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Mid State Trail - Woolrich: Bohen Trail the West Rim Trail Spur

My old hiking buddy Mark was up from South Carolina for a visit this week. Couldn't pass up an opportunity to go for a hike with him while he was here, so a hike we did. Since he didn't come prepared for an overnight excursion we decided to head up Pine Creek and do a day hike somewhere. It seems that the road took us to Blackwell so we decided to take a short hike up the old Mid State Trail, now the Bohen Trail, and view some of the waterfalls found along the trail.

Trailhead: N 41° 33.39'
W 77° 22.93'
Total Elevation: 1886'
Trail Length: 3.5 miles
Hike Time: 2 hours
Hike Type: Out and back
Difficulty Rating: 72
Near: Pine Creek, Blackwell PA.

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To reach the trailhead you simply follow route PA414, coming from either the north or the south. From the south, take the PA44 exit off of US220. After 12.3 miles you will bear right onto PA414 and then stay on this road for another 24.8 miles until you reach the town of Blackwell. After just entering the town of Blackwell you will see a small parking are just off to your right. This parking area is used by people canoeing Pine Creek as well as hikers of the Mid State Trail. If you are coming from the North I would suggest route US15 to the Liberty/PA414 exit. From this exit, just stay on PA414, through the town of Morris, for 15.6 miles.

We parked the car at the Pine Creek canoe access parking area at Blackwell. The skies were overcast and it had rained earlier in the day. The parking lot was rather barren accept for a fisherman that was getting all geared up when we arrived.

Mark, Storm and I hopped out of the car and headed across the bridge on PA414, pausing to enjoy the view up Pine Creek before we jumped the guard rail and hit the trailhead. The trail follows a level stretch for about 200 feet before it bears off to the left and begins a steep ascent on a very narrow path cut into the hillside.

After a quarter mile of hiking the climb wasn't as steep and the trail wasn't as narrow. At 0.4 miles into the hike most of the initial climbing was behind us as we traversed across the mountainside.

At 0.6 miles we came across a small, dry hollow. I had originally thought this was Jerry's Run and was surprised to find it dry and no waterfall to be found. I was pleasantly surprised, and relieved, to finally come across Jerry's Run at one mile into the hike. We turn right off the trail a little bit before the crossing of Jerry's Run to get a better view of Jerry's Falls. After snapping a few photos we were back on the trail.

From Jerry's Run the trail begins to descend once again to Pine Creek. At 1.4 miles there is a blue-blazed side trail heading off to the right. We turned here and headed down to the banks of Pine Creek. The blue-blazed trail starts to climb once again at 1.7 miles but we stayed along the creek and came across an awesome camp site at the confluence of Bohen Run with Pine Creek.

After spending some time here exploring the campsite we headed up along Bohen Run. There is a trail on the left bank of the stream. It isn't blazed but it can be easily discerned from the surroundings. This trail gets a little narrow and slippery in places, but after a tenth of mile we came across the destination of our hike, the Bohen Run Falls. Having never seen the falls before, I must admit I was impressed. I would have to say that the Bohen Run Falls are just as impressive as any of the falls found at Ricketts Glen.

Mark and I spent quite a bit of time enjoying the falls. Feeling the mist coming off the falls I am sure this would be a great place to come on a hot summer day. After a few more minutes enjoying the scene Mark, Storm and I retraced our steps back to the trailhead. When we go back to the car there were quite a few more cars parked there then when we arrived. The skies were starting to get brighter and it looked like the clouds may break way to some sunshine.

We hopped in the car and headed back down route PA414, following Pine Creek down stream. We stopped at Slate Run and visited the Hotel Manor. After a day of hiking, we enjoyed a fine meal and a nice cool beer, just like old times.

 

Not far from the parking area we crossed a bridge and got this awesome view of Pine Creek.

Our first waterfall of the hike. This one is Jerry's Falls on Jerry's Run.

A lone birch tree stands in the middle of the trail marking our way.

This photo was taken at the confluence of Bohen Run and Pine Creek.

The trail, though no longer part of the Mid State Trail, is still well maintained and has signs of frequent use.

The objective of our hike, Bohen Run Falls. Mark and Storm make their way up to the base of the falls.

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