Trailhead: | N 41° 21.77' W 78° 11.00' |
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Total Elevation: | 776' |
Trail Length: | 4.3 miles |
Hike Time: | 2.5 hours |
Hike Type: | Loop |
Difficulty Rating: | 58 |
Near: | Near Driftwood, PA, Elk State Forest |
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Good luck getting to the trailhead for this hike. Do not attempt this during the winter, after the first snowfall in autumn, or when there is still ice clinging on in shady areas during spring. Mason Hill Road has no winter maintenance and it is steep. A sign at the start of the road recommends tire chains and I doubt they would do much good in the dark days of winter.
To reach the trailhead, head up into "God's Country" on route PA120. Make your way to the town of Driftwood, along the banks of Sinnemahoning Creek. From there, follow route PA555 towards the town of Benezette. After traveling for 0.9 miles, look to your right and you will see the road sign for Mason Hill Road, as well as an indication that you should turn here to reach the Fred Woods Trail. You will be on a gravel road that turns to a rocky, dirt road in a short bit and becomes rather steep. There are some sharp, blind turns and not much room for two cars to pass, so be careful while heading to the trailhead. After turning onto the dirt road, you will make a sharp turn to the left at 1.9 miles, marking the initial, steep ascent to the top of the mountain, also known as Mason Hill. From this point, drive another 1.8 miles (3.7 miles since turning off route PA555) and you will see the Fred Woods Trail on your left, with parking to the right of the road.
The Fred Woods Trail is relatively flat and I was quite surprised to see how well it was maintained. The entrance trail, which you will retrace your hike on the way back out, was about three quarters of a mile long. You will meet the main loop at a sign that gives an explanation as to the name of the trail. From here it is a circuit hike and you can travel the trail in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. I decided to turn right and hike the trail in a counter-clockwise direction.
About 1.5 miles into the hike you will enter the "rock city". Up to this point you will have passed many large boulders. These are remnants from the ice age and there are other areas in Penns Woods where you will encounter these solitary behemoths planted in among the forest. The rock city, on the other hand, is quite unique. The boulders tower overhead as the trail snakes its way through some of the rock formations. At 1.6 miles you will encounter the Rock Trail leading off to your left. This trail further explores the rock city and unique rock formations here. I would strongly recommend that you take some time to explore here. For this hike, I continued straight on the main loop.
At 1.7 miles you will reach the first vista. This is the Water Plug Vista that looks over Water Plug Hollow towards the valley below. I spent a bit of time here enjoying the view. It was still early in the morning, about 7:15AM, and fog from the night before was still clinging in the valley below. After a bit of time enjoying the view I continued on.
Shortly past the Water Plug Vista the Rock Trail will emerge on your left. The trail continues for 0.8 miles, near the edge of the drop off to the valley below. At 2.5 miles we come across the second vista of this hike: the Huckleberry Vista.
I think this vista is nicer than the Water Plug Vista because if gives you more of a panoramic view of the landscape. Looking across the valley, it was neat to see the rolling hills fade into the distance. Again the fog was laying in the valley below and I spent a good 15 minutes enjoying the view before continuing on with the hike.
About 0.3 miles from the vista the trail turns left and would offer yet another view, if it weren't for all the leaves on the trees. Soon the trail gets rockier as it leaves the edge and continues across more level ground. At approximately 3.5 miles into the hike we are back at the intersection with the entrance trail. We will turn right here and retrace our steps back to the trailhead and our waiting car.
This was my first hike on the Fred Woods Trail and I see myself coming back to visit again. The section of the trail out to the Water Plug Vista is level and maintained well enough to suggest it as an out-and-back hike for younger hikers. All ages will enjoy the interesting rock formations found at the "rock city". If you have not hiked the Fred Woods Trail, than I highly recommend putting it on your short list of trails to hike in Pennsylvania.
Trailhead: | N 41° 15.39' W 78° 21.12' |
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Total Elevation: | 5028' |
Trail Length: | 14.0 miles |
Hike Time: | 9.5 hours |
Hike Type: | Shuttle |
Difficulty Rating: | 120 |
Near: | Off the Quehanna Highway, near Medix Run, PA |
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We've had various hikers on the previous two backpacking trips and early on it looked like we would have the entire group together, plus some new attendees. With an original roster of 10 backpackers, this looked to be the largest group outing as of yet, and even concerned me a bit with regards to logistics and finding an adequate place to camp that would accommodate such a large group. However, as the weeks progressed, the number of hikers dwindled until we ended up with our final number of seven backpackers for this outing.
The trailhead for the start of this hike is located just off state route 1011, also known as the Quehanna Highway. To reach the Quehanna Highway, you need to get onto route 879. This can be reached from route I80 at a number of exits: at exit 120 near Clearfield, at exit 133 near Kylertown, and exit 147 near Snow Shoe. Exit 120 near Clearfield is with route 879, so just head east from there. Exit 133 near Kylertown brings you out on state route 1011 (its not called the Quehanna Highway here) and you can follow it north to the intersection with route 879. And finally, from exit 147 near Snow Shoe, take route PA144 to its intersection with route 879 and head west. Near the town of Karthaus (you'll pass through this town if coming from the Snow Shoe exit of I80), there is an intersection with route 879 and the Quehanna Highway. Follow the Quehanna Highway north for about 16.4 miles (you'll drive through Piper, also known as the Quehanna Boot Camp) and keep your eyes open for a dirt road on your right. This is marked as Grant Road on some maps, but there will not be a road sign here indicating such. This road is almost directly across from where Sullivan and Dent Road meet the Quehanna Highway. Once you turn off onto Grant Road, drive for about a half mile and you will see a stone parking area on the right. Park here as this is the trailhead for this hike.
Like our previous hikes, this as to be a shuttle hike. This hike would have us hiking on about 9 miles of the Quehanna Trail proper and then about 4 miles on the West Cross Connector. This made for a shorter and easier car shuttle. Our hike was to end on Little Medix Road, about a half mile from the CCC camp and the intersection with Medix Road. After dropping Jim and Chris off at the trailhead, I drove to this point and awaited Jeff. Jeff was driving a pickup truck and we would use this to shuttle our entire crew, and packs, back to the trailhead at the end of the hike. After a short(?) wait Jeff showed up and, after parking his truck, we took my car back to the trailhead to start our hiking adventure.
Once we got back to the trailhead the rest of the crew was ready to go. We all put on our packs and headed down the road about 200 feet before we turned left off the road and onto the orange-blazed Quehanna Trail.
The first part of the hike had us walking through mostly flat, but damp, stand of pines. We soon emerged from the pines but the ground was still saturated and very wet. The leaves were just starting to come out on the trees and we had a rather unobstructed view of the sky. It was suppose to be rain free and mostly sunny that day. It was rain free, but completely cloudy would have been a better description of the weather. And the humidity was near 100%, making for a very muggy hike.
We crossed a pipeline clearing at about 0.3 miles into the hike and continued hiking for the next mile across marshy flatlands. At 1.4 miles to trail began to descend down into Silver Mill Hollow. As we descended the trail turned from swampy to rocky. The descent wasn't too bad, but there were steep parts, and a small stream accomanied us on our left with small feeder streams crossing the trail from time to time.
Our descent into Silver Mill Hollow ended at 2.7 miles where the Quehanna Trail crossed the small stream on our left and began a gradual climb on the north-east face of Haystack Mountain. The climb was short lived as the trail soon leveled off and we continued wrapping around now to the north-west face of the mountain. At about 3.6 miles the trail emerged onto an old gas pipeline clearing and we began to follow it.
At 4.1 miles we ventured off the clearing and into the woods to the left as the trail continued with a gradual descent. At 4.4 miles we crossed a powerline clearing and at 4.5 miles we all stopped for a short rest at one of the official trailheads for the Quehanna Trail, just off the Quehanna Highway. This marked the completion of hiking the north section of the Quehanna Trail, that part located north of the Quehanna Highway. We started at the Quehanna Highway a year ago, following the trail in a counter-clockwise direction, and now we had completed the northern section.
After a short break we crossed the road and immediately crossed Sullivan Run on a small bridge. We continued hiking on the Quehanna Trail for another 0.8 miles as is paralleled Medix Run before we decided to stop for lunch. One thing I forgot to mention at the start of the hike was the Jody realized that he forgot to bring his trekking poles. He typically hikes with the poles but had to do without on this trip since he forgot to pack them. Well, we found out at lunch that Jody forgot another item on this hike: lunch. Chris was providing meat and cheese for all to share at lunch and he gave these items to Jody to put in his pack the night before. We surmised that the meat and cheese was sitting on Jody's living room floor upon our departure that morning and that his dog Nigel was probably enjoying a nice snack. However, we managed just fine, munching on Jeff's venison bologna sticks and my pistachios. After a half hour of eating and relaxing we put our gear back on and continued with the hike.
At 5.7 miles we crossed Medix Road and at 5.9 miles crossed Medix Run on a nice bridge. Shortly after crossing the stream we started our biggest, and luckily only, climb of the day. Over the next mile we would climb 700 feet as the trail followed Bear Run to its headwaters. At 6.9 miles the trail makes a sharp right, a bit of a steep climb, and levels off. There is suppose to be a view on the right, looking over Bear Run Hollow, at 7 miles into the hike, but the vista was grown over and did not offer any type of a view. At 7.1 miles we all gathered and waited for everyone to catch up. We rested a bit and rehydrated as the clouds were now gone and the sun was shining brightly in a blue sky above.
From our resting spot we continued west on the orange-blazed trail and came upon the Caledonia Pike at 7.7 miles. This was where Jeff made a visit to earlier in the morning and dropped off some beer. He gathered the beer, put it into a stuff sack, flung it over his shoulder and we continued on with our hike.
The trail was relatively flat after crossing the gravel Caledonia Pike. We came upon our first and only vista of the entire hike at 8.2 miles south-east towards the town of Pennfield. Just a bit beyond the view we began a descent, steep at times, along a small stream. This small stream merged with another tributary to Laurel Run, coming in from the left, at 8.6 miles. This was the end of the first day of hiking as this was where our campsite was suppose to be.
We found a campsite, located almost directly on the trail. It was a small one nestled in under some pine trees. We had four tents to set up and there was no way we were going to be able to set them up here. Luckily, on the other side of the stream there was a large flat area. We ventured across the stream and found the area to be suitable for us to set up our tents. As some of us went about setting up the tents, others built a fire ring (thanks Jim for your fine rock workmanship) and gathered firewood (and thanks to Jody for lugging the bow saw along on the trip). Before long we had the tents erected and we were all gathered around the fire ring in the stadium seating.
We spent an enjoyable evening around the fire, eating smoked corned beef, smoked cheese on pita bread, and fried ham steaks. We also had some canned craft beer to enjoy along with a couple ounces of fine single-malt scotch whiskeys. At about 9:30PM we noticed the very large, and extremely bright moon rising over the hill top. The moon was so bright we could have easily hiked that night by its light. About 11:00PM everyone was calling it a night and heading off to bed.
We didn't get as early of a start to the day as we would have liked, but we had camp broke down and breakfast eaten by 10:30AM and we were on the trail shortly there after. The trail continued its descent along this tributary on an old forest road. The hiking was very easy and we made good time. At 9.2 miles the trail makes a sharp left and again follows an old jeep trail as it parallels Laurel Run.
For the next 0.8 miles on the old jeep trail we had a gradual ascent which leveled out at 10 miles into the hike. The trail was relatively flat for the next mile. At about 11 miles we came upon Saunders Road. We turned left onto this road, still following the orange-blazed Quehanna Trail, and hiked for another two tenths of a mile. Just after a bridge crossing we left the Quehanna Trail to follow the yellow-blazed West Cross Connector Trail. We were now starting our second steep climb of the hike, following the yellow-blazed trail as it paralleled another Laurel Run tributary.
At 11.6 miles the trail crossed the stream and ascended more steeply as it climbed away and out of the hollow. At 11.9 miles the trail makes a sweeping right turn and continues eastward on relatively flat terrain.
About 12.7 miles into the hike we entered a large highland meadow. This large clearing seemed like it would be a great place to spot elk or other wildlife. Sadly, no wildlife was seen. At 12.8 miles, about a third of way across the meadow the trail crosses the headwaters of the tributary we were following earlier.
We once again crossed Caledonia Pike at 13.2 miles into the hike. After a tenth of a mile hiking on relatively flat terrain the trail began a steep descent towards Little Medix Run. After 0.8 miles, for a total of 14 miles of hiking, we emerged on Little Medix Road and all met up at Jeff's waiting truck. A short break at the truck and taking of some pictures and we were soon heading back to the trailhead.
Of course what would a weekend of hiking be without an after hike meal. This time we headed into Benezette for a bite to eat at the Benezette Hotel. The food was good but the service was a bit inadequate for the large number of people taking advantage of the nice weather. After the meal we said our good-byes as we hopped in our cars and headed back home. I really enjoyed this hike and came away from it without feeling worn down or tired and sore. I am looking forward to the fall hike when we return to the Quehanna Trail and see if we can put on rack up some additional miles on the trail south of the Quehanna Highway.
Trailhead: | N 41° 15.39' W 78° 21.12' |
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Total Elevation: | 3947' |
Trail Length: | 13.1 miles |
Hike Time: | 9 hours |
Hike Type: | Shuttle |
Difficulty Rating: | 105 |
Near: | Off the Quehanna Highway, near Medix Run, PA |
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The trailhead for the start of this hike is located just off state route 1011, also known as the Quehanna Highway. To reach the Quehanna Highway, you need to get onto route 879. This can be reached from route I80 at a number of exits: at exit 120 near Clearfield, at exit 133 near Kylertown, and exit 147 near Snow Shoe. Exit 120 near Clearfield is with route 879, so just head east from there. Exit 133 near Kylertown brings you out on state route 1011 (its not called the Quehanna Highway here) and you can follow it north to the intersection with route 879. And finally, from exit 147 near Snow Shoe, take route PA144 to its intersection with route 879 and head west. Near the town of Karthaus (you'll pass through this town if coming from the Snow Shoe exit of I80), there is an intersection with route 879 and the Quehanna Highway. Follow the Quehanna Highway north for about 16.4 miles (you'll drive through Piper, also known as the Quehanna Boot Camp) and keep your eyes open for a dirt road on your right. This is marked as Grant Road on some maps, but there will not be a road sign here indicating such. This road is almost directly across from where Sullivan and Dent Road meet the Quehanna Highway. Once you turn off onto Grant Road, drive for about a half mile and you will see a stone parking area on the right. Park here as this is the trailhead for this hike.
This was a shuttle hike, so we needed to take one of our vehicles to the other end of the hike. Our hike was to end at a designated parking area for the Quehanna Trail, along Hoover Road. The last time we hiked on the Quehanna Trail, this was also the end point for our hike, however due to recent rains, we were unable to reach this trailhead because of bad roads. Luckily things were different this time, as the roads were repaired and we were able to reach the parking area.
After dropping Jeff's truck off at the end of our hike, we soon joined up with the rest of the crew at the trailhead. After a bit of fiddling with packs and such, we were starting our weekend hike on the Quehanna Trail. From the parking area we had a short bit of road walking as the Quehanna Trail proper didn't cross until another 500 feet past the parking area. Turning right off the road, we were all getting adjusted to the trail and getting our backpacking legs under us.
The first half mile of hiking was relatively flat and we made pretty good time. At about 0.5 miles we began a slight descent that got a bit steeper as we hiked along, and crossed numerous times, the upper reaches of Mix Run.
For the next two miles we had a gradual descent on an old railroad grade as we crossed Mix Run a number of times. At 2.5 miles we crossed to the east side of Mix Run for the last time. We hiked along on a relatively flat section of the railroad grade with Mix Run flowing swiftly below us.
At 2.7 miles we turned right in a large flat area where Deible Run flows into Mix Run. There were two places where we almost lost the trail. First was where we wanted to follow the railroad grade along Mix Run, but the trail made a sharp turn to the right on an old, overgrown forest road. The second time was a short distance past this as the old forest road started to climb the hillside. The trail cut off to the left, through a thick stand of saplings, to follow Deible Run upstream.
After 0.4 miles hiking along Deible Run, the trail crossed and began a steep ascent. There were a number of switchbacks during this climb and at 3.5 miles into the hike the climb leveled out and offered us a view to the valley below. A short break here to take some pictures and to enjoy some of the meat and cheese that Chris brought had us back on the trail on a more level section with less climbing.
At 4.1 miles we crossed a dirt forest road, and a geographical survey benchmark of 2228 feet. We began a short descent which ended with a sharp turn to our right and climb out of the hollow. We were heading into one of the unique rock formations on the trail. Just prior to coming upon the rocks Jeff, the last in our hiking party, was about trampled by a herd of deer. Around six deers came straight towards him as he followed the trail through a thicket. A bunch of yelling and jumping about was enough to scare the deer off and Jeff was able to continue the hike without the discomfort of being trampled by a bunch of deer.
We crossed another forest road at 6.1 miles into the hike. This is the eastern cross-connector for the Quehanna Trail. Turning right would have taken us back to the Marion Brooks Natural Area but we followed the main trail to our left. A short walk on the road and then we beared right back into the woods as the trail started a gradual descent.
Our descent became much, much steeper at about 6.5 miles into the hike as we descended down along Porcupine Draft. Over the next mile we descended about 700 feet, following both banks of Porcupine Draft. At 7.6 miles we pulled away from Porcupine Draft and hiked on a level section of trail with a gradual descent towards Red Run.
We appeared on Red Run Road at 8.1 miles into our hike. After two tenths of a mile hiking on this stone road, we beared off to the left and in a short distance we crossed Red Run on a well built, sturdy bridge. After another 0.7 miles of hiking along Sanders Run we came across a campsite which we decided was going to be our home for the night. Taking the pack off my back I felt like I was walking on air. An hour of setting up camp and gathering firewood had us all gathered around the campfire sharing stories and enjoying the canned craft beers that we carried in with us. A feast of a variety of meats (brisket and kielbasa to name a few) along with more had us ready to hit the sack before midnight. I must admit that I slept quite soundly, only awoken by Mr. Pringle telling me I was snoring and that I needed to roll over onto my side.
The next morning was quite cold with a layer of frost on everything. I crawled out of bed around 8:30AM with Mark already up and brewing some coffee. A short time later everyone was up as well as we slowly broke camp. It was about two hours later until we were on the trail, hiking along Sanders Run.
The climb along Sanders Run was much less steep than the descent along Porcupine Draft. The slow, gradual climb out of the hollow was exactly what the doctored ordered and we all enjoyed the easy ascent.
The climb came to an end at about 10.9 miles into the hike. As we walked along a grassy road we came across another unique site on this hike. It started with what I thought was a trick of my eyes. There looked to be a wall of white in the distance, perhaps snow, but the sky above was blue. At 11.2 miles the white wall was revealed as being a stand of white birches. The greyness of the woods surrounding us contrasted with the whiteness of the woods found here. We paused to take a group picture before we continued on.
At a bit past 11.9 miles we came across our last vista of the hike. With views towards the north and the sun shining brightly to our backs, this was a nice way to end our hike. Only another mile plus of level hiking had us at the end of our hike at Hoover Road. We all climbed in Jeff's truck and headed back to the trailhead to finish up our weekend of hiking.
Our spring hike had us doing 15 miles of hiking on the Quehanna and this fall backpacking trip saw us adding another 13 miles of trail. I am looking forward to our spring backpack trip so that we can do even more of the trail. Our next hike will probably have us exploring section of the trail south of the Quehanna Highway. Check back in 6 months to see what new sections of the trail we explore.
Trailhead: | N 41° 11.76' W 78° 9.10' |
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Total Elevation: | 4983' |
Trail Length: | 16.4 miles |
Hike Time: | 10 hours |
Hike Type: | Shuttle |
Difficulty Rating: | 132 |
Near: | Along the Quehanna Highway, near the Quehanna Boot Camp |
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The trailhead for the start of this hike is located along state route 1011, also known as the Quehanna Highway. To reach the Quehanna Highway, you need to get onto route 879. This can be reached from route I80 at a number of exits: at exit 120 near Clearfield, at exit 133 near Kylertown, and exit 147 near Snow Shoe. Exit 120 near Clearfield is with route 879, so just head east from there. Exit 133 near Kylertown brings you out on state route 1011 (its not called the Quehanna Highway here) and you can follow it north to the intersection with route 879. And finally, from exit 147 near Snow Shoe, take route PA144 to its intersection with route 879 and head west. Near the town of Karthaus (you'll pass through this town if coming from the Snow Shoe exit of I80), there is an intersection with route 879 and the Quehanna Highway. Follow the Quehanna Highway north for about 5.3 miles (you'll drive through Piper, also known as the Quehanna Boot Camp) and you'll see the parking area in your right.
This was a shuttle hike, so we needed to take one of our vehicles to the other end of the hike. Our hike was to end at a designated parking area for the Quehanna Trail, along Hoover Road. It had rained quite a bit in the region for the past couple of weeks, and we discovered a section on Hoover Road that had ruts in it about 2 feet deep. We realized we couldn't drive back Hoover Road any further so we parked one of the cars here. We estimated that we were about a mile from the parking area where the trail crossed Hoover Road, so it looked like we would be doing a little bit of road walking to finish out our hike on Sunday.
After we got back from dropping off the car, we all put on our packs and started our backpacking adventure. At the start of our hike, the parking area for the trailhead, is not where the Quehanna Trail crosses the Quehanna Highway. We had to walk south along the road for approximately a quarter of a mile before we came upon the trail. There was plenty of space along the side of the road, a grassy are of about 100 feet wide, so we weren't walking on the road proper. Once we trekked about 0.25 miles we turned left onto the orange blazed Quehanna Trail.
After only hiking a bit over a tenth of a mile we came to the first trail register. We stopped here to sign in. We noticed we were the second entry in the new trail register and the first was that of a trail crew who were apparently ahead of us doing some trail maintenance today. We benefited from the fruits of their labor as we continued on, as the trail was free of obstacles and well marked with freshly painted blazes.
At about 1.2 miles into our hike, just prior to climbing a short rise, we came across the trail maintainers. They were lopping brush and removing deadfalls from across the trail. We thanked them for the work they were doing and told them we really appreciated it. Not much longer after passing them we noticed more deadfalls and brush encroaching on the trail. It was much easier hiking the section of the trail that they had cleared, but we managed and pressed on.
At 1.4 miles we had our first vista of the hike. Nothing spectacular, but a vista none the less. We paused here for a bit to take a look around before we continued on with the hike.
At 1.5 miles into our hike the descent from the vista ended and we made a sharp left and began a gradual ascent. After a tenth of a mile we emerged onto a grassy road, which we followed for about 200 feet before we once again entered the woods. We stopped here to apply some DEET insect repellent as a number of us had already began picking ticks off their clothes. Luckily I had no issues with ticks, but Kaelen and Jim were flicking them off their bodies for the entire hike. There were quite a few ticks on this backpacking trip, but to the best of my knowledge, no one had any attached to them after the hike.
For the next 0.6 miles, after entering the woods, the trail ran straight with a gradual ascent. After our ascent, we began a descent into a hollow, following an old forest road. At 2.5 miles the trail bears right off of the forest road and follows a small stream down through the hollow. The guys in front missed this turn off, and Mark and I had to yell to them and told them to turn back. They did some brush whacking off trail and met up with us on the trail about a quarter of the way down the hollow.
At 2.7 miles we reached the bottom of the hill where we crossed a dirt road and then a bridge, which crossed the Upper Three Runs stream. We paralleled the stream on the north bank and the trail beared to the left at 3 miles, just near a small reservoir. We began another climb up along Laurel Swamp Draft.
This climb was the steepest so far, and in my opinion, the steepest of the entire hike. I had not done any backpacking for almost 2 years, and this climb really put a hurting on me. I was trailing to the rear on this climb. Mark and Storm waited for me at the top, but the rest of the guys pressed on. After 0.7 miles of climbing, Mark and I stopped at our second vista of the trip. This one was much nicer than the first, and enjoyed much more, not only because of the view, but because of the rest we took after the tough climb. I feel vistas after steep climbs are much more appreciated then vistas you encounter on flat stretches of the trail.
After the climb, the trail was relatively level. We hiked over some marshy areas where we walked on puncheons. At 5.2 miles into the hike we came across a dirt road and the spot of an old fire tower. The Three Runs Lookout Tower use to stand here, but was removed back in 1979. Finally, at 5.8 miles we came across Jim, Kaelen, and Chris, lounging on the trail, taking a lunch break. Mark and I took off our packs and sat down on the trail to join them.
After a much needed and satisfying lunch we continued on with our hike as we followed the trail down to the head waters of Lower Three Runs. Once we met the stream, the trail turned left and began a gradual climb. We followed the stream for a little over a half mile, and at 5.6 miles the trailed made a sharp right and continued its gradual ascent.
At 7 miles our climb was over and we came upon Three Runs Road. This is a maintained, dirt forest road. There was an information board here with maps of the area as well as other information about hunting and forest regulations. We noticed quite a few elk rubs in this area. This was some of the first elk signs we saw on the trip so far. Later we would see more signs of elk, including the skeletal remains of a young elk, but we never encountered a live elk on the trail.
Once crossing Three Runs Road we began our descent towards Upper Jerry Run. We were going to be camping along Upper Jerry Run, and we were all feeling a bit anxious to set up camp. At 7.8 miles we crossed a small feeder stream for Upper Jerry Run that we had been hiking alongside during our descent. Once across the stream the trail made some sharp turns as it navigated through a rather thick section of brush.
For the next half mile we hiked along the hillside and could hear Upper Jerry Run to our left and below us. We couldn't see the stream because of the thick undergrowth, but we new it was there. At 8.3 miles the trail made a left a steep descent, and finally at 8.5 miles into our hike, we emerged on the southern banks of Upper Jerry Run.
We continued to hike along the stream for another 0.4 miles, passing a couple of small camp sites along the way. At 8.8 miles we came across a rather large campsite and decided to call it a day and erect the tents here. The campsite and fire ring along the stream did not have much room for three tents, so we pitched our tents on the trail, which was probably the largest flat area we could find. After setting up the tents, we put some beers in the stream to cool, and began gathering firewood. After some of the guys played a game of hacky sack, we started a fire and settled down around it enjoying a cold beer. Our dinner consisted of rib eye steaks, cooked on the cools in foil, followed by hot dogs and bratwursts roasted on a stick. Mark commented that this was the best dinner on the trail he had ever had. Of course, the cold beers helped complete the meal as well. Around 10:00PM we all decided to call it a night and headed off to bed. With the exception of being awoken by snoring in nearby tents, this was one of the more peaceful night sleeps that I've had in the woods.
The next morning we awoke to some chilly weather. The sun was shining, but its warming rays had not reached us yet along the stream. We heated some water and had coffee and breakfast bars for our morning meal. Soon we had the tents down and our backpacks ready to go.
We encountered a small problem at this point in our hike. With all fo the recent rain, Upper Jerry Run was running full in its banks. Just a bit past our campsite we could see where the trail crossed the stream a number of times, and all without the aid of a bridge. We could not see any ways to get across at these points without getting our feet wet. We knew the trail would soon turn left and begin to climb the hillside on the far side of the creek, so we opted for crossing at our campsite and climbing up the hill to intersect with the trail. We climbed away from our campsite and the stream, and at about 0.3 miles later, in a small hollow, we crossed back onto the Quehanna Trail.
After a short climb, about 9.6 miles into our hike, we emerged onto the Sinnemahoning Trail. This trail connects the Quehanna Trail with the Donut Hole Trail. With these types of connector trails, it is now possible to hike from the West Rim Trail near Ansonia the entire way to Parker Dam State Park on the western edge of the Quehanna Trail.
The Quehanna Trail soon turned left off the Sinnemahoning Trail after about a quarter mile. We began our descent in Upper Pine Hollow which would lead us to Wykoff Run. Our group of hikers got spread out quite a bit on this section of the trail. Mark and I stopped so that he could fix blisters starting on his feet while Jim, Kaelen, and Chris marched on. Soon I feel back from Mark as earlier in the day I had to put on a knee brace because of my left knee hurting at the end of yesterday's hike. I took it easy as I nursed the knee during the descent.
At 11.5 miles the trail turns right to follow the east bank of Wykoff Run. At 11.7 miles we crossed Wykoff Run on a large foot bridge and a tenth of a mile after that our hiking troup was back together, resting at a roadside rest, where the Quehanna Trail crosses Wykoff Run Road.
We ate a few snacks during our break and soon began the climb away from Wykoff Run. Shortly after crossing the road, the trail was an easy, gradual climb. However at 12.1 miles it turned decidedly steeper. Once again Mark and I fell behind and we would not see the rest of the guys until the end of the hike. During this climb along Laurel Draft we were treated to some nice views of waterfalls in the stream below. I attempted to take some pictures, but from the distance where the trail was located, none of them turned out. Some time I'd like to hike closer to the stream, just to view some of these waterfalls up close.
Things finally leveled out after about 1.2 miles of hiking. We crossed Laurel Draft on a small wooden bridge. We paused here for a bit so Storm could get a drink out of the stream. After crossing the stream, we had a small climb, but soon we were back on level ground hiking.
At 13.8 miles we passed through a pipeline and powerline clearing. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some wildlife in the clearing, but none were seen. At 14 miles, in the middle of a forest meadow, we once again crossed over the headwaters of Laurel Draft. It looked like there may have been a bridge here at one time, but it must have been destroyed or perhaps washed away. The stream wasn't very wide here and we easily jumped across.
For the next 0.8 miles we hiked through hardwood forests on relatively flat terrain. Unlike back home, there were no leaves or even buds on the trees here. The sun was shining brightly through the leafless tree canopy. I later discovered that I got a decent sunburn on my neck and arms which was probably from hiking this section of the trail.
At 14.8 miles we emerged onto Hoover Road and what was to be the end of our hike. There was a large parking area to the west of Hoover Road. We did not see the boys waiting for us here, so we decided to turn left and hike back Hoover Road to where the car was parked.
What was suppose to be a one mile hike to the car ended up being closer to 1.6 miles. When we got to the car the rest of the guys were there waiting for us. Of course they commented on my poor abilities to estimate distances, but everyone was in good spirits for completing our backpacking trip. After a quick drive back to the trailhead to pick up the other car, and then a return trip to pick up the rest of the group, we were soon on our way fill out stomachs at a local restaurant called Clooney's.
The first backpacking trip of the season was a success. Everyone enjoyed the Quehanna Trail so much that we are planning on coming back in the fall for our annual Fall Backpacking trip. We had done a little more mileage then we originally planned, putting in a total of 16.4 miles. The hike was tough on me because I was out of shape and the fact that I had not done any backpacking for over two years. I hope to get some additional backpacking trips in this summer so that in the fall, when we revisit the Quehanna Trail, I'll be in better shape and ready for the challenge.
Trailhead: | N 41° 11.67' W 78° 30.39' |
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Total Elevation: | 5692' |
Trail Length: | 19.5 miles |
Hike Time: | 11.5 hours |
Hike Type: | Loop |
Difficulty Rating: | 155 |
Near: | Off PA153 by Parker Dam State Park near Penfield, PA |
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We started our hike out relatively early, at least for us, getting on the trail at just a little after 9:00AM. Mark and I thought it would be best to get as much trail behind us as early as we could since we had over 11 miles to walk on Saturday. Even though the weather forecast looked ideal, weatherman have been know to be wrong from time-to-time, and we wanted to avoid the possible high temperatures of mid-afternoon.
We parked our car at the trailhead in Parker Dam State Park in Clearfield county. You can easily reach the trailhead from anywhere in the state: you just need to get yourself on US Interstate I80. Either heading east or west, you will need to get off I80 exit 111, onto state route PA153 north. Follow PA 153 for about 5.7 miles and then turn right onto Mud Run Road. There is a sign along the road indicating that you need to turn to get to Parker Dam State Park. Continue east on Mud Run Road for about 2.3 miles until you reach Fairview Road on the right. This is where the park office and ranger station are located, so you can't miss it. Continue down Fairview Road for another one half mile and there will be parking areas on your right. The trailhead for the Quehanna trail is at the fartherest end of the second parking area.
Our plan this weekend was to hike about 5 miles of the Quehanna trail proper and then take the Quehanna Trail West Cross Connector. The QTCC is about 9 miles long and meets back up with the Quehanna trail along Laurel Run. We would then hike the rest of the Quehanna trail back to the trailhead where we began. We figured the hike, according to our DCNR map, would be just a little over 18 miles total.
The hike started out fine. The trail was cleared and well marked with orange blazes. We had a steady ascent as we walked along side Little Laurel Run, but it was hardly noticeable. At about 0.4 miles into the hike we had our first little incident. There was a small corduroy bridge that crossed a muddy section of the trail. It was at this point that Waxman decided to show me his imitation of a turtle. Luckily the only thing Mark hurt was his pride. This wasn't the last time one of us took a little tumble on this hike.
At about 1.4 miles into the hike there was a reroute of the Quehanna trail. It was well marked with a sign. The sign stated that the reroute was put in place to avoid two stream crossings. The reroute must have been relatively new as this part of the trail was not as cleared as the previous part, but it was well marked with blazes, and we had no trouble making our way through the woods.
One thing that was unique to this hike than any of the other hikes that Mark and I had done was the forest itself. We would be walking along the trail in a dense pine area and then all of a sudden we would come out into a clearing. Here the trail would cross straight through the middle of the mountain glen, and then we would be back in the middle of the woods. Some of these glens were dry and full of wildflowers, while others were riddled with pools of stagnant water and tons of ferns. It was definitely different than spending all of your time hiking through woods where you rarely saw the sky through the tree canopy.
As I mentioned earlier the incline on this hike was barely discernible and it made for easy hiking. We were making very good time. At about 3.1 miles the trail started following an old railroad grade. We took our first break at about 3.5 miles. After a short rest we continued on the trail. This is where we first encountered the weeds on the trail. We were still following the railroad grade with woods on both sides of the trail. The weeds in this section were up to our midsection. Luckily someone had hiked this part of the trail recently as we could see where some of the weeds were knocked down. For the next mile we hiked through the weeds, not able to see our feet, and hoping that a ground hog didn't decide to place a doorway to his underground abode in the middle of the trail. This was definitely the weediest section of the trail and it left a bad impression on us with regards to the Quehanna trail.
Once we were out of the weeds the trail continued through some wooded areas and followed a dirt road for awhile. At 5 miles we got off of the Quehanna trail and followed the blue blazes of the Quehanna Trail Cross Connector. At 5.75 miles we turned off the dirt road and back onto the trail. We stopped here for another rest and met up with two gentleman hiking in the opposite direction. They were kind enough to inform us of a section of the trail that was overgrown with stinging nettle. We inquired about campsites and they told us that there was a campsite by Medix Run, where we were hoping to end our first day of hiking.
We hiked for another 2.25 miles, crossing Caledonia Road and Shaggers Inn Road. At this point the trail followed another dirt road. We stopped here to eat our lunch. After lunch we continued on but were a little concerned as we did not see any blue blazes. We consulted the map and it seemed as if we were still on the trail, but there were no blue blazes to be found. Finally, after three quarters of a mile, we did spy a blue blaze off to the right of the road, almost completely obscured by undergrowth. At the end of our hike we stopped in at the park office to comment about the lack of blazes on this section of the trail. Hopefully they did something about it.
At 9.5 miles we passed an old gas well. At 10.4 miles we started our first descent of the day. It was during this descent that Mark and I had the pleasure of experiencing the insects of the forest. Mark was the first. During the steep descent something stung Mark on his right calf. It must have really hurt as Mark let out quite a few expletives, and almost did a nose dive, as he tried to swat the bug on his leg and yet maintain his balance on the steep trail. Then, just 5 minutes later, I got to experience the same insect that Mark enjoyed only moments ago. I got stung on my left leg, just above my ankle. However, I was not as graceful as Mark and did a small forward roll off to the left of the trail, slid on my back for about six feet, and came to a stop on the switch backed trail. Even as I write this narrative, three day after the "bug" incident, the bite is still itchy. Unfortunately neither Mark or I saw what type of insect it was.
At the bottom of our descent we came upon another dirt road, Medix Road, which paralleled Little Medix Run. We hiked up Medix Road for about 0.5 miles and then followed the blue blazes off to our right. We hiked about another 800 feet and found a campsite. This is where we ended our first day of hiking, after hiking 11.2 miles, and set up camp. We had a nice meal of tuna mixed with shells and cheese. We started a small campfire and spent the rest of the evening relaxing by the fire.
The next morning we broke camp and was on the trail by 9:00AM. Thanks to the advice of the fellow hikers we came across the day before, we made sure we had our leggings zipped onto our convertible pants before we started our day of hiking.
We had a small ascent of about 500 feet to start the day. Once we reached the top it was flat for another 1.5 miles. We then followed a small stream down until we reached Laurel Run. At Laurel Run we were back on the Quehanna trail proper and left the QTCC behind. At this junction we followed a dirt road south for about 0.8miles. We then left the dirt road and followed the trail up along Saunders Run.
We were expecting after following Saunders Run for a half a mile to bear off to the right and make our final ascent of the hike. However, the orange blazes of the Quehanna trail continued southward following the banks of Saunders Run. We continued for another 1.75 miles along Saunders Run until we came across another blue blazed trail. The blue blazed trail went off to the left and the Quehanna trail turned right. It wasn't until later that we discovered that the trail was rerouted to follow Saunders Run. It made for any easier hike as the ascent was gentle compared to what we were ready for, but the map from DCNR was not up-to-date, and there was no sign indicating that the trail was rerouted.
Finally, after 19.5 miles, we completed our hike back to the traihead. We were only expecting to hike 18 miles, but the trail reroute added about another 1.5 miles to our hike. We were happy to be back at the car, and after a quick stop at the park office, we were off to find a nice tavern where we could get a bite to eat and enjoy a nice cold beer.