Loyalsock Trail (Part 2)
The next morning I pushed on, having my breakfast awhile after starting out at the waterfall in the video below.
After my breakfast I hiked on to High Knob and then past the centerpoint of the trail (there are no markers for that point, only the guidebook's notation). I passed through Split Rock which reminded me of some formations I have seen on other trails in New England. Anyway, I stopped for lunch at the next trail register where an inchworm kept trying to get to know me (a very persistent bug!).
A little over a mile later I came to Rode Falls, as seen in the next video.
The next few miles of trail took me by both the Lower Alpine View and Alpine View. Although both were nice (and similar to other views along the way) I did not take the time to take video so I could maximize my distance for the day. When I got to Winner Knob (I wanted to nickname it Whiners Knob because I wanted to whine about all the elevation gain and loss for the day) I stopped for dinner. Here I managed to get a cell signal and access weather information, as seen in the next video.
Because I did not want to get caught in a thunderstorm, I hiked on from there past Mineral Spring (the water was turning the rocks beneath the water flow an orange hue) and crossed the road there. My other consideration was the number of miles I would have left for the next (and final) day on the trail; I did not want to have an extraordinarily long day as I would need to drive 2 hours after the hike. So, just after the road I stopped for the night as a nice campsite was available, and it left about 17 miles for the next day, plus, I knew there wasn't much longer until the rain was supposed to hit. I managed to set up camp and think about whether I could start a campfire (on the off chance the rain did not hit). But of course the rain then did start in the form of a minor thunderstorm. Sitting beneath my tarp as the rain fell I took the following video.
It rained for awhile that night, and I had trouble sleeping my last night on the trail.
The next morning it was still overcast with damp conditions, but a little cooler. I had gotten up early so I could get to Worlds End state park early in the day because it contained the last major elevation gain of the hike. I passed the Canyon Vista, but due to the fog from the evenings rain, I could see nothing and so there is no video of what is supposed to be a major view from the trail (like Angel Falls, though it is accessible by car if I so desire to go back). The trail goes steeply downhill from here (this section of the trail is the only one that caused any physical pain due to the strain it put on my knees) and eventually I reached two bridges (they were an Eagle Scout project in 2004 according to the sign there) over a feeder stream to the Loyalsock Creek where I had my breakfast.
After breakfast I made it to the main section of the park (main building and parking). The concession stand mentioned in Jeff Mitchell's book (Backpacking Pennsylvania) was boarded up (and had been for sometime, the trail guide refers to it as the old concession stand). I did get cold water from the drinking fountain in the main building (the park staff were gracious enough to show me where and not complain about the puddle of water I left behind from filling my containers [I offered to clean up but, they said they were going to mop up the floors anyway - they were the morning clean-up crew]. The cold water tasted good after the often lukewarm water I had been getting. After this short break I crossed the Loyalsock Creek on the park road bridge and started up the steep climb above the park. This is probably the steepest uphill part of the trail (at least in this direction). There were warning signs for people to watch their children to prevent falls. There were some brief views of the park along the way, but I wanted to finish the climb before it got too hot.
I now started keeping track of how many miles left in the hike, based on the mile markers on the trail (this is a very rare trail where the mileage is tracked along the way on signs not just in the guidebook) After the trail leveled off, the trail stayed in the woods and at lunch time I stopped at the point referred to as 'Ken's Window'. The video below was taken from this vantage point.
After lunch, the trail went uphill and then I took the short spur trail to Alpine Falls (seen in the video below).
The trail then climbed above the falls ,but the falls could not be seen from it. Some time later I reached Sones Pond. It reminded me of the Adirondacks without the loons. There were people on the far shore (fishing?), I don't think they were able to see me. I took the video below there.
At the time I was under the impression from what I read in the trail guide that it was private property, but it appears from the state forest map that camping is permitted there (not that I would have camped there on this trip anyway). After I left the pond, the sky became more threatening with some misty rain starting to occur. In an area where the trail was fairly brushy (just as it started downhill) I slipped and fell due to the wet conditions, I was more surprised than hurt, but it did cause me to be more cautious going down the hill. Eventually I reached the old steel bridge and crossed the creek on it near some hunting camps. From there the trail gained some elevation to reach the old railroad right-away.
As I mentioned earlier I was counting down the miles left on the hike via the trail mileage markers, the number of miles at this point were low, but they seemed to be getting longer. It was just an illusion of course, but this stretch on the old railroad grade seemed to be the worst. And, it was still raining lightly. Anyway, after what seemed like the longest time, I reached the point where the trail turned down toward the creek (one of the Red X trails continued down the railroad grade - it was tempting to keep on the red X trail instead, but I resisted). This stretch of the trail is along the Loyalsock Creek and is a popular spot with families for picnics and such. As it was, there was a family there during my hike enjoying the water. It had stopped raining at this point and there was some sun so it was a pleasant area to be in. I kept walking to the location referred to as the 'Haystacks'. I took the video below there.
I continued my hike from there as the trail gradually rejoined the railroad grade. Shortly after that the trail went up a semi-steep section and reached the parking lot with my vehicle. As I was putting my backpack away in my vehicle and getting some of my hiking clothes (socks, shirt) off and enjoying the can of lemonade I had stowed in my vehicle, the family I had seen earlier came up the trail to the parking lot (apparently they were from out of state [as I was, just a different one]). I then drove off to my mother's house.
This finishes my Loyalsock Trail narrative.