Mid-State Trail Backpacking Trip

July Backpacking Trip on Mid-State Trail

My major backpacking trip of 2019 was a 74 mile trip covering several sections of the Mid-State Trail in PA, a continuation of the previous year's hike. There were a few changes I made before the hike, like wearing a light colored shirt and pants, unlike the darker shades I wore the year before. This was to minimize any warming from absorption of sunlight. Plus, I was wearing a light colored wide brimmed hat to keep my head entirely in the shade. I am sure I did not look like a fashion plate by any means, but it was a good strategy. Other changes will be mentioned along the way.

 I started from the same PA route 322 rest area I ended at last year. The difference being that the rest area was closed and I had to be dropped off by the side of the road (thanks Ethan!). Although the rest area was grown up, I could still see the blue-blazed path to the MST. After about five minutes or so I reached the junction, seen below.

Junction of blue-blazed path and MST

 From here the trail headed uphill (surprise, surprise). The weather was warm, but not oppressive as it had been the year before. After about an hour, I had lunch which included a sandwich with a tomato. No big deal I can hear you say. One, I would never have indulged in such a luxury before due to the weight (as a first meal weight was not an issue) and two, I wanted to include foods with their own water in them to help combat dehydration, my main hiking enemy. After this indulgence I resumed the hike, the trail having reached the ridge and being basically level, After a time I spotted the below snake (sorry for the snake picture those of you that are squeamish - despite seeing many on hiking trips they still give me a start). I went around it to the right so it would be less likely to feel threatened by me. And I was by very quickly without any movement from the snake.

Snake on the trail

Less than an hour later I met a good sized shiny black snake. There is no picture because it skedaddled into the brush right away, camera shy I assume. I saw no other snakes during the entire remainder of the trip.

Pushing on, I made the eastward turn and stopped at Boiling Spring, the water appears to 'boil' up from the ground. After this brief water stop I turned north again and soon was on the eastern border of the Poe Valley State Park. I kept moving, continuing north. After a while i descended from the ridge as I continued towards Poe Paddy State Park. This was my desired objective for the days hiking to maintain my preferred pace. Eventually, the trail descended towards a dirt road that led to the state park although I did not realize it at first (i didn't check my map). But, as it became apparent I was approaching the park entrance I realized (1) that it was late in the day, (2) I was not likely to be able to camp at the park (no reservation) and (3) there wasn't going to be a good place to camp after the park for awhile. So, I looked at the woods area on the western-side of the road just before the park and decided to stop there for the night.I camped out of sight (barely) of the road (there was the occasional vehicle going in or out of the park). I was tired and set up camp as quickly as I could. I did have a small fire but turned in for the night with the rare car driving on the dirt road that I could hear.

The next morning, I broke camp as quickly as I could as to hike during the cooler part of the day. As I walked through the park (and stopped at a water faucet to fill my water containers) I noted there was no one up and about among the campers. - A note, beforehand I checked into what each state park had to offer that the trail passed through on this trip. So, I knew I could get water here, for example. The trail cuts through the park along some excellent foot-way, crossing a stream on a nice bridge. There was a dad and a few kids fishing as I passed.

View from bridge over stream

 After crossing the bridge the trail comes to the Paddy Mountain Tunnel, see below.

Paddy Mountain Tunnel

Let me tell you its weird walking through that tunnel. Its dark inside, only the light coming from the other end indicates the way forward. I should have got out my headlamp, but I didn't. I soon walked out of the tunnel onto more excellent foot-way, level and wide. After a while I stopped for breakfast and had a nice meal. Not long after resuming the hike I saw a couple of guys near a parked car, they said hello. The trail then turned westward again and started uphill, The trail went through woods for a while but then returned to dirt road as it continued its major climb for the day. At one point I came across the turtle trying to cross the road (below).

Turtle trying to cross the road.

It went into its shell when I got close to it. I thought about trying to carry it to the other side but worried about its reaction to me. So, walked away, listening for any approaching vehicles that might hit it. I watched until I saw it start again across the road and no vehicles came by to disturb it.

Soon after, the trail went back into the woods, continuing its climb. This was sweaty work as it was getting ever warmer. The view, such as it was, from the top of the climb is shown below.

View from the 'top'

 After a decent stretch of trail I came to a trail register and then crossed the highway (route 45) at Hairy Johns Picnic area. The picnic area has an old piped spring that leads to a pond that apparently serves as a skating area in winter, according to the signs advising caution about thin ice. I obtained some water here too.I was soon in the woods again. The trail started climbing again, fairly steeply at points and rocky. After a while I passed Cinder Pile Spring (and regret not taking a photo). As it was getting later in the day I stopped for the night at a nice established campsite. It was a pleasant evening with a nice campfire. That night I decided I wanted to try to reach R.B. Winter State park by lunch time the next day (my info said there was a concession stand, but past experience had made me leery of such info).

The next morning I got going as soon as I could. After awhile I reached a lean-to camp site. It was a nice one and the fact there is a lean-to is only hinted at in the guidebook (and only obliquely, i.e., 'an excellent stopping place on a rainy day' - more indications of the sense of humor of the guidebook editor). I had my breakfast there instead, while wishing I had held out a little longer the day before so to camp there. After breakfast I opted to pick up my pace a bit to make the park by lunchtime. The foot-way, the terrain, and the weather cooperated for me so I made good time. I reached the highway at the park entrance just after 11am. The park has a small swimming area so that it is popular with families. I had no problem finding the concession area, it had just opened for the day as it turned out. I ordered my lunch (nothing beats food you did not have to carry on your back by the way) and had a pleasant meal. A couple of people asked me about my hike (it was obvious I was a backpacker).

 After making sure I took care of my physical needs, I purchased a couple of sodas from the vending machine and resumed my hike (soda is a welcome change from flavored water I have found). I got back on the trail, but at this point it was quite warm (each day was a bit warmer than the last). The trail went uphill for a bit before leveling off. I stopped for a bit and drank my soda as a nice treat before it got too warm. Eventually I came to a road and crossed. This was the location of the Sand Mountain fire tower (see below), closed of course.
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Sand Mountain Fire Tower

What I haven't mentioned yet is there was a cell tower there that substantially dwarfed the fire tower. And there was a crew working on the cell tower when I got there, they were on the trail and I wasn't sure I could proceed. But, they noticed me and motioned me through. One of them warned me about rattlesnakes along the trail I was about to walk on. I was wondering about this, why they would have been on the trail and what I might do if there was rattlesnakes. My questions were soon answered, I saw several piles of toilet paper along the trail, but no snakes. I had conflicted feelings about the sight, thankful for there not being rattle snakes but upset about the use of the trail as a toilet with no attempt to conceal the worker's activity. Its activity like that which gives hikers a bad reputation and that isn't their fault. Anyway, I tried to put this out of my mind as I hiked on.

At this point I was thinking ahead to my next camp site which I had decided should be after I crossed I-80. And the weather was looking a little iffy, i.e., like it might rain. The closer I got to the I-80 crossover the more it seemed like it might rain.There were a few sprinkles as I walked through an area with some blueberry bushes (blueberries are a favorite of mine to find on the trail). After consuming a few handfuls I walked on to finally reach the road that crosses I-80. As you might guess, the road noise from I-80 was considerable and I had been hearing it for a bit already. This secondary road crossed the interstate on a bridge which I walked across as quickly as I could, watching the traffic whiz by below. After crossing the interstate, the trail continued on the road, at first I went in the wrong direction when it split in two (I went left instead of right because there was no obvious blazes), but a quick consult of the map set me straight and I was soon on the trail and walking uphill through the woods. Due to the time of day I was thinking about a campsite, the trail guide mentioned potential camping spots further along, so I was setting my sights on that. During this part of the hike I was thinking about the continued noise from the interstate and how I wanted to be away from it. But, except for a brief time in a low area, it was quite easily heard. I pushed on until I came to an area where a right-of-way crossed the trail and I thought might be the camping are from the guidebook, but there was no already established site. Due to the time I stopped anyway and set up camp as best as I could, but I was quite tired at this point so it was without enthusiasm. I did make a small fire ring and had a little campfire. Unfortunately, I could still hear the interstate, the trucks especially. Because of that noise I did not sleep well that night.

The next morning I got moving as quickly as I could (it still takes time to get everything packed up though). The morning's hiking was characterized by a lot of uphill slogs with some rough trail before reaching a vista (seen below), You can't see it in the photo, but the Sand Mountain fire tower and the cell tower is visible in the distance (the photo resolution doesn't quite catch it).

Vista towards Sand Mountain fire tower (not visible in photo)

It did seem a little strange to be able to see where I had been the day before on the horizon, but did give me some perspective on how far I had walked. After some more walking I stopped for lunch. While stopped I took the photo below which has a rather minor view.

A very slight view

Some more uphill hiking took me to the below view.

Another view from the trail

After this point the trail headed downhill again. This meant I was approaching Ravensburg State Park. But, at a quick stop going down the rain caught up with me. I was not well prepared as I had my stuff out and I got a bit wet, including my trail guide page copies. It didn't last too long so got moving again, The trail was fairly level for a time, but cloudbursts kept occurring; I put my rain poncho on because of it. I waited out the cloudbursts a couple of times as I was on track time wise. Eventually, the trail reached a point where it descended steeply towards the park. Due to the rain slicked rocks I took my time picking my way downhill until I reached the park.

At the park I saw no one, it was raining after all and the campsites were a bit down the road from the location the trail entered it. It was raining fairly steadily at this point so I waited under a picnic pavilion for it to let up. I did remember from the pre-hike research that a shower was available in the park restroom facility. So, i checked it out and indulged in a hot shower (the water was actually hotter than what I normally prefer which was quite a surprise, I expected cold or cool water). It felt good to have a hot shower (first time ever on the trail) and did provide some revitalization. But, I was definitely fatigued. I waited under the picnic pavilion for like an hour, but there was not much let up in the rain. Eventually, I got moving again and crossed over the highway that goes by the park (route 880).

 It was late in the day so I was looking for a good place to camp for the night. After about an hour of hiking where the trail skirts some private land I came to an established camp site. There was even an axe that had been left behind. It wasn't raining right then but everything was thoroughly wet  there so I had to forgo a campfire. And there was no trees close enough to let me use the campsite clearing and instead I set up across the trail from the established site. I no sooner got everything set up and into my hammock when it started raining again.I read my map and thought about the next days hike before trying to sleep.

The rain had stopped during the night, but everything was still quite wet. I put on my one pair of dry socks and tried to keep my feet dry with plastic baggies (this eventually failed, unfortunately). As soon as I packed up everything I started hiking. The trail was uphill from this point and it was also quite foggy. The fog was thick enough that I missed a trail register! I was fatigued enough from the previous days hiking that I went a bit slower than normal through the uphill sections. For a spell the trail followed a road and there was a couple of views (seen below), but it was marred by fog.

Views from the trail with fog

The last climb of the day was a bit of a slog, but the descent was even trickier. The downhill section was steep and a bit rocky so I had to be careful. When I finally reached the bottom of the hill I took a break to rest because I knew the trail was very, very soon going to leave the woods and I would be out in the summer sun. After my break the trail climbed briefly (and steeply) an embankment to the paved road. From here the trail followed paved surfaces almost al of the remaining distance. I should mention that at this point my feet were wet and experiencing blistering because of it. This made walking uncomfortable at this point. I followed the trail/road for some distance, trying to stay in shade if I could due to the sun. There was enough blazes to keep me on track but I did consult the trail guide pages (the sort of dry ones that is) to know what was next. The trail passes through the outskirts of McElhattan and by the river. Near where the trail crosses under a bridge ovber the river there was the below monument.

Delaware Indian Monument (my pack is just to left)

After this the trail stays on a 'rail-trail' segment (I think its just a old road). It was out in the sun so I got heated from this walk. I took a few breaks to try to cool off with little success. I finally got to the highway bridge that carries the trail over the river. I had to walk up an embankment next to the highway to reach it. After crossing the river I stopped to consult my trail guide pages as the trail takes some tricky turns and the blazes are imperfect. After I crossed the road at an intersection and was in the parking lot of a commercial establishment a young man stopped his car by me and asked if I was looking for the Mid-State trail. I told him I thought  I was on it and he confirmed that I was. He then proceeded to give me detailed directions for the remaining part of my hike (the trail gets quite confusing actually for awhile in the area). I thanked him and he wished me well. Based on his detailed directions it was obvious he had walked it himself and was quite familiar with it. I followed his directions. walking to where the trail left the road across from a veterinary clinic and uphill  through what looked like a small construction area. I rested here a few minutes. The trail soon went back into the woods. This was pleasant walking, mostly along woods road type trail. After almost an hour on this I reached the paved road (Gravel Hill rd) in Woolrich. I walked along this section of trail until it led to the Woolrich Outlet store (where I had parked my vehicle days earlier) and where an earlier overnight trip northward had started the year before. This completed my MST hiking of Sections 7 through 17.