Trailhead: | N 41° 10.61' W 77° 52.93' |
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Total Elevation: | 1964' |
Trail Length: | 8.9 miles |
Hike Time: | 5 hours |
Hike Type: | Loop |
Difficulty Rating: | 128 |
Near: | On PA144 north of Snow Shoe, near the Centre County/Clinton County line. |
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Temperatures for this last weekend in April topped 80 degrees. I had yet been out for a real hike this season and decided I would take advantage of the great weather. I had hiked the Chuck Keiper Trail a number of times before, doing the entire east loop on a backpacking trip in 2006 and half of the western loop back in 2007. I wanted to add the CKT to my list of PA trails that I've hiked in its entirety, but I still needed to hike the southern half of the west loop to accomplish this goal. This hike allowed me to get even closer to reaching my goal.
You will find the trailhead for this hike on route PA144. This can be accessed going north on PA144 from the I-80 interchange. From this interchange you continue through Snow Shoe, staying on PA144, for a total of 18.2 miles. You can also reach the trailhead from the north on PA120 and turning onto PA144 in the town of Renovo. From the intersection of PA120 and PA144 in Renovo, continue south for 17.7 miles. Heading south, the trailhead is on your right, just past the Centre/Clinton county line. If heading north and you cross the county line, you've gone too far.
After parking my car I embarked on my adventure on the CKT. I crossed route PA144 and continued on the trail for about 0.2 miles when it emerged on a dirt forest road. The trail merges with the road and turns sharply to the left. There is a short descent here and another forest road merges from the left at 0.4 miles with the trail turning to the right.
After another right at 0.5 miles on a camp road, the trail leaves the forest roads behind, turning sharply to the left off the road at 0.6 miles and then jogging to the right where it follows the western bank of Eddy Lick Run down stream.
For the next 2.1 miles the trail stays on the western bank of Eddy Lick Run. Originally the trail had crossed the stream a number of times. Now with trail relocations, the hiker is spared wet feet. However, as is common with most trail relocations along streams, the trail does become somewhat more difficult as you have to hike up and away from the stream, and to be followed shortly after by another descent back down to the stream bank.
At 2.7 miles the trail turns sharply to the left, just prior to a stream crossing. This stream is flowing in from the right and a make-shift bridge composed of four logs allows you to cross this smaller stream just prior to the point where it joins with Eddy Lick Run. At this point the trail is now following an old logging railroad grade.
At approximately 2.9 miles into the hike you will come across the remains of an old splash dam. Splash dams were used to float logs down stream by damming up the stream, filling the resulting pond with many logs, and then releasing the water to allow the logs to ride a tidal wave of water down to deeper waters. This splash dam was constructed of rocks and is an impressive site.
The trail continues to follow the old railroad grade and at 3.3 miles you come across the foot bridge over Eddy Lick Run. This foot bridge is erected near the site of the old railroad bridge and you can see the remains of the bridge abutments on both sides of the stream.
Shortly after crossing Eddy Lick Run, the trail turns up-and-away from the stream. At 3.5 miles into the hike you leave picturesque Eddy Lick Run behind, turning sharply to your left, and beginning the first real climb of the hike. After a little over a tenth of a mile, the trail merges with an old dirt forest road and follows it to the left, continuing the ascent.
After another quarter miles of hiking, the dirt road turns to the right but the trail continues straight, following another old railroad grade. At 4.3 miles into the hike the trail crosses a natural gas well access road. At 4.9 miles the trail turns to the right, leaving the old railroad grade behind. There is a trail register located at this point. I stopped for a bit to sign the register and to refresh myself with a snack and water. Just past the register, the trail comes upon a dirt road, turns to the right, passes a gate and meets up with De Haas road.
The Chuck Keiper Trail crosses the De Haas road at around 5 miles into the hike. At this point I left the CKT and started to make my way back to my car and the trailhead. I turned left onto De Haas road and followed it for another 1.9 miles. At 6.9 miles, just a fee hundred yards before the intersection of De Haas road and route PA144, there is a grassy road to the left, turn here and proceed for another 0.4 miles.
The grassy road emerges from out of the woods along route PA144. You will see a grassy trail to your left that parallels route PA144. Follow this for about 0.2 miles where you merge and turn left on a dirt forest road.
I followed this dirt road through a pine plantation and across some clearings. This is where I saw a large number of turkeys and was lucky enough to snap a picture of one as it ran away from me. At 8 miles into the hike, the dirt road begins to descend towards the head waters of Eddy Lick Run. At 8.4 miles I crossed a very small Eddy Lick Run and at 8.5 miles I was back on the Chuck Keiper Trail. A short hike back up the dirt road and then a sharp right on the orange blazed trail and I found myself back at PA144 and my car.
This was a nice hike for my first real outing of the season. At almost 9 miles, the distance was just about right, and the fact that there was minimal climbing involved, I was very happy with choosing this trail for my hike. I still need to hike a small section of the Chuck Keiper Trail, from DeHaas road to the cross-connector, in order to meet my goal of hiking the entire trail. Maybe in a month or two I can make it back out to the CKT so that I can accomplish this feat.
Trailhead: | N 41° 17.12' W 77° 45.25' |
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Total Elevation: | 2922' |
Trail Length: | 6.5 miles |
Hike Time: | 4.5 hours |
Hike Type: | Shuttle |
Difficulty Rating: | 123 |
Near: | Clinton County, south of Renovo, PA |
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I had just recently hiked 14 miles of the western loop and had an itch to hike more of the Chuck Keiper Trail. Not wanting to finish up the western loop until Mark (who did the first 14 miles of the hike with me) could get out and do the hike with me, I decided that I'd tackle a day hike. That's when I thought about Dude and the fact he didn't get to finish the eastern loop last year. One phone call and a couple days later, Dude and I were dropping his car off at the Fish Dam Run Overlook and driving my car back Pete's Run Road so that Dude could complete the last 6 miles of the eastern loop.
The end of our hike, and the point where we parked Dude's car, is located along route PA144, in the parking area of the Fish Dam Run Overlook. This parking area is the typical trailhead for hiking the Chuck Keiper Trail as it is located at the one end of the cross connector. To reach the trailhead from the south, east, or west, get on route I80 and exit at the Snow Shoe exit (Exit 147). From the exit, turn left onto route PA144. Follow PA144 for 3.9 miles to the town of Moshannon, hanging a right, and continuing on route PA144. Travel for another 21.5 miles and you will see the parking area on your left, directly across from Swamp Branch Road. Coming from the north, follow route PA144 south, or route PA120, to the town of Renovo. In Renovo, follow route PA144 south, across the West Branch of the Susquehanna river and drive for 10.2 miles. The parking area will be on your right directly across from Swamp Branch Road.
The trailhead proper for this hike is on Pete's Run Road. Once you make it to the Fish Dam Run Overlook, head east/north on route PA144. You will travel about 1.2 miles where you will turn right onto Pete's Run Road, just at the crest of the hill. Pete's Run Road is a dirt road, but well maintained, and can be driven on (at least when there isn't snow on the ground) with any type of vehicle; it doesn't need to have four wheel drive or a great suspension. Once on Pete's Run Road, continue straight for 3.4 miles. At this intersection you will want to make sure you bear left. Continue for 0.9 miles, logging a total of 4.3 miles from route PA144, and keep your eyes open for the orange blazes of the Chuck Keiper Trail as it crosses the road at this point. You'll find a parking area to the left of the road, enough room for at least 2 or 3 cars. This is the starting point for this hike.
If you are thinking of doing this hike, then details of the trail can be found in my narrative of our hike in April of 2006. The "Day 3" section describes in detail the trail that Dude and I were hiking on this trip.
The day was a nice day for a hike, with us getting a little damp as a small rain storm passed over head during our climb out of Drake Hollow. We were hot from the climb and the cool rain felt good.
The only creature that we saw on the entire hike was a small garter snake that I wasn't able to get a picture of before he slithered off under an old log. Dude had almost tramped on him, and he gave me quite a start when I realized that it wasn't a stick.
With recent rains the streams were quite full. This made for a very picturesque hike as we hiked through Diamond Rock Hollow and Drake Hollow. Of course the high waters made crossing Hall Run, the stream that runs alongside route PA144, a little difficult. After some searching for a good place to cross, both Dude and I made it over the stream without incident.
During the last section of our hike, the final mile on Barney's Ridge, we heard the sounds of thunder rumbling in the distance. When we got to a good advantage point on the trail, we could see very dark storm clouds in the distance. Luckily the storm was well to our south and we made it back to Dude's car without getting wet, with the exception of the cooling drizzle we experience in Drake Hollow.
I enjoyed the hike very much and Dude was happy to be able to say, finally, that he completed the entire east loop of the CKT. My only complaint were the ticks. I did pick one of them off of me after we made it back to the car. Mark and I encountered quite a few during our hike on the western loop 2 weeks earlier and it was apparent that the ticks were just as prevalent on the eastern loop as well.
We were able to hike the 6.5 miles in pretty good time. Including our stop time, which totaled 25 minutes, we complete the trek in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Of course, the fact that we just had hydration packs on our backs contributed to the almost 3 miles per hour hiking speed. I must admit that I am intrigued by ultra-light hiking and may have to give it a try some day. Without a heavy backpack slowing you down, I can see how it is quite feasible to put in 25 to 30 miles a day hiking. At that pace, Dude could hike either the entire west loop or the entire east loop all in one day.
Trailhead: | N 41° 14.16' W 77° 46.94' |
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Total Elevation: | 7042' |
Trail Length: | 14.5 miles |
Hike Time: | 10 hours |
Hike Type: | Shuttle |
Difficulty Rating: | 142 |
Near: | Clinton County, south of Renovo, PA |
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Unfortunately, unlike last year, we couldn't get a large group to hike the west loop with us. It ended up being just Mark and I doing the entire hike with hopes that others would join us later on. We started out late on a Thursday afternoon with intentions of hiking the entire 33 mile circuit and making it back to the trailhead on Sunday. However, as is often the case, thing didn't quite turn out the way we had planned.
The trailhead for this hike is located along route PA144, in the parking area of the Fish Run Dam Overlook. This parking area is the typical trailhead for hiking the Chuck Keiper Trail as it is located at the one end of the cross connector. To reach the trailhead from the south, east, or west, get on route I80 and exit at the Snow Shoe exit (Exit 147). From the exit, turn left onto route PA144. Follow PA144 for 3.9 miles to the town of Moshannon, hanging a right, and continuing on route PA144. Travel for another 21.5 miles and you will see the parking area on your left, directly across from Swamp Branch Road. Coming from the north, follow route PA144 south, or route PA120, to the town of Renovo. In Renovo, follow route PA144 south, across the West Branch of the Susquehanna river and drive for 10.2 miles. The parking area will be on your right directly across from Swamp Branch Road.
We began our hike on Thursday afternoon. We stopped on the way up to park Mark's car along route PA144 where the trail crosses the road. This would be close to our Friday evening's camp and we made sure that we had a couple cans of beer waiting in Mark's car for our eventual rendezvous.
When we got to the trailhead it was chilly, overcast, dreary, damp, and windy. The kind of day that you think to yourself: "Boy am I glad I'm not outside." We tried to get our gear gathered and on our backs as quickly as possible so we could begin hiking and warm ourselves. Shortly after 2:00PM we were on the trail, crossing route PA144, and heading west on the CKT.
Just after crossing route PA144 the trail turned to our right and in 0.23 miles the single track that we were following came out on a grassy, old forest road. We followed this for less than a tenth of a mile and noticed a side trail to our left. This went out to what probably would have been a nice vista, but with the weather that day, all we saw was a lot of fog.
After a half mile of hiking across this small ridge, we began a short descent, and met up with route PA144 at 0.8 miles. At this point, where the trail crosses the road, there is a rock monument erected. The monument commemorates the first game refugee in the state of Pennsylvania. We paused here for a moment to read the plaque on the monument and the we were back on the trail.
We now encountered our first ascent of this hike. It was a 300 foot climb in about a half mile. This got the blood flowing and we were soon forgetting how chilly we had been earlier at the trailhead. Once we reached the top of this second small ridge, we had a nice hike along it's top, walking through a small stand of pines. At 1.78 miles, the trail that we were following seems to continue straight ahead, but the Chuck Keiper Trail bears off to your right. Make sure you keep your eyes open for this departure or you may find yourself back tracking once you discover that there aren't any more orange blazes.
About 2.1 miles into our hike we began the steep descent into the Fish Dam Run Wild Area. The first two tenths of the descent was rather easy, as we traversed across the face of the ridge we had just been hiking. But at 2.3 miles the trail merges with an older trail and turns sharply to the right. We now began our descent on a more typical CKT trail; straight down with no switch backs.
At 3.25 miles our descent wasn't quite as steep as the trail levels out where the small stream that was flowing to the left of the trail merges with Fish Dam Run. We continue on along Fish Dam Run for another 0.25 miles until we cross this stream and begin the steepest climb of the entire hike.
We faced an 850 foot climb in a little under a mile. Luckily the weather was cooperative. It was cool with a slight breeze blowing as we made our ascent. With a few stops on the way up, we were happy to finally make it to the top of the ridge. Once we made it to the top we encountered a large clearing. This was burnt from a major forest fire some time ago. The grasses had returned with some smaller trees. If it had been a hot, dry summer day, this would have not been a very pleasant section of the trail. We continued across the burnt out clearing, crossing a gas pipeline at 4.5 miles and walking for a short period on Jews Run Road.
We turned off Jews Run Road at 4.6 miles onto an old forest road that headed back to a camp. We followed this road for about 0.4 miles before the trail broke with the road to the right. This was the beginning of our descent into Burns Run Wild Area. The descent was gradual and we left the forest fire area behind at about 5.2 miles into the hike. The larger trees became more prevalent and soon there were no signs of a forest fire. At 5.3 miles the trail turns to the left as it follows J U Branch downstream.
At 5.9 miles we crossed over J U Branch and began hiking on the northern bank of the stream. The trail was rerouted here to take it further up on the side hill, eliminating a lot of stream crossings. I was glad that they had done this as the stream was flowing swiftly at this time of the year, and it looked to be quite deep in places.
Finally, at 6.2 miles into our first day of hiking, we decided to stop and set up camp. We found a nice camp site where J U Branch merged with Burns Run. We soon had a small fire going, the tent set up, and had a nice meal of garlic pasta for dinner. As we finished cleaning up from our dinner it began to rain. The rain was a steady drizzle, so we decided to continue to hang out by the fire. However, at around 9:00PM the rain picked up, so we put out was was left of the fire and headed off to the tent to call it a night. It rained quite hard twice during the night and accepted for an incident where the wind managed to blow some rain in under the rain fly and get our feet a little damp, we stayed mainly dry and had a good night's rest.
We woke to find that the rain's had stopped. We quickly made some coffee, filtered water, and packed up camp. Around 10:00AM we were back on the trail.
Again, we followed the newer, rerouted section of the trail above Burns Run. Glances to our left showed a few tell-tail signs of old orange blazes following Burns Run below. At 7.1 miles we descended off of the side hill trail, crossed Packer Fork flowing in from the right, and we were now right along the banks of Burns Run. At this point we encountered two other hikers from Ohio. They had started on Wednesday and were looking to finish up the trail today. They asked about the climbs they had ahead of them, and we told them that they had two and would definitely be getting a cardiovascular work out.
Shortly after parting our ways, the trail crossed Burns Run. The stream was swift and high in it's banks. During this crossing I happened to get a little water over the top of my left boot. The socks were a little damp at the top, but all things considered, I thought the stream crossing went well. As we continued along Burns Run, now on the opposite bank, we encountered numerous ticks. Up to this point I think we only saw one or two, but on this short stretch alone, Mark managed to pull about 7 off of him and another five or so off of Storm. Luckily I didn't have any on me.
At 7.5 miles we crossed Owl Run, and the trail turned to our left to follow this small stream on our second steepest ascent of the hike. This time we would be climbing 1000 feet in 1.4 miles. There were a few times that the sun peaked out during our climb and it was a bit warmer than the previous day, making us break into a sweat much sooner. The trail crossed Owl Run many times during the climb. The stream was only a trickle so these crossings were not difficult at all. It was very lush in this small valley, with moss growing all over the rocks and fallen trees. I'd definitely like to make it back out to this section during the summer months, when everything is green, and take some beautiful pictures.
At 8.9 miles we completed our climb and crossed Fisher Fire Road. The CKT now merged with the drivable Plantation Trail. We hike along this dirt forest road, through a pine plantation, and joined up with Eddy Lick Trail at 9.4 miles. Turning left at this point we could have followed Eddy Lick Trail out to route PA144, but the CKT turns right. We had hiked this section before three summer's ago, during our hike of the Yost Run Loop. We kept on the CKT, turning right, and following Second Fork as it made it's way to join up with Yost Run below.
There section of the trail was on the northern side of Second Fork. At some places the trail is very narrow, with a steep bank to your left, and we had to be careful on these sections so as not to slide off of the trail. At 10.8 miles we found ourselves at the bottom of the hollow, where Second Fork flowed into Yost Run. There is a nice, large campsite here, but we were going to forge on for another 2 plus miles. We wanted to camp at the same camp site we were at three years ago: located just below a small waterfall.
For the next 2.5 miles we had a gradual climb along the banks of Yost Run. At times the trail was down along the stream and at others it was located high above. Again, this section of side hill trail was put in to avoid the many stream crossings of Yost Run. The old trail, I believe, is still located along the stream and is blazed blue. After the long, slow climb, we came across our campsite for the night, located on the far side of Yost Run, where Kyler Run joins it.
I guess this is a good time to mention that I had just recently purchased new hiking boots. These were full leather upper boots, which were much different than my old synthetic upper boots. Well, to make a long story short, I thought I had adequately broken my new boots in for this hike. I was wrong. As we sat at the campsite filtering water, my feet were aching so much that I could not imagine walking on them for the next two days.
Luckily we had parked Mark's car nearby, only another mile up the trail, and I had the option of ending our trip early. Mark and I discussed it for a while and decided that we would call it quits for this hiking trip. We hiked the remaining mile back to Mark's car and then headed back to the trailhead to get mine.
Not the best ending to a hike and not the way I wanted it to end. However, my feet were very sore and I feel that if I would have continued on for the next two days that my feet would have been damaged severely. Both Mark and I want to get back out and finish this hike on the west loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail. We've got the hardest part behind us as the remaining 18 miles is over relatively flat terrain. I will make sure that I where my boots around the house and get them well broken in before we venture back out on the trail. Hopefully we can find time in our schedules to get the rest of the trail completed sometime this spring.
Trailhead: | N 41° 14.16' W 77° 46.94' |
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Total Elevation: | 9042' |
Trail Length: | 22.5 miles |
Hike Time: | 13.5 hours |
Hike Type: | Loop |
Difficulty Rating: | 135 |
Near: | Clinton County, south of Renovo, PA |
View Large Map Download Map (PDF) |
This hike was done the last weekend of April, and with it being in the north central part of the state, there were mostly just buds on the trees with some leaves found in the hollows and valleys. Waxman, Richard, Ken, Dude, and of course Storm, all participated in this hike of over 22 miles. It was nice to have a group of five of us hiking and camping on the trail.
The trailhead for this hike is located along route PA144, in the parking area of the Fish Run Dam Overlook. This parking area is the typical trailhead for hiking the Chuck Keiper Trail as it is located at the one end of the cross connector. To reach the trailhead from the south, east, or west, get on route I80 and exit at the Snow Shoe exit (Exit 147). From the exit, turn left onto route PA144. Follow PA144 for 3.9 miles to the town of Moshannon, hanging a right, and continuing on route PA144. Travel for another 21.5 miles and you will see the parking area on your left, directly across from Swamp Branch Road. Coming from the north, follow route PA144 south, or route PA120, to the town of Renovo. In Renovo, follow route PA144 south, across the West Branch of the Susquehanna river and drive for 10.2 miles. The parking area will be on your right directly across from Swamp Branch Road.
We all arrived at the trailhead at about 11:00AM on Saturday morning. We weren't in a big hurry to get on the trail since Spring Gobbler season started today. The hunters are only allowed in the woods until noon, so the later we got started on our hike the less we had to worry about hunters. Waxman and I drove in my car and Richard had met us at my place and followed us to the trailhead. Richard was only going to be hiking until Sunday as he couldn't get off of work on Monday. We dropped Waxman and Storm off at the trailhead, along with all of our gear, and headed down Pete's Run Road. We parked Richard's car along the road where the CKT crosses, about 16 miles from the trailhead.
Ken and Dude arrived shortly after us and soon everyone was all packed up and ready to start our hike on the east loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail. We were hiking in a counter clockwise direction (which I highly recommend if you do this hike) so we crossed PA144 and turned left onto a new reroute of the trail. The CKT use to walk along the road for about 0.8miles, but a recent reroute put the trail just south of the PA144 eliminating the road walking.
The reroute met up with East Branch Trail at the intersection with PA144 and we made a sharp right and walked for a few hundred feet on a grassy forest road that lead to a leased cabin. About 1.5 miles into our hike we paused for a moment along a swampy area. After a 5 minute break we were soon on our way again and met up with Coon Run Road at 1.8 miles.
We were only on this forest road for about 500 feet, as we crossed East Branch Big Run. We followed this stream for the next 1.25 miles, crossing over it about three times. At one of the crossings there was a nice bridge but the other crossings lacked these nice bridges and we had to cross on rocks or single logs. At the second crossing we took another break, this time taking off our packs and enjoying a small lunch.
We met up with the main trail about 3.2 miles from the trailhead and beared left, heading around the CKT loop in a counter clockwise fashion. For the next 2.5 miles our hiking was relatively flat. We had some small inclines and hills to traverse but they were barely noticeable. We passed some forest meadows and an area that looked as if it had been clear cut. We also passed a few camps along the way.
Our first climb began at 5.4 miles. We paused to rest and take drink before we started going up this small uphill. Again, this climb wasn't all that bad, but we encountered out first "switch-back-less" descent once we reached the top. The trek down to Clendenin Branch was very steep, descending over 100 feet in less than 0.05 miles. At the bottom of the descent there was a nice campsite, just a few feet shy of the stream. The stream here flowed through a hollow that was dense with pines and rhododendrons. There wasn't any easy way to cross the stream either and Dude, the first to attempt the crossing, lost his footing on a slipper rock and ended up getting his one foot soaked.
We now began our first real climb of the hike. Luckily it wasn't straight up, but instead traversed across the side of the mountain. The climb to the ridge top was about 0.5 miles long and we ascended about 350 feet. Once at the top we walked across the ridge top which was once burnt during a forest fire. Since there weren't many trees present on the ridge top we were able to take in some nice views. However, the spring sun was directly over head and we were all anxious to make it back into the tree filled hollows where we could get a little bit of a break from the heat. Exactly seven miles from the trailhead we reached the other side of the ridge and began another "switch-back-less" descent.
After making our way down off the ridge we were nearing our destination for the first day. We approached Cranberry Run and followed the trail to the left as it followed the stream a short distance to a bridge. At the bridge we encountered two other hikers, our first on this hike. They had spent the night before along Boggs Run (where we would be spending our second night) and inquired about campsites that we may have passed. I referred them to the campsite along Clendenin Run, only 1.5 miles back. We snapped a picture of the both of them with their camera and wished them luck. We crossed the bridge, immediately turned right on an old rail road grade, and hiked another 400 feet to our campsite.
The campsite was situated in amongst some pines right along Cranberry Run. There was a fire ring present along with a decent supply of wood. We soon had our tents set up and began to relax around the fire. Of course Dude was the last to join us around the fire as he had about two dozen new toys that he had to unpack and try out. We gathered some more fire wood, filtered some water, and made our evening meal. Supper consisted of instant mashed potatoes and ham steaks. Dude had a variety of spices that he brought along and we experimented with them on our ham slices. After 7.5 miles of hiking the potatoes and ham tasted awesome.
That night passed by rather uneventful. We did here a few owls with their mating calls early on in the evening. Dude made a pretty good impersonation of an owl and I wouldn't have been surprised to see one trying to get into his tent with him. It did get very cold that night with the temperatures pushing my 35 degree sleeping bag to it's limits. At about 6:00AM with my mummy bag pulled tight around my face, my nose and my feet were feeling pretty cold. Soon the sun was out and things started to warm back up.
We packed up camp after having a small breakfast. Dude had developed some nasty looking blisters on the back of both of his heals and he tried to fix them up with moleskin. Around 10:15 we were ready to hit the trail.
Our second day of hiking was to start with a slight climb as we made our way up out of the hollow through which Cranberry Run flowed. Over the next 0.7 miles we ascended 340 feet, with the steepest part of the climb towards to top of the ridge. Of course, once we reached the ridgetop and started our descent down the other side, we were greeted once again with a straight, steep descent. As I mentioned earlier, we were doing this hike in a counter clockwise fashion. If we were hiking in the other direction, these steep descents would be killer climbs.
Along our steep descent into Wertz Hollow we did have a nice view to the north. Vistas on this hike were few and far between, but since I wasn't expecting any vistas on this hike, the few that we did have were treats. After the initial steep descent, the trail leveled off, slowly descending to Benjamin Run. We were 9.2 miles from the trailhead and 1.7 miles from our campsite when the CKT turned sharply to the right on a forest road where it paralleled Benjamin Run. After walking another quarter mile, we crossed Benjamin Run and took a break before we started our hike back Sled Road Hollow. Dude took this opportunity to apply some more moleskin and tape to his heals as they were really starting to bother him.
We hiked back Sled Road Hollow for a little over a mile, following alongside a small stream the entire way. The incline was slight and it was a very pleasurable part of the trail as it wound it's way through a stand of pines. We began our second climb of the day 10.5 miles from the trailhead. The ascent was steep but the trail followed an old forest road which made the climb much easier as we didn't have to concern ourselves with tripping over rocks and roots.
Everyone made it to the top of the climb without much problem other than being a little winded. We crossed a forest road at 11 miles and then began our descent towards Boggs Run. As we approached the end of the steep descent, 11.9 miles from the trailhead, we were surprised by two black bear cubs climbing down a tree just some 50 feet to the right of the trail. The cubs hit the ground and took off like a shot up the mountain on the far side of a small stream that we were following. I barely had enough time to blink let alone get out my camera before the cubs took cover in some thick brush. We caught a few glimpses of black as the scampered on up the mountain side. Of course our main concern at this point was determining where the mother bear was at. We thought we caught a glimpse of three black masses as they crested the ridge top but we were quickly on our way on down the trail not wanting to encounter a protective mother bear.
As the trail approached Boggs Run it stayed await from the stream proper and made it's way along the hillside, about 100 to 200 feet above the stream. We were hoping to take our next break and lunch along the stream but decide to stop at a fallen tree along the trail. At this point we were a little over 13 miles from the trailhead.
From here on things took a turn for the worse. About 0.7 miles on down the trail we came to a side stream the flowed into Boggs Run. Both Ken and Richard were out of water so we stopped here to filter more. Dude's feet were killing him and I suggested that he consider calling this hiking trip short and heading back to the trailhead with Richard. We had another 7.5 miles of hiking to do on the next day and I wasn't sure if Dude's feet were going to make it.
After Richard and Ken filled up with water we walked on for another mile, passing a number of deadfalls and blowdowns across the trail. Having to navigate around these obstacles not only consumed additional time but sapped our strength as well. having already hiked about 7 miles we were all ready to call it a day. The trail at this point made a turn to the left, still following Boggs Run, and I was under the assumption that our second night's campsite would be about another 0.5 mile up the trail.
As we continued along the trail I kept an eye to the left of the trail, looking down on Boggs Run, looking for a fire ring. After hiking 0.5 miles I had thought that maybe we missed the campsite. I sent Waxman on up the trail to scout around some as we waited for Ken, Richard, and Dude to catch up to us. Waxman couldn't find a campsite and we started to think about making our own for the evening as we were both very tired. Dude had decided we was going to hike out with Richard and head back home since his feet were killing him. Ken would have to call it a trip early as well since he rode up with Dude and his keys and wallet were in his car. It was at this time that Richard discovered that he did not have his camera, dropping it or setting it down somewhere along the trail. He took off his pack and started to retrace his steps to see if he could find his camera.
I took a look at the map and at my GPS to soon discover that we were still about 0.7 miles from where that evenings campsite was suppose to be. That meant that Dude still had to hike another 1.2 miles to get to Richard's car. Waxman, Dude, and Ken decide to hike on to the campsite where Waxman would begin to set up camp and everyone could filter some water since we were all out. I waited by Richard's pack waiting for his return. After 30 minutes passed I decided to hike back the trail to see what was taking Richard so long. I came across him hiking up the trail towards me after I hiked back around a half a mile.
So our second day finally came to an exhaustive end. Dude and Ken hiked out with Richard to head back to the trailhead and home. We had all logged over 8 miles of hiking with Richard hiking about 10 miles as he looked for his camera. He hadn't found his camera and was saddened, not by the loss of the camera as much as by the loss of the pictures he took on the hike. The campsite that we chose wasn't the greatest, with the fire ring being right on the trail, but we were too tired to look for another one. Besides the trail would soon be turning away from Boggs Run as it climbed to Pete's Run Road. Once on the other side of the road, camping is not permitted since we would be in the Renovo watershed.
Being very tired, I slept well that night. I had filled a water bottle with hot water and placed it at the bottom of my sleeping bag. This kept my feet nice and toasty all night long. I also wore a hat to bed which also helped keep me warm. I only awoke three times during the night. The first time I awoke was to the sound of coyotes howling somewhere down the trail. Next I was awaken by the sound of some animal walking through the dry leaves by my tent, pausing just to the side of the tent, and then being spooked and running off again through the dry leaves. The last time that I was awaken was again by coyotes howling. This time they were above our campsite and very close. Around 7:00 AM I awoke for the last time, climbed out of the tent, and started to prepare for our last day of hiking.
The last 0.5 miles of hiking from our campsite to Pete's Run Road was a little steeper than I thought it was going to be. I'm sure Dude had a heck of a time trying to get this last section of the trail behind him. Once we reached Pete's Run Road, we hiked on it for less than a tenth of a mile and then beared off to our right. We followed an road down past two camps and came to the initial descent down into Diamond Rock Hollow. In less than 1.25 miles we descended over 900 feet. There were many waterfalls within Diamond Rock Hollow and it was a shame that you couldn't set up camp here.
Crossing Hall Run, 17.3 miles from the trailhead, was an interesting experience. Even on this dry spring day the stream looked deep, fast moving, and too wide to leap across. I was able to find some rocks to cross on, with some of them being under the surface of the water. Waxman attempted to follow me across but slipped a little on one of the rocks and ended up getting his right foot rather wet. Luckily he had water proof boots on and his feet managed to remain dry.
After crossing PA144 on a new reroute, we paralleled the road until we reached Drake Hollow. At this point the trail began a steady climb back to the ridge tops over the next 2 miles. Prior to beginning the climb Waxman and I took a break and looked over the map. This was going to be our last climb of the entire hike but we weren't in any big hurry to conquer it.
The first half of the climb was relatively easy. The incline was slight and constant and the trail followed an old, unused forest road. A mile into our climb old road switch backed to our right but the trail continued straight. This last part of the climb was somewhat strenuous, with a number of deadfalls that we needed to navigate around. As we approached the top the climb got steeper. Finally, with 20.5 traveled since we started two days ago, we reached the top of our last climb as the trail merged again with an old, grass covered road.
We followed this old road for a quarter mile and then we beared left onto Barney Ridge Road. We did some road walking for the next mile. Neither Waxman nor I am found of walking on regularly used forest roads. There is no give on your feet and we could feel our feet tiring for the first time during the entire hike. At 21.7 miles the trail beared off to the right from the road and we paused here to drink the last of our water and to give our feet a rest.
The remaining three quarter miles that we hiked was easy on an old forest road that was slowly reverting back to the forest. When we started our final small descent off of Barney's Ridge, heading towards the parking lot and the trailhead, I spied what appeared to be a forest fire on the horizon. We weren't quite sure where the fire was, but assumed that it was close, perhaps somewhere in Sproul State Forest. It wasn't until later that day that we learned that the fire was in our back yard, burning on Tussey Mountain some 35 miles to the south of the CKT.
After 22.5 miles and three days of hiking we had completed the east loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail. I enjoy hiking on any trail in PA and the CKT is no exception. I wasn't expecting any vistas but was pleasantly surprised to find a few on the trail. The campsites were above average providing fire rings and plenty of space for all of our tents. If you are considering a hike on the east loop of the CKT just heed this one piece of advice: hike in a counter clockwise direction. As for the Chuck Keiper Trail, the west loop now needs to be conquered so that Waxman and I can put another PA trail under our belt.
Trailhead: | N 41° 15.91' W 77° 44.02' |
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Total Elevation: | 502' |
Trail Length: | 3.3 miles |
Hike Time: | 2 hours |
Hike Type: | Loop |
Difficulty Rating: | 43 |
Near: | Off route PA144 south of Renovo, PA. |
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On this hike I was actually looking for a campsite that we wanted to use on an upcoming hike of the east loop of the Chuck Keiper Trail. The weather that day started out quite cold and snow was falling as I headed towards the trailhead, even giving the ground a slight dusting. After traveling north on route PA144 I soon saw a sign for the Cranberry Swamp Natural area posted on the right side of the road. I turned right here and began driving down Pete's Run Road.
After traveling down Pete's Run Road for 2.7 miles I bared right onto Benjamin Run Road. I continued on this road for another half mile until I came across Cranberry Run Road to my right.
The trailhead proper for the Cranberry Swamp Trail is another 0.5 miles down Cranberry Run Road, but I highly suggest parking your car at this intersection. Cranberry Run Road is classified as a drivable trail. As I discovered hiking back this road, you could probably drive it for another 0.2 miles, but after that, you would most definitely need a four wheel drive vehicle with a lot of clearance. The road was muddy and had some very deep ruts in it.
This was a relatively flat hike, except for the descent and return ascent at the trailehead. The total mileage is rather low, coming in at just a little over 3 miles. This would be a great family hike, especially in the summer months when Cranberry Run Road actually is a drivable trail.
This hike started out with snow falling. It wasn't a heavy snow, but enough that it started to dust the ground with a light coating. About a little over a mile into the hike the snow stopped and the sun came out. Before I knew it, all traces of the snow fall was melted and gone, with the sun shining brightly and patches of blue sky above.
As I was walking southeast, on the north side of the swamp, I was thinking to myself how disappointed I was with the hike. I had only caught small glimpses of the swamp, and that was because areas were still frozen and the snow had remained, leaving them bright white patches that could be seen through the forest. The entire hike to the bridge, and campsite that I was scouting, I wouldn't have even know that there was a swamp nearby if I hadn't looked at a map beforehand.
At the southeastern section of the Cranberry Swamp Trail I found a campsite, about 500 feet downstream from the intersection with the Chuck Keiper Trail. The campsite had a fire ring as well as a large log to sit on and enjoy the fire. There was plenty of area all around the fire ring area to set up tents, with a nice soft bed of pine needles extended all around. I took photos and made note of the coordinates so that we could make sure we stopped here on our CKT hike next month.
After searching out the campsite, I was back on my way heading north west on the trail, this time on the south side of the swamp. As the return hike started out, I was once again disappointed with the scenery. It wasn't any different than walking through the woods, be it in a mountainous valley or a ridge top. I had yet to see the Cranberry Swamp.
Finally, just a little over 2 miles into the hike I was finally rewarded with a view of the swamp. I was so excited that I took many pictures, peering out through the trees to the swampy area beyond. I walked on for another 300 feet and the trail turned to the right and then another 200 feet beyond that, turned again to the left. At this point I was paralleling the swamp shoreline, with full view of the swamp to the right. The view was worth the trip as I stood there for a good 15 minutes taking in the surroundings. There were many ducks here, most of them being Mallards, though I believe I did make out one Wood Duck. I stood there silently hoping to catch a glimpse of other wildlife, but none could be seen.
My suggestion to any hiking the Chuck Keiper Trail (CKT) and thinking about taking a hike on the Cranberry Swamp Trail loop; take the south shore branch first and head in a clockwise direction. You'll be rewarded with nice views of the swamp sooner than if you were to walk around in a counter-clockwise direction and won't be as prone as to give up on the hike and head back because of a lack of "scenery".
The trail finally comes out into a pipeline clearing and you hike this back to Cranberry Run Road. It's a short hike of only about a quarter of a mile, but you have a great view of the upper end of the swamp to your right. I did run into a small snag as the trail intersected the head waters that feed the swamp. The stream, once it hit the pipeline clearing, kind of spread out and meandered everywhere. I had to do some back tracking until I could find a way across the stream without getting wet feet.
I did come across two gentleman getting ready to do the same hike I had just completed. They had 4x4 vehicles, with a lot of underside clearance, and drove right down to the gate on Cranberry Run Road to park their trucks. They seemed very familiar with the area and we shared a few pleasantries as I was leaving, continuing my hike back to the trailhead.
If you would like to try this hike, I would suggest venturing out in the late spring and early summer, when the ground is drier. At that time you should be able to drive up to the trailhead and hike the 2.4 mile loop around Cranberry Swamp without any trouble. As I stated earlier, the purpose of this hike was to scout out a campsite for a future hike. However, I was happy to be outside, enjoying the woods, and the views of the swamp that I finally encountered on the south west side made the hike even more rewarding.
Trailhead: | N 41° 10.61' W 77° 52.93' |
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Total Elevation: | 2438' |
Trail Length: | 6.7 miles |
Hike Time: | 4.5 hours |
Hike Type: | Loop |
Difficulty Rating: | 116 |
Near: | On PA144 north of Snow Shoe, just past the Centre County/Clinton County line. |
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Yost Run is a small stream that runs through the Sproul State Forest in northern Centre County and empties into the West Branch of the Susquehanna river. The Yost Run loop that is highlighted here is part of the western loop of the Chuck Keiper trail. There are many beautiful waterfalls to see on Yost Run and on the smaller runs that feed into it.
This hike, as I mentioned above, started out as a weekend getaway for some camping in the great outdoors. After setting up camp we discovered that we had some time to kill, and decided to go on a small hike. It wasn't until some weeks after this hike that I was looking in Tom Thwaites "Fifty Hikes in Central Pennsylvania" that I realized that this was a named trail and that the hike we took was described in his book. Needless to say, this a well blazed trail and very easy to find and to follow.
You will find the trailhead for this hike on route PA144. This can be accessed going north on PA144 from the I-80 interchange. From this interchange you continue through Snow Shoe, staying on PA144, for a total of 18.2 miles. You can also reach the trailhead from the north on PA120 and turning onto PA144 in the town of Renovo. From the intersection of PA120 and PA144 in Renovo, continue south for 17.7 miles.
You'll notice on the larger map that I've indicated two places to park for this hike. The one parking area is along route PA144 (N 41° 11.07', W 77° 52.73') and the other is back a dirt road a short distance from PA144. We parked at the parking area off of PA144 as I was not aware of the other parking area until after our hike.
From our parking area, we continued down a dirt road. This is a very easy grade and you'll find it a nice stroll to start out your hike. You will pass the first of two camps on this road: Camp Bloom. On the day of our hike there were a number of people at this camp, performing spring clean up, I assume. They were very courteous and friendly, even offering us a soda to drink. We continued on down alongside Bloom Draft. The road was a little rougher here, but it was still a road, with plenty of space to walk side-by-side instead of in a single file. At the end of this road was the second camp and where Bloom Draft flowed into Yost Run.
We continued on down Yost Run, now traveling on a "real" trail, where you needed to walk single file and where, in some places, the trail was very narrow. You had to watch you footing in many places as the trail was wet and there was a steep descent to our left. After hiking about 1.5 miles we reached our camping destination.
I'm glad that we decided to continue on with the hike after setting up camp as the forest in this area was very lush and a pleasure to walk through on a summer afternoon. We continued on down Yost Run along the orange blazed trail. Again, there were parts of the trail where it was very narrow. It would be a very good idea to make sure you are wearing a good pair of hiking boots.
At the end of our descent along Yost Run, approximately 3.4 miles from the indicated trailhead, there is another nice camp site. During our inspection of this campsite we came across our first encounter with wildlife. It seems that the dogs discovered a small rattlesnake. When I say "discover", I mean that the rattlesnake was lying on the trail and they mindlessly ran back and forth on the trail, not paying any attention to it. After a few tense moments we got the dogs away from the snake with no incidents and headed upwards along Second Fork and towards the Eddy Lick Trail.
Once you emerge from the ravine that the Second Fork descends, you will be on the Eddy Lick Trail. From here back to the trailhead it's smooth sailing as the trail is now a road again and, for most parts, nice and level. Depending on the time of the year, there are some nice blueberry bushes along Eddy Lick Trail, but they weren't in season during our hike.
This hike is easily a day hike, but with the two campsites along the trail, you can do as we did and make it an overnighter. The Sproul State Forest has some very old and large tree growth that you can view and enjoy, and the walk along Yost Run, with all of it's waterfalls, was a nice way to spend a summer's day.