~*~ Quehanna Trail (and various blue-blazed trails in between) ~*~

Near Parker Dam in Penfield, PA

Dates: August 19-20, 2005

Hikers: BroodX & I

Mileage:

Elevation Gain/Loss:

Friday

I drove out to Parker Dam late Thursday night in order to avoid the treacherous I-80 traffic mess. It worked because I got there in record time. Once at the trailhead, I snuck up into the woods and set up my tent (w/out the rainfly) and crashed. It was 1:00am and BroodX wouldn’t be arriving for another 4 hours. At 3am, I awoke to drizzle so I hopped out of my bag and threw the rainfly on. GRRRR So much for “no rain this weekend”. At 5:02am I heard a car door and figured BroodX had arrived and wasn’t going to brave the rain to find the tent.

Around 7:30 I woke up and meandered down to my car. I noticed BroodX asleep in the backseat of his car so I crashed out in my car for a couple more hours. I ran to the ranger station and picked up a map (maybe NOW would be a good time to decide on a route). It was 11:30 before BroodX decided to join the world of the living.

After taking the scenic route through Penfield and other neighboring towns, we left my car at one end of the Western Loop and continued on to the trailhead…right down the road from “Boot Camp”. By 1pm’ish we were on the trail. The plan was to hike Friday, Saturday and out on Sunday. Plans change though.

The sky was dreary and the air was wet, it threatened to open up on us at any moment. Within 10 minutes of leaving the car, both of us had soaked feet. ARGH! The Quehanna Trail is beautiful this time of year ~ 100% green everywhere you look with field after field of ferns. Ankle high to waist high, we wandered through the forest. This trail is unlike any other in PA. There are very few rocks and not a lot of Pointless Ups and Downs. I was on the lookout for spindle’s Under Armor shirt (alas, to no avail). This particular area is home to an Elk herd so I was hoping we would see some kind of wildlife.

As we came through one fern-infested area, BroodX claimed “I can’t wait, must hydrate.” As he took a sip of water, I noticed movement about 60 yards from us. A horse! Noooo…an elk! Two elk! I quietly motioned to Brood and we stood there in silence as momma elk and her youngin’ browsed and nibbled on the ferns. I didn’t take out my camera because I didn’t want to disturb them. They were truly beautiful creatures and didn’t seem to mind us watching them for awhile before they disappeared into the woods again.

We continued on until about 6:30pm when we decided to find a camp. There was quite a shortage of water so we ended up taking a ½ mile spur trail to gather water for the evening and then heading back up towards the junction to camp. A nice quiet little “site” on the edge of a fern field. I set up the tent while BroodX made couscous (yum!). We munched on chocolate covered cashews for dessert and then just sat quietly for awhile taking in the beauty of the Quehanna. By 8:30pm, we were both beat and ready for bed.

Saturday

I awoke to my Big Agnes Insulated Aircore being flat. X-( Grrrrrr! That would explain why I was so uncomfortable last night! It had survived the elements in Banff, and now, after only about 14 uses, was flat. My hipbone hurt from the rock I had been positioned on.

By 9:30am we were on the trail again. Though we had rain through the night, the weather appeared to be clearing up. Our feet and socks were still soaked but there wasn’t much we could do. We took blue blazed trails to head through the Wycoff Natural Area, which quite honestly, was completely unimpressive. It was an old grassy road trail through a lot of underbrush but there was very little to take notice of, other than a deserted old bunker loaded up with graffiti and I’m guessing that isn’t part of the natural area. I could be wrong though. We rested for awhile in the sun, removing our socks and shoes in hopes of drying them. It worked until we had to walk again.

Anyway, we successfully navigated our way through about 6 trail junctions. It was a good thing we had loaded up on water last night because today ~ there was none. We crossed several bridges over dirt. “Like a bridge over troubled…..nothing”. We kept seeing deer, but no more elk or any other wildlife. I really enjoy this trail and didn’t tire of the vast fern fields and expansive forests. The sheer silence and total lack of anyone else on the trail made it all the more enjoyable.

We had originally planned on staying out another night but decided to keep moving instead. As we made our way through one field, I passed a couple of rocks and heard a “rattle”…at which point I leapt straight up and ran ahead. When I turned, BroodX was cautiously standing and waiting. That damn snake rattled for about 5 minutes, never stopped as BroodX negotiated around him. My heart was thumping for the next mile. We reached Arch Springs Vista where we took another little snack break and looked out over the mountains. It would have made a great campsite with a hammock! After leaving the vista, we continued down the mountain where I filled up my water. As I was doing so, an older gentleman in a Jeep stopped along side the dirt road to chat with BroodX. Friendly old fella and I wonder outloud after he left if he had a hunting cabin that had been redecorated lately. ]:)

We climbed up Porcupine Draft, what starts off as a nice easy going graded path. I asked BroodX if it was graded like that for the entire 2 miles up and he said “Yeah.” Aboot 2 minutes later I was squawking at him “Graded, my a$$!!!” All in all, it wasn’t that bad, but after spending the last 14-15 miles on virtually flat terrain, my wet feet weren’t happy. Oh…and when we shuttled cars I had left my trekking poles in MY car. :_| Big ole stick was heavy and left me off balance.

Upon coming out of Porcupine Draft, we decided to have dinner in Marion Brooks before heading back to my car. We looped around through a beautiful rock garden with immense moss-covered boulders that were simply amazing. As we exited the garden, we again heard a rattle. :O TWICE! In one day! :_| BroodX “distracted” it with his trekking pole while I bushwhacked my way farrrrrrr around it. I’m so over things that rattle. Finally we reached Marion Brooks Natural Area ~ a beautiful part of the forest loaded with black and white birches. I cooked up Switchback Spaghetti as well as some Wind River Cheesecake (Enertia meals). They were yummy…though the skettie was watery…again. After dinner, we loaded back up and hit the last mile. I said goodbye to the ferns and the green forest as we came out onto the Quehanna Highway and made it to my car.

Another successful trip. After having spent time on this trail in the spring and summer, I would love to go back in the fall ~ maybe to do it in its entirety. It’s a beautiful trail. :)

What I Learned:

~ I am completely out of sorts without my trekking poles

~ There is no such thing as graded trails in PA.

~ If it rattles, it’s bad. Freezing is best…but I run. And then hyperventilate.

~ That John Denver is full of sh*t

~ Heat index of 107+ for weeks on end equates to diddly squat for water supplies

~ I still get sucked into the “I spy with my little eye” game…even when it’s “something green”. “Something yellow” is much easier to find, btw.

~ It’s best, when shuttling cars, to NOT leave your keys in the glove compartment.

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