Tuscarora Trail - Pennsylvania's hardest trail

The Black Forest Trail is sometimes times referred to as Pennsylvania's toughest backpacking trail. After hiking a section of the Tuscarora Trail (TT from now on), I think there is a trail in Pennsylvania far harder.

The TT is officially a side trail of the Appalachian trail (AT). It was originally built in the event that the section of the Appalachian trail in southern PA and Maryland was developed and the AT needed to be re-routed. The TT itself starts in the northern end of Shenandoah National Park and meets the AT 230 miles later just south of Harrisburg. Although the TT is officially maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, the level of maintenance is far less than the AT. They are working hard to establish shelters along the length of the trail.

Through Pennsylvania the TT traverses ridge and valley country. Long, narrow, and rocky (emphasis on the rocky) ridges between valleys. Recently I hiked the 25 mile section of the TT between PA-233 and PA-641. This section traverses the Tuscarora State Forest (some sections in PA go through game lands and private land making backpacking difficult).

This trip starts at PA-233, near Colonel Denning state park. From the parking area the trail slowly climb  1000 feet to the top of a long ridge, first on an old road and finally on a trail that gets progressively steeper at the top. Along the way is a partial view of the Cumberland Valley to the east with views of the the Micheaux state forest in the distance.

First View

The next 4 miles the trails a the follows the ridge line with Cumberland Valley to the east. After reaching Cowpens road the trail veers right and spends the next 9 miles going across 3 ridges with several climbs close to 1000 feet  with very little switch backing. At the bottom of the ridge you have been walking on you reach Laurel run. The a flat area under hemlocks near the creek would make good camping.

Soon begins your first climb in this section straight up on a rocky, steep trail to the top of the Sherman mountain  After a brief respite following the ridge along a grassy woods road you drop down to Second Narrows road. After climbing over a smaller ridge you cross Schaffer run and another forest road before climbing steeply again to the top of Amberson ridge. After following the ridge for a short while the trail descends steeply (and I do mean steeply) over about 800 feet. This descent has to the be hardest descent I have done in Pennsylvania. The trail is rocky, very steep, and there were major blow downs to contend with. It took us quite a while to reach the bottom. When you arrive at the bottom you cross a bridge over Fowler's Hollow Run. There are several nice campsites here. We opted to go a few minutes further on up the trail and camp at the shelter.

Bridge before the shelter

The Fowler's hollow shelter is one of several shelters along the TT in Pensylvania. The shelter featured a spring, privy, and a massive stone hearth in front of it. We called it a day here as this was the last water we would see on the trip and we would soon be entering state gamelands.

Fowler's Hollow Shelter

We continued the next morning where we were greeted with the longest climb of the trip, a one thousand foot ascent on a steep and rocky trail. Fill up your water containers here as we didn't see any water the rest of the trip. Near the top you reach the Hemlocks natural area. There are supposedly old growth hemlocks here but we didn't have time to check it out. From the Hemlocks natural area you follow a logging road to the top of Knob mountain. For the next 9 miles you will follow the ridgeline of Knob mountain. This ridge is incredibly rocky with several moderate climbs as the ridge undulates over the length of it. You are treated to some incredible views of an isolated valley that the Pennsylvania turnpike travels through. Throughout this section the trail is on Gamelands or private land.

Outstanding vista on the ridge one follows south of the shelter

Fortunately for ones feet a couple miles of the ridge walk is on a grassy road that is probably used by the land owner for access during hunting season. You cross a powerline swath before one final steep descent from the ridge to PA - 641. A short walk down the road brings you to a hiker parking area. Due to the incredible rockiness and steepness of the climbs and descents this has to rate as one of the toughest hikes in PA. One person on the trip who has thru hiked both the AT and Long Trails said this was as hard as anything the Long Trail or AT can throw at you. On the other hand if you want an isolated trip not too far from Harrisburg or the Washington area this is a good spot. The views are great, there are some nice shelters and campsites, and you will almost certainly have the trail to yourself.

Pennsylvania Mid State Trail - Poe Paddy to RB winter

This is part two in a series of posts about Pennsylvania's Mid State Trail (MST). For a considerable distance in the middle of the state the MST travels through the Rothrock and Bald Eagle state forests passing through four state parks. Last June I hiked through a 24 mile remote and beautiful section of the MST in the Bald Eagle state forest between Poe Paddy and RB Winter state parks. This hike starts from the Poe Paddy state park on the bans of Penns creek, a popular creek with fisherman.

The park itself is small nestled in remote mountains with paved road into the park. After starting the hike you will cross Penns creek and pass through an old railroad tunnel.

From here the MST follows the Penn Creek bike path for several miles roughly paralleling Penns Creek. The trail then takes a brief detour over a hill before following Cherry Run Road for a mile. At this point the MST begins to climb before crossing Libby Run where one can find camping. This is where we spent the night. Next the MST climbs Thick mountain to a view of Penns Valley. After walking the ridge for a ways the trail descends steeply to Woodward gap road. Crossing the road the MST is an easy walk realatively flat walk for the next several miles to PA 45. The MST crosses PA 45 at Hairy John's picnic area. Here you will find picnic tables and restrooms.

Now the hike will become harder as the MST climbs over several mountains. First you are treated to a climb of Winkelbleck mountain. On the way up you will be treated to a nice view.

After descending Winkelbleck mountain the MST continues the roller coaster ride as it climbs over Buffalo mountain. Much of the forest here is covered thick mountain laurel. When it is blooming in June it is a beautiful sight.

At the top of Buffalo mountain is a small campsite. From here you descend to Pine Creek (not to be confused with the big Pine Creek associated with the Pine Creek Gorge) where the MST borders the Hook natural area. There is an excellent campsite at this spot and is a good place to call it a day. The MST treats you to another climb at this point to the top of Shriner Mountain, eventually reaching Stover gap road. After a short road walk, it a flat, but rocky 5 mile walk to RB Winter state park.

Pennsylvania Mid State Trail - Southernmost 25 miles

Pennsylvania is home to the most extensive system of footpaths east of the Mississippi River, many of which are underutilized. For many people backpacking in Pennsylvania goes no further than the Appalachian trail. This is unfortunate because there are many trails much more wild and scenic than the Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian trail. The longest trail in Pennsylvania is in fact not the Appalachian trail, but rather the Mid-State trail (http://hike-mst.org/). As it's name suggests the Mid State trail (MST) goes north-south through the middle of the state from the MD to NY Border. I will be doing a series of posts on various trips I have taken over the last year on the trail. So far I have hiked about half of it. This post will focus on the least utilized section of the trail, the southern section. Because much of the trail south of US-22  is on State Game land legal backpacking there is difficult. A small part of the southernmost section passes through the Buchanan state forest near the Maryland border, allowing one to legally camp there.
Myself and several other people hiked the last 25 miles of the MST in late April 2012 from the border to a small game land parking lot called Biddle Place.  The hike itself starts in the town of Flintstone, MD at the I-68 underpass.

Unfortunately there is no parking at the MD-PA border so the hike starts with a road walk on Black Valley Road to the border and the official start of the trail.  From the border one follows Black Valley road before the trail turns left onto a gravel road. Shortly thereafter actual trail turn right and starts on a nice walk through a pasture.

Shortly after this the trail enters a forest. You are now on state forest land. For the next couple miles the trail meanders through a mature forest slowly gaining altitude before coming to a grassy forest road. The MST then follows this road for the next several miles before crossing Beans Cove road. Crossing the road the MST now begins to climb Martin Hill which is the highest point on the entire MST. The rise is gradual for about a mile before the climb gets much steeper. Eventually the trail will follow a telephone line swath straight up the side of the hill. If you are planning on camping at the top, note before this climb is a small spring. As you climb you will have views to your back.

After a difficult climb you will arrive at the top of Martin Hill. There is a cluster of communication towers there. In the woods about 500 feet from this beautiful structure

is actually a nice camping spot. From the top of the hill one has beautiful views. This is where we called it a night.

From the top of Martin Hill the MST plunges straight down the mountain. For the next 5 miles the MST wanders through the Martin hill natural area in the valley one can see from the picture above. Water is plentiful in this area with several stream crossings. Since this is a natural area camping is technically forbidden. The trail will cross PA 326. Be sure you have water since from here on there will be no water sources. Also note from here on out the trail is on state game land so camping is illegal. After crossing the road the trail will climb to the top of Tussey mountain. A quick look at a TOPO map will show this to a be a long ridge that travels for 80 miles north to State College, PA. The MST will follow the ridge of this mountain for most of this distance. For the remaining 5 or 6 miles of this hike you will follow the ridge of Tussey mountain, while dropping off the ridge once, climbing back up to the ridge before finally dropping down to a grassy Game land road. The hike anywhere on Tussey ridge is difficult and rocky. You will be treated to great views on this section.

After dropping down for the last time you will come to a grassy road coming in from the left. Down at the bottom is a small game land parking lot called Biddle Place where you can drop a car for the shuttle.

Overall this is a challenging section with amazing views. You will almost certainly have solitude and will probably be the only people on the trail. Get a set of maps and trail guide from the MST club before attempting any long hike on the MST. As another bonus if you hike this section you will get to read about a perilous escape from the zombies we unleashed on Martin Hill from that concrete structure in the trail registers.
Happy Trails