Pine Creek Rail Trail day-hike
I managed to find a little time (and the weather cooperated a bit) for a day-hike on November 14th. I chose the Pine Creek Rail Trail because it is easy (a 1% grade at most and is wide with very good foot-way - just shy of being a sidewalk) and I could turn around when I felt like it so I could hike for as long as I wanted. The Pine Creek Rail Trail is on the former rail bed of the rail line between Ansonia and Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. This rail line, once known as the Fall Brook Railway connected a number of towns in PA with Corning, NY and other parts of the southern tier of New York. It was taken over by the NY Central, but then abandoned when it ceased to be economically viable. I believe there is a better, more complete history elsewhere (the link is
here). Anyway, I started (in rather cold conditions with a couple of very brief snow flurries) at the Darling Run parking area. A picture of this trail-head are below:
 |
| Darling Run 'station' |
And here is the information sign just down from the building with a piece of track to see what was here before.
I think this a very popular place in the summer, as there was parking for at least 30 cars, the restrooms and the 'station' building shown above. The blue sign to the left of the leftmost door gives distances to various points along the trail. I headed south from here (Darling Run is near the northernmost end of the trail). I was bundled up pretty well as the temperature was only in the 30s with a brisk breeze and no sun. Because the foot-way is so good I could keep up a near four mile per hour pace (counting the occasional stop for pictures). The trail follows the creek fairly closely and in this area has some good views of the Pine Creek gorge (from the bottom of course). Did I mention the Pine Creek gorge is also know as the 'Grand Canyon' of Pennsylvania? Unlike the real Grand Canyon in Arizona, this gorge was formed by glacial action. Also, I should note that back in 2005 I backpacked the 31 mile West Rim Trail which runs along the gorges' western side (of course), the views from that trail are often spectacular. On this hike I got to see a different perspective of the gorge that is hard to appreciate from the backpacking trail or the two state parks on either side of the gorge.
On my walk/hike I saw a few hunting camps (mostly pretty fancy for such infrequent use) on the other side of the creek. In some cases it appeared the materials to build the camps had to go in by boats. None of these would be visible from on top of the gorge. One had a sign proclaiming it to be the 'Isle of Man' (after the geographical feature in the UK I assume) and a footbridge (with a locked gate) across the creek so a person could reach it from the trail side of the creek (did I mention that for several miles the trail is side-by-side with an equestrian trail? - I did not see anyone on horseback though). A few pictures along the way are below.
 |
| The white post with a 'W" appears to be a relic from railroad past |
 |
| Pine Creek |
 |
| Another possible relic (post on left of trail) from railroad days |
Another trail that comes down from on top of the gorge (called the Turkey Path) is along side this stream/falls (see photo below). People hiking on the Turkey Path have slipped and fallen to their deaths because of wet/slippery conditions (there is a sign [out of sight here] that warns of such)
 |
| A view of trail and side of gorge |
 |
| A look up at the top of the gorge |
With my relatively quick pace (compared to my usual hiking pace) I reached Tiadaghton (7 1/2 miles from my starting point) before 12 noon. When the railroad was in its hey day this was a thriving town, as explained on the kiosk sign in the photo below.
 |
| Information Kiosk at Tiadaghton |
Today its only a few hunting camps, a kiosk and some picnic tables by the creek. I pushed on a couple of more miles before stopping for a quick lunch. Thanks to the presence of a bench installed for the weary walker, I was able to sit up off the ground for my meal. After I finished eating I resumed my walk/hike the way I came. During my hike I saw several groups of bike riders and a couple of walkers despite the cold weather. Because I was on a short section of the rail trail a few years ago, south of the town of Blackwell (my stopping point on this hike was about 6 miles shy of Blackwell) I knew that in summer time this is a very popular section of the trail. The hike back to my vehicle was uneventful. I will insert a few more photos here for your entertainment.
 |
| The sign post indicates the 'Ice Break Run' stream on the other side of the creek |
 |
| A stream comes in on other side of creek |
 |
| A view of the creek and the gorge |
