North Country Trail - Allegheny National Forest hike cut short.

With a mutual feeling of disappointment and accomplishment, I made the wise, yet painful, decision to end my thru-hike after only two days on the trail.  The primary culprit was my left knee, which showed no remorse in delivering an increasing measure of substantial pain.  I yield.

The hike started as planned, with the small exception of the weather.  Cash and I set out on the trail near Willow Bay at 11:30 AM.  Fully packed and prepared with all my gear and provisions, I was ready for anything.  We marched deep into the woods, as the rain grew heavier and more persistent.  After two hours, my boots and my entire pack were soaked.  We walked for 10 miles that day, setting up camp (in the rain) near the Allegheny Reservoir.  I managed to get a small fire going, but it was to no avail, since the rain kept up and there was little wood to be of much use.  My knee had begun to hurt, and it soon was very dark.  Cash and I huddled inside the tent and listened to the rain pour down on top of us.

In the morning, the rain had become less fierce, allowing us a chance to pack up our campsite and hit the trail.  My knee hurt from the onset, but we hiked nonetheless.  There was no cell phone reception, or way to contact anyone if I stayed in one place. Onward we hiked, through a myriad of different terrains and landscapes.  Through dense forests of pine, to fields of cattails , to peaceful forest streams.  The scenery was damp, but no less amazing.  The fall season had tinted the entire forest with hues of ochre, crimson, and gold.  

By the time we made it to Red Bridge, it was 6:00 PM.  My phone had died and, despite the symbolic indicator on the map, there was no payphone.  Fortunately, we found an electrical outlet in the campground and charged the phone for a bit.  No signal yet, but at least some power to last us until we found one.  By this time, I had decided to call it quits.  The pain was too great to bear. Even with my enthusiastic optimism, I couldn't get past the fact that I was nearly unable to walk.

We made it to a location that allowed us the first cell phone reception of the day, and in the nick of time.  I called my Dad, who said he would pick us up in about an hour.  I only had enough battery charge left for one last effort - a text message to my wife to let her know we were safe.  We sat by the bridge on a desolate stretch of Route 321 and waited.  Soon, it was dark.  Darkness turned into blackness and then the cold rain started.  Cold and pain wracked my body while I prayed for respite from my condition.  Then, the headlights appeared.  True to his word, Dad had found us on the side of the highway, shivering in the cold autumn night.  Before long, we were back at the house, sharing hamburgers and laughing about my misadventure.

Overall, I hiked about 30 miles in two days.  Not a bad start.  I learned that even though my gear might be up to the test of 7 days in the woods, my knees were not.  I had overlooked my physical limitations.  Hiking for eight miles once a week is much different than 17 miles everyday.  Furthermore, I never hike with a pack over 10 pounds, and I was ill-prepared for the 45-pound bohemoth that I was attempting to carry.    I vow to not look upon this experiment as a failure, but merely as a lesson in better preparation and planning.   Next time, maybe a shorter trek with fewer nights...and somebody else to help carry the gear.  And robot knees!  

Hike on.

Gear list for NCT-ANF hike 2010

Soon, I will be taking on my biggest hiking challenge yet:  The Allegheny National Forest segment of the North Country Trail.  I have always dreamed of hiking the AT or NCT in a thru-hike.  However, since I have a job and other imminent responsibilities, I cannot simply take six or more months' vacation to hike one of these  tremendous trails.  Fortunately, I am blessed to live in Pennsylvania, which hosts portions of BOTH the NCT and the AT.  Only New York can claim that same title.

The North Country Trail is a work-in-progress that will become, when finished, the longest footpath in the U.S., nearly twice the length of the Appalachian Trail.  Some segments are still under construction, but the ANF segment is completely finished.  This 96.3 mile trek goes from the New York State border to the Southern edge of the ANF, near Marienville, PA.

I will be writing extensively about my trip when I get back, along with posting my (hopefully) amazing pictures.  This hike will take seven days and will be a true adventure in the wilderness.  For now, I will be publishing a series of entries about my preparation for the hike.  First, and most essential, is my gear.
Pack/Tent/Sleeping system
backpack - GoLite Quest (3 lbs, 4500 cc)
tent - Eureka Apex 2
sleeping bag - Wenger Zermatt (synthetic)

Really, everything else is minor. If you have any questions about my gear, please feel free to post a comment.  I will gladly tell you what I will be carrying.  I may post a complete list in the future, but I'm hesitant to write one now due to the great possibility for additions/omissions once the packing process is underway.

Hike on.

Changes to pre-blog hike entries

Prior to the start of this blog, I had already completed five of the hikes listed in Tom Thwaites' book.  This entry originally appeared at the start of my blog, but I decided to repost it here.  This entry has been rewritten to reflect some recently acquired photos (from my old cell phone) from McConnell's Mill.   I have posted the pictures from those hikes.  I also wanted to change the format for the pre-blog hike entries to make them more consistent with the current ones.   I still have no pictures of Blue Hole Creek. You still have to take my word for it that I was there.

Hike on.

Hike 14 - Bear Run Nature Reserve - 8.8 miles

On Friday, my only day off in the middle of a seven-day stretch, I decided to tackle the lengthy 8.8 mile loop that is the Bear Run Nature Reserve.  This area is just north of Ohiopyle, where I stopped in the morning to pick up some snacks for the trek.  Bear Run is owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, who also manages Fallingwater, located conveniently next door.  (More on this later...)

The parking area for this hike is both large and well-marked.  There are also two large maps detailing all of the trails that can be found in Bear Run. A pocket that advertised "free hiking maps" was empty.  Fortunately, I had brought my own. Since dropping my copy of 50 Hikes in the creek during Hike 13, I now only carry a photocopy of the two relevant pages containing the hike description and the all-important map.  GPS is great, but batteries don't last forever.  A hardcopy map is a smart backup.

Setting out from the parking lot, both dogs and I plunged into the forest. We walked through a pine tree plantation, easily identifiable due to the perfectly spaced rows of tall pine trees. It's an unreal environment, like something out of the Matrix - a computer-generated forest built according to mathematical symmetry and rigid lines.  See photo.

After that, we passed through lots of rhododendrons as we made our way uphill along the Ridge Trail. This hike traverses several different trails, but all the junctions are nicely marked and the guide is easy to follow.  It was at this point that we heard what we thought was a bear.  I have been hiking the Laurel Highlands for quite a while now, and this was the first time I truly thought I might encounter a bear.  There is no alertness more acute than what one experiences in the forest, alone and listening.  No bear, though.  Whew.

As we made it to the top of the ridge, the trail levelled off and we had easy hiking along the Laurel Run Trail.  There are two nice overlooks of the Youghiogheny River, as well as two backcountry campsites along the path we took.  There are five campsites total in the BRNR, which can be reserved ahead of time.  Not a bad place for an overnighter.

Around this time in our hike, only a mile from the car, Red ran away (again).  I played it cool and kept making my way back to the car, assured that he would meet up with us sooner or later.  However, there was no sign of him.  At the car, I unloaded my gear and got Cash situated inside.  Now to find Red...  We drove up and down the gravel access road that ended our hike, but no Red.  On a hunch, I drove down the main road, looking for Red wandering along the side of the highway, but again, no dog.  I made my way to the security gate at Fallingwater and asked if anyone there had seen a dog wandering around.  "No," the man in the booth said.  "Wait a minute..." and got on the radio.  After some dialogue, which I could not hear, he told me that I would have to talk to the head of security (who was standing nearby).  

The security chief was a very nice guy who told me that yes, there was a dog found "down by the house."  I said, "THE house? Fallingwater?"  "Yep," said the security chief, "he was wandering around the house and the folks on the tour spotted him.  One of our maintenance guys took him home."

I was both shocked and relieved, having found my dog.  He went to Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous building, didn't pay admission, disrupted the tour and went home with a stranger.  Aaaaghhhh!!!

After a short call to Ben, the maintenance guy who was nice enough to take care of Red, it was only a few minutes before they both showed up in a pickup (Red LOVES trucks!), and I was reunited with my dog.  He acted as though he had been on a great adventure.  "Dad, I had a blast!  There was this really cool house in the woods, and a stream running right underneath it, and lots of great stuff for a dog!  Then I went to this guy's house.  Do I get a treat or what?"

A big THANK YOU! to the staff of Fallingwater for helping me get my dog back.  Ben, I really appreciate your generosity in taking Red to your home and making sure that he was safe.  I cannot tell you how much your selfless and compassionate behavior meant to me.  This act of kindness is just the kind of thing we need more of in the world.         

Not sure that I can risk hiking with Red anymore, but I'm glad that he had the time of his life. 

The Kaufmann's would have chuckled, too, I'm sure.

Hike on.

Hike 6 - Charles F. Lewis Natural Arera - 5.0 miles

The hiker is back!  Today, I took my dog, Cash, on a 5-miler through the Charles F. Lewis Natural Area.  This was a great day for a hike.  The weather was a bit warm, but the hike was nearly all in the shade under the canopy of trees.  The trailhead was easy to find on PA 403, just a few miles south of Rt.22.  I must say, this was probably one of the nicest parking areas for a trailhead that I have seen thus far.  I forgot my camera, however, so I'm sorry that I have no pictures to show you.

This hike is a straightforward loop hike.  After about a hundred feet into the woods, the trail splits in two.  We followed the nicely-blazed trail to the right.  This first portion of the hike was the most difficult.  It goes steeply uphill for a mile or so, then only kind of steep for the next mile.  By the time we got to the first power line clearing (and our first scenic view of the Conemaugh Gorge), we were ready for a break.  From here until the last 1/2 mile its a pretty even grade.  No major up or down segments. 

The trail recrossed the power line clearing again after we completed the far side of the trail loop.  Time for a little geocaching!  I have recently acquired a Garmin Oregon 450, which got broken in today by helping me find a nifty little geocache, about 200 feet into the bush from the main trail.  I was able to mark the trail as a waypoint, saving me lots of time searching around for the trail on my way back.  I located the cache after a thorough search  of the nearby hollow trees.  Cash and I rested while I examined its contents.  I left a message in the notebook that I found, along with a blue lighter from my pack.  Hopefully it will come in handy for some cold individual down the road. 

Having officially geocached for the first time, we used the GPS to find our way back to then trail.  200 feet doesn't sound very far, but when the brush is thick and you can't see any recognizable land features, it can be very confusing.  Even an experienced hiker can wind up going in circles.

Back on the trail we had smooth sailing for the next mile or so. 

Then the rocks showed up.

It was all rocks for the next 1/2 mile.  Big, obtuse, uneven rocks didn't simply occur on the trail, they WERE the trail!  It was slow and careful (for me, anyways) while we navigated the rocky terrain.  At the end of the rocky section, there was a third and final view of the valley.  There was even a giant boulder to climb to get a better view. 

After a steep, yet brief, downhill section, we arrived back at the original trail junction.  A short walk further led us back to the parking area and our sun baked car. 

Overall, I give this hike an 9/10.  It's a perfect length for a day hike.  It took me 3.5 hours, but I stopped to rest a few times.  Also, the views are really spectacular, despite the fact that some of them include the nuclear power plant in New Florence (yes, it's the same one from the New Florence Game Lands hike!).  Nevertheless, there are three great views and they are all different!  The rocks can be treacherous, so wear your boots and watch out for rattlesnakes.  There's a little stream in the beginning, but no other water sources.  Always remember to bring water, especially if you have a dog with you!

I really enjoyed this hike.  A perfect balance of challenging terrain and easy hiking. This is perhaps the best-marked trail I have seen yet.  I would almost consider it over-marked.  But then again, you can't have too much of a good thing, can you?

Hike on.