Second day-hike of 2015
I squeezed in another day-hike for the summer during a visit to PA. I chose the Quehanna Wild area (again) as there is a variety of short trails to choose from and I could make a loop out of them. The weather for this hike was almost ideal so it was very pleasant and I got started at a reasonable time so I wasn't rushed to finish before I was ready. I parked at the small parking area at the intersection of Quehanna Highway and Wykoff Run Rd for a 'wildlife viewing area'. The below photos are from this parking area.
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| Kiosk at parking area |
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| Marker honoring trail maintainers |
I used the map of the eastern Quehanna Wild area (the main trail - the Quehanna trail is the focus of the map, but it shows all the shorter connecting trails too) to decide my route. I figured out my route using the following trails: Riddle Rd trail, Red Run trail, Sanders trail, Gore Vista trail, the Cut-off trail, the Bailey Log trail, and the Wykoff trail, plus a very small amount of road walking. I do not know the exact distance but it was at least 12 miles altogether.
After the Riddle Rd trail I reached the junction with Reactor Rd (yes, there used to be in the 1960s an experimental nuclear reactor down the road from this point, run by the Curtis-Wright Corp, but long ago decommissioned and removed - there is a long and interesting history with that project that in some sense still continues - see the Wikipedia entry on the Quehanna Wild area to learn more).
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| Beginning of the Red Run trail (at Reactor Rd) |
The Red Run trail starts out as a short gravely trail (not sure why) but soon becomes a nice trail through the woods. The view from the trail at this point is shown here.
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| View from Red Run Trail |
Eventually the trail reached the Quehanna Highway (up the road a ways from where I started). It was here one of the few challenges occurred; the next part of the trail on the other side of the road was not at all obvious. But, a little looking soon found the continuation of the trail. A short time later found me at the end of the Red Run trail and on Lincoln Road (a gravelly secondary road). here I had to do a little road walking to get to the next trail. But I did get to see the source of the Red Run trail name. the Red Run itself, seen below.
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| Red Run |
Less than 100 yards later the start of the Sanders trail was visible as noted by the kiosk in the photo below. So, despite the trail-head being on a secondary road and the trail itself not a major trail, there was a nice kiosk and the grass around it was neatly trimmed. In the photo the trail starts right behind the kiosk and goes through a fairly densely wooded area.
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| Kiosk for Sanders Trail (at Lincoln Rd) |
Unlike many of the trails I was on for this hike, the Sanders trail did not appear to be too conducive to cross-country skiing. It was narrow and in dense woods, all in all a typical hiking trail, probably the reason the kiosk had a a sign that indicated it was difficult for skiing! After a while I reached a junction, left would take me to the Quehanna trail itself and right to the junction with the Old Wykoff Run Road. Of course I turned right as that would help make the loop I wanted. When I reached the road (just a narrow dirt road that was just barely viable for a jeep) I turned left for a short road walk to the next trail, the 'Cut-Off / Gore Vista trail'. There were no markers for the Sanders trail on the road (in case you wanted to start at that end). The Gore Vista trail was a little better marked, as you can see in the next photo.
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| Gore Vista Trail (at Old Wykoff Run Road) |
The Cut-off trail bears right a short way from the road and I went left to stay on the Gore Vista trail as I had decided that I could get to the vista right about the same time I wanted my lunch break. This trail was wide (to encourage cross-country skiing no doubt) and fairly flat until almost to the vista where it went through a few minor elevation changes. The photo below shows the sign indicating the vista (and end of the trail).
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| The 'vista' at end of Gore Vista trail |
The vista itself, which looks over the terrain that the very windy Wykoff Run Road traverses is seen below. This type of vista was usually called a 'window' on the Loyalsock Trail (see my blog entries from last year for that trail).
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| The vista |
After a pleasant lunch, I back tracked down the Gore Vista trail to its junction with the Cut-Off trail. From that junction I stayed on the Cut-Off trail until it reached the Bailey Log trail. The trail crosses a power line right away here (in fact the 'Power Line Loop' trail starts near this junction - I did not go on it). Although the trail is wide here too (again, probably for skiing) it is also wet, the only wet trail I was on. Eventually the trail went downhill and reached the junction with Wykoff Run Road (about a mile from where I was parked). Across the road was the next trail, the Big Spring Draft trail. This trail left the road going slightly downhill reaching the bridge over the nearby stream, as seen next.
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| Bridge on Big Spring Draft trail |
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| View Upstream by bridge |
Shortly after crossing the bridge the trail left the woods and went a bit uphill through a more 'meadowy' section (perhaps formed by the tornado of May 31, 1985 - it is certainly near the 'tornado zone' indicated on the trail map). after a bit if this I came to the junction with the Wykoff trail, seen below. The trail sign indicates that it is 1 mile to the Quehanna Highway from there (and where I was parked).
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| Junction of Big Spring Draft trail and Wykoff Trail |
Because of the time, I took the Wykoff trail which soon re-entered the woods after crossing a small stream. Shortly thereafter I saw my only significant wildlife sighting (two deer) of the day (that was okay due to the wildlife encounters I had a few weeks earlier on the Elk trail - see previous blog entry). And, after that, I could hear traffic noises that let me know I would soon be at the parking area. After crossing the junction to the Ligament trail, I was at the Quehanna Highway again, across the road from the parking area (there was only a very small sign indicating the trail on the road, so it would be hard to notice while driving or even from the other side of the road). After stowing my pack and gear, I left in my vehicle. All in all, an excellent hike that I would recommend to anyone.
