur, adventurist, steiny, SirPete, ginny, Violin, m&m, anyone want to join and give some dates available?”

“adventurist likes Sept and Oct also.”

“i would be interested in coming over (from central ohio) in october when the leaves are doing their color thing....i am not familiar with this area....is water readily available?”

“We would be far from a for sure but I will post some dates where it would be possible. Don't plan around us.”

“Early or late October is best for me. Going to NC in September, and France mid-October. How are fall colors down there first of November? It's all gone up here by then.”

“So far, I can go any weekend.

Gonzo, Water was readily available every time I hiked central PA. I did run into a dry stretch on the Black Forest Trail as you climb up and through the Algerine Wild Area, but it's no big deal if you just fill a few bottles before you start up the ridge.”

“would I be welcome to come?”

“Steiny, The colors in central PA are long gone by November. Late Sept. or very early Oct. is peak colors out there.”

“I usually go hiking on a whim...a few days before a weekend. And because I cannot schedule my life so far in advance, my calendar shows I'm free every weekend for the next 4 months+.”

“It would great to have you there Buddha. Maybe we could have a Buddha and a Buddur there.... If Mars aligns with Jupiter and I drink another glass of this there wine....Hic-up. Violin...you going?”

“Everyone is welcome! It would be good to have you Buddha, Buddur, adventurist, RichB and Steiny. Violin said on another thread that he would have to wait until closer to the hike to know whether he would be able to make it. He would love to do the PA canyon for the first time. Buddur doesn't want to slackpack, so I figure he can hike fast, set up the cooking site and have the coffee waiting when I get in around midnight (me nervous? uhh no! Back to training).”

“My idea of slackpacking is not really putting much effort into hiking the area. I'm not a fast hiker, but I wanna do some frickin' hiking, thank you. Like setting up camp 1 mile from the trailhead and staying there practically the while time. If I'm gonna drive a buttload of miles to get to a trail...by gosh, I wanna hike it.

I almost went on a TT trip down south. I forget where, but it was >14 hr drive for me. After the trip was over, I heard it turned into a 1-nighter with little hiking. That'd piss me off to spend more time on the road than on the trail.”

“I hear ya, Buddur. I'm new to this so I don't know what to expect. I thought someone said 15 miles a day. If the trail is real rocky, I don't think I could do that without getting totally exhausted. Bouncing back from exhausted takes me too long. We could try to do approx. 10 miles a day, longer on easy trail, shorter on challenging trail?”

“I'll go but I'll need volunteers:

”

“Actually, put me down as a maybe. That is an area that I've wanted to hike since I heard about it.

There are several trips I'd like to take this fall including the White Mtns trip. I don't know how many I'll be able to do as we just had our third kid and I don't want to leave my wife overwhelmed. I'll work on my "I really need to go hiking" face and plan to be unbearable come September so she'll think my going off into the woods is her idea.”

“Violin....are you gunna show yourself in September? I hope so it will be good to have ya.”

“Violin, what my husband did when he wanted to go on a motorcycle trip was arrange for me to have "help". Like my in-laws. I was breast feeding. Luckily my father-in-law is close to blind.

Is there a friend or relative that your wife would enjoy the company of? The worst part is not having an adult to talk to when you are surrounded by young ones.”

“I'm in total agreement with Buddur. I want to do some good hiking too.”

“Sounds like fun... I'll try to come down for it. If Pete can make it up to New England twice and Dud can come all the way up, then I can make an effort to get to Central PA.”

“cool”

“Wow, a TT convention. We still need to pick out a date. Would Oct. 6 work for everyone?”

“October 6 is good for me. Fill me in on details as they develop.”

“Oct. 6 works for me....”

“october 6th sounds like a great day to begin tramping around in the pennsylvania woodlands....”

“Sorry for me...but I actually have important plans that weekend!

Who'd've thunk?”

“Gonzo; we should talk about car poolin'. I'm just south of Cincinnati. I could come up to your area and hook up with 'ya. Just a thought but I don't really dig long solo drives.”

“hello i know u guys dont know me but i live in ohio near canton love to hike PA have done the CKT up there anyway let me know if ya dont care if i come up”

“Don't forget yer Blaze Orange...just in case!”

“I don't know for sure yet if Oct. 6th will work for me. I have a friend coming in from out of town for a few days and he hasn't given me the exact date he's coming in, but told me sometime early Oct. I'll have to call him and find out when he's coming in and get back to you.”

“walkincrow....i would probably be up for carpooling....i live 35 miles west of columbus....i'm guessing we are looking at seven hours??”

“Buddur -

Blaze Orange is for chickens. I'll wear all black and don a bear head to make it a challenge.


sirpete -

The White Mtn trip sounds real good, or at least hooking up for a portion of it, but the labor is still to vivid in my wife's memory for me to talk about hiking yet.”

“crow & gonzo, if I go, and I probably will, I'd like to carpool too. I live in Columbus. Let me know!”

“Could everyone look at the last weekend in Sept. too, just in case that works for more people. And we need to get a feel for how cold the evenings can be so that we are prepared.”

“Last weekend in September works for me as well as 6 October.”

“Last weekend in September works good for me too....”

“Last week of September looks much better than any of October for me.”

“Maybe this time it won't be as cold Buddur?”

“



The West Rim Trail for the most part runs along the western rim of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, from which it derives its name. Recently this trail was given the honor of being chosen one of the best trails in Pennsylvania by Outside Magazine. The trail traverses 30 miles through some very diverse areas in both topography and forest type. Parts of the trail pass through some mixed Allegheny hardwoods, with large white ash, cherry, and hemlock. The other portions of the trail wind along ridges of oak forest , abundant mountain laurel and then pass through boggy meadows near beaver dams.

The Trail's northern terminus is one mile south of Route 6 on the Colton road near the village of Ansonia. The southern terminus is along PA 414, 2 miles south of the village of Blackwell in the bottom of the Pine Creek Gorge.

There are many vistas along the trail overlooking the various sections of the Pine Creek Gorge. While the trail is only 30 miles long, it does traverse some rough terrain and one should plan on several days to hike the trail.

A free map is available from:
Tioga State Forest Office
P.O. Box 94
Wellsboro, PA 16901
(570) 724-2868

Map

Outside Online

GORP

Hiking Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon

http://cva.morehead-st.edu/photos/phototour/pa/pa_sce474.jpg " width="400" height="255">”

“The last week in September looks better for me too.”

“For all that are interested: There is a booklet with a map written by Chuck Dillon. Chuck operates the pine creek outfitter store in Ansonia, the Northern terminus of the trail. It is called "Guide to the West Rim trail". Nice little book and fine map. To get a copy (about 10 bucks max) call Chuck at 570-724-3003 or email him at pinecrk@clarityconnect.com. He made my trip the first time a pleasent one.”

“Awesome....can't wait!”

“Gonzo and buddhabear; I'll most likely be there but can't really commit yet. Though if this is gonna be a car camp trip I'd have to agree with Buddur and say that it wouldn't be worth the drive. If things work out we'll trade e-mails and work out a plan.”

“I think we agreed it was a hike, not a car camp trip. We need to settle on a weekend, Sept.29 or Oct.6. and settle on a route. The people who have done it before should recommend a route. If it is too strenuous for me, I will have to work out a different plan for me. I'm going to see how my training goes. You all plan what works for you. I have no control over my LYME flareups so there is no point in arranging a group hike around me. I would love to meet you all, so I will do the best I can to join the group hike.

So, the short of it is that this is not a car camping trip!”

“Cool; I will try my best to be there.”

“I'm not a car camper so this sounds like a nice trip.
The 29th will work for me.
I'm assuming we'll be hiking Sat. and Sun. I've only hiked part of the West Rim Trail from Colton Point and back. Is there a point to point 2 day hike there that would make everyone happy? I've done a few weekend loops below the west Rim trail on the Black Forest Trail so I'm more familiar with that trail. Any suggestions?”

“Lyndy, I didn't know you had contracted Lyme. How are you coping with it? Did you get a bad case of it? This is something I worry about because of the amount of ticks I've seen in the last 2 years. My immune system isn't too good so I'd be in trouble if I got it. Most of the ticks I see are the larger ones and I think the small ones are the ones that transmit Lyme. I hate ticks worse than anything else.”

“RichB, I had LYME about 8 years ago, and had three painful bouts requiring several weeks of antibiotics each. Then I was good until winter before last. I got a bad case which became like meningitis. That is when I quit my job as an accountant. I got very strong last summer and then it acted up in Nov. and several times over the winter. I'm finally off antibiotics just in June, and feeling stronger each day. When it acts up, I get very stiff in the neck and shoulders, and have a lot of pain. The yoga is helping a lot.

I know a lot of people on this site have been through a lot worse than this for various illnesses and accidents. I went into all this detail just now because I think people need to take LYME very seriously. Early treatment is key, yet diagnosing it is difficult. If you have a nagging headache and another nagging ache like a sore muscle or joint, go to the doctor and suggest LYME. Take the antibiotics religiously at the right times. The bacterium is very hard to kill for some people. Being active and having good circulation gives you some defense. Bug spray on your feet and legs is good too as prevention, although it is poison.

I'm doing the hiking and now training for backpacking because it is more fun than other exercise I've tried. I can hopefully do it with my kids. I've always loved camping, although it was always RV camping when I was growing up. Those campgrounds have become too crowded and commercial these days though. I have great memories of heading off into the hills and mountains as a kid and coming back for dinner at the campsite.

Anyway, thanks for your help with training suggestions. I worked in my garden for hours yesterday, and wasn't tired at all, so I know that I am getting stronger. I'm going to increase the weight of my pack now. My early morning hike went well today.”

“Lyndy, Thanks for sharing your experience with Lyme and I hope you can shake it for good. I didn't know it could cause recurring problems like you decribed and now I'm more concerned than before and will take even more precautions. It takes me a long time to shake infections and if I got Lyme it would be a disaster for me.
When I first started to show signs of bone marrow failure my doctor thought of Lyme first because I developed flu like symptoms a strange rash and swellings. It happened when I got home after a bicycle trip in western PA. I was never tested for Lyme at that time because things cleared up in a few days.
Hope things go well for you.”

“Thanks, Rich. I hope your health problems are gone for good. I have done so much internet research on immune system dysfunction, and there is a lot of scary stuff. I was tested for a lot of it and came out negative. So I figure eventually I will stop having LYME flareups. I've also read that the fewer toxins you ingest, the faster your immune system calms down. Andrew Weil writes some good books about letting your body heal itself, by eating right, and taking only necessary medication (like take heart medicine prescribed, but not cough syrup). So I'm doing what I can, and what will be, will be.”