Donut Hole Part 2
I was a little excited about the third day of the hike as I would be on the Susquehannock Trail for a good portion of the day (I have hiked the entire STS twice) as it feels like an old friend. I started the morning about one mile from the junction with the STS so it did not take long to reach the STS. There I had my breakfast, got water and took the video below.
The STS here was obviously in good shape as the signs of brush cutting were clear (My sincere thanks to the volunteers that did all the hard work!). Some parts of the Donut Hole trail to this point were in need of the same treatment. As I had never hiked in this direction before I did take a wrong turn (on an obvious woods road) that required a a short correction. The one part I was concerned about was the trail up Morgan Hollow (it is the steepest part of the entire STS) and I was going to go up it, all previous times I had gone down it. At lunch time I reached the bridge over Young Woman's Creek where I took the video below.
Soon after I reached Morgan Hollow and slowly hiked up its length (a side note here - although it is the steepest part of the STS I do not believe it is steeper than the climbs I had been on for the Mid-State Trail near Little Pine State park - for which I was thankful!). It looked like a part of the trail here was relocated away from the area with loose stones which did make it a little easier. Finally reaching the top I quickly reached the junction where the Donut Hole Trail leaves the STS.
Very shortly after this I stopped for a very quick break and a fellow in a pick-up stopped (I was standing next to the driveway for his camp; from where I was standing I had no idea it was a camp); the trail is on a dirt road for a short distance. He offered me the use of the spring at his camp, but I declined as I had gotten water an hour earlier. Then a quarter mile later there were two PA DCNR fellows working by the side of the dirt road (drainage ditch work perhaps). One asked me if I had seen any snakes (I had not), but I did mention the bear cubs the day before; he wondered about pictures, but I said I was more concerned about mama bear. A very short distance later the trail veered into the woods and there was a small spring house. I did drink here a few cups of water to try to rehydrate myself. I must note that even drinking this spring water made me feel a bit nauseous, presumably from the water hitting my stomach after heavy exercise. It was getting to be disconcerting that this was happening and disinclined me to drink anymore than necessary.After some more hiking I reached the junction with Seven Mile Road. I had my dinner by the driveway to a hunting camp. As it was late in the day I only hiked for another 15 minutes or so after eating before setting up camp.
The next morning I started out knowing that I was going to reach Hyner Run State Park (I had done a day hike on the Donut Hole Trail from there the previous fall; see an earlier post). The initial elevation gains that morning were a bit trying (I was still having pain from my feet; blisters and ankle pain from where my boots were hitting them, possibly due to my feet swelling). About mid-morning I reached the junction with the T Squared Trail (about four-five years previously I had day hiked on a side trail of the BFT (Baldwin Point Trail)and the T Squared was only being initially laid out on that end - the T-squared trail links the BFT with the Donut Hole trail). Here are a few photos of the junction of the T Squared Trail and the Donut Hole Trail (I took these specific pictures on my T Squared Trail hike - see later post; that's why there is all the leaves).
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| Signpost indicating T Squared Trail junction |
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| Bridge over Cougar Run |
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| At junction with T Squared looking north on Donut Hole Trail |
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| T squared Trail signpost |
Very soon after that I reached the point (Abe's Fork Road) I had turned around on during the previous day hike on the Donut Hole Trail. I knew at that point I had about two hours before reaching the State Park. But first, there was a climb away from the road and then soon after that the 'nasty, steep sided gully' I mentioned in the post about last year's day hike. Going into the gully I decided on the inelegant solution of sliding down the gully on my butt. It wasn't pretty, but it was faster than trying to slowly walk down the very steep slope. However, I had no choice but to walk up. This was a little tough, but did not take too long. After this the only obstacle was the condition of my feet, but otherwise the walking was pleasant except for hiking near some fellows working about 100 yards away (on drilling related activity?); one waved to me. I did not stop to chat.
When I eventually reached the State Park at lunch time I noticed that other than a bus load of kids in the park pool there were not too many people there. After my lunch at a nearby picnic table I lay down for a little nap (I did not actually sleep but I did rest to try to revive myself). An older fellow came up to me to ask about my hike and talk a little about fishing (he was wearing a fishing license on his shirt). I did not tell him that if he had offered me a ride back to my truck I would have said yes; as I mentioned I was not feeling the best that day. Anyway, after more than an hour stop for lunch and rest I continued on.
After leaving the State Park road (about a mile walk) the trail went into the woods and up a hollow. This hollow seemed to go on forever and took a lot out of me. At the top of the hollow the trail crossed a major electric line right-of-way. After crossing the right-of-way I was looking for where the trail went into the woods (the info I had with me suggested the trail only crossed the right-of-way; the guidebook pages I had lost on the first day said otherwise - those turned out to be right). I spent about 1/2 hour fruitlessly looking for the trail at this point (I did know the trail would reach the road that went to the park from the main highway and I could hear cars on this road from where I was). I decided that it was time to stop for dinner and think about what to do next. During dinner I looked at the map and realized the trail might actually follow the right of way and even if it did not, if I did follow the right-of-way I would reach the road I could hear and probably reach the trail junction with the road. I will note that I could not finish my dinner due to nausea. Anyway, after starting my hike again I saw blazes on the electric line poles indicating I had made the right decision. I reached a junction with a short side road that apparently had a fracking facility (about 100 yards from where I was) on it. Also, there was a loud gun shot like sound coming from it every 10 to 15 minutes which I had earlier assumed was someone hunting in the woods. Anyway, turning right at this road I reached the road I was looking for and followed the trail across to another side road. The trail then went into the woods on a camp driveway. At this point it was getting late and it seemed like a reasonable place to stop for the night (I was out of sight of the road and it was obvious the camp driveway did not get much traffic). After setting up camp and starting my camp fire I started seriously thinking about quitting the hike. I wondered about walking out to the main highway (about two miles away and either trying tot get a ride or walking directly to my vehicle which would be about 15 miles). I decided to wait until morning to decide as even these alternate plans would involve some significant effort. My next post will discuss the events after this.