The surge in COVID infections this autumn continues to climb in Pennsylvania and one restriction is for out-of-state travel with the exception of commuting to a job. Even though vaccines have been announced and immunization plans are starting to roll out, we have many months to go before we will see a drop in the stats. I figured PA is a big state and my NJ, DE, MD, VA, and WV hikes can easily wait so I decided to make my winter hikes a series of day and overnight hikes along the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. We'll see how far I get get from the southern border with Maryland at the Mason Dixon Line to border with New Jersey at Delaware Water Gap National Park.
Hike #1: Mason Dixon Line to Rt. 16, Out-and-Back (5 miles) 11-28-2020
I had to cheat the restrictions a tiny bit and park just across the MD state line at Pen Mar Park. Within a half mile I had hiked into Pennsylvania. I met a total of four people all morning - everyone masked up on approach. The trail and camping site was clean and it was wonderful not to find piles of trash and vandalism that has plagued some of my local trails on the Susquehanna.
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| Pen Mar Park in MD, just below the Mason Dixon Line. |
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| Looking west across the Hagerstown Valley |
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| In half a mile, hop the tracks and you are in ... |
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| .Welcome to Pennsylvania! |
Once in Pennsylvania, the AT begins its way through Michaux State Forest. During the late 1800s and early 1900s state conservationists and foresters were very worried that this area had been so badly exploited for lumber that trees would never grow back. Joseph Rothrock, our state's first Commissioner of the Department of Forests and Water led a campaign to push legislation to create funding for purchasing heavily degraded land and place it into the protection and management of the state. Michaux became one of the first units of the vast state forest system.
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| Footbridge and a mature Chestnut Oak. |
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| Quartzite and quartz banding. |
Before land acquisitions, this land was heavily exploited by the iron industry that began in the late 1700s and operated until after the Civil War. Forests were a major commodity, needed to fuel the many iron furnaces and forges throughout these mountains. What had once been old growth Oak, Chestnut, White Pine, Hemlock, and Hickory forests had been reduced to stubble and stumps by 1880 and from the ridge where I stood to look back into Maryland, there would have been no trees in sight for miles.
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| Looking south towards South Mountain in Maryland |
One of Rothrock's priorities was to establish the first tree nursery nearby at Mount Alto in 1902 and from there, a forest was regrown from seed and saplings planted throughout the Michaux State Forest unit along Pennsylvania's South Mountain range to restore the forests. What I saw today as I hiked was the legacy of that work as there was forest as far as I could see. It was a refreshing and hopeful hike through a second growth, maturing woodland that had once been so decimated that foresters doubted Rothrock's plans would work.
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| Trail magic station for hikers. |
Michaux State Forest contains 37 miles of the Appalachian Trail in south-central Pennsylvania and while we muddle along as best we can through this pandemic, the shelters and pit toilets at the backpacker campsites have been closed until further notice. Dispersed tent camping is allowed however. Leave No Trace! When I reached my endpoint at Rt 16 I had a nice lunch, flipped rocks over in the stream (of course!), then headed back in a nice slow stroll to Pen Mar.
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| Mileage marker back at Pen Mar Park. |
Hike #2: Old Forge Picnic Grounds/ Rattlesnake Run Loop (9.5 miles) 12-6-2020
For the second hike the following weekend I started at Old Forge Picnic Grounds and hiked a loop south towards the Rt 16 parking area then back on Rattlesnake Run Road, a dirt track that leads back to the picnic area. This time I had Amos the Minor Prophet with me and he helped me make quick work of this loop. He pulled and sniffed and tracked and trotted the whole time!
The Old Forge Picnic Grounds were once part of the CCC camp just across the road. Many of its original buildings are still in use as part of a church summer camp. The lay out of the present camp, minus the barracks buildings, give an idea of how well built these 1930-1944 era camps were. I'm a huge CCC fan and I had to tear myself away from gazing across the road in order to start my hike.
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| Leave car here for AT-RRR Loop |
With Amos along it didn't take but three minutes to be flying down the AT. Man, that boy can really move! He's wonderful for uphill slogs, just hold on to his lead and he'll pull me right up. There was plenty of deer sign (and poop) to investigate though, so it wasn't all clear sailing. There might have been a bear crossing at one point because he really stopped short and spent a full five minutes trying to catch scent and hollered when he had a trail. I had to hold him back and redirect his attention to the trail. Amos loooooooves bears...
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| This way, Amos! |
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| Almost hidden white blaze |
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| Haul road for charcoal wagons |
Evidence of the charcoal industry is everywhere on this stretch of AT. The large flat round "pits" (not really pits at all) that mark the sites of charcoal-making were everywhere. I counted nine in a two miles stretch and the path of AT follows a haul road that connected them. Charcoal was transported down the mountain to the ironworks at Caledonia and Pine Grove where for over a century the furnaces were in blast until loss of resources and changes in iron-making technologies put them out of business in the 1880s.
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| Intersection of AT with Rattlesnake Run Road and "Bear in the Air." |
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| Grey Birch |
Our dirt road walk back to Old Forge went through a beautiful blend of tumbling creek valley and rock rimmed talus slopes. Grey Birch, a cool climate tree, began to appear in a transition of woodland from southern deciduous to northern mixed conifer and oak. A Red Fox screamed its weird call from a rocky overhang and Amos, ever on the alert for a reason to yell, bayed at it and sent it running. Only one truck came by and the driver, a friendly deer hunter scouting for next weekend's hunt, loved visiting with Amos. "No better dog," he said.
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| Along Rattlesnake Run Road |
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| Rattlesnake Run |
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| Knaub Memorial Chapel |
Back at Old Forge Picnic Grounds I took a walk over the to chapel and sat on the steps for a quick lunch break. This beloved little church, managed now by the Methodist Camp Penn church camp, is an iconic little chapel in the woods built in the 1940s after the CCC camp had closed. Though no longer a Sunday-service church, weddings and other special family occasions are still celebrated here. A nice place to end a beautiful loop hike on the AT in the forest.
Notes:
Purple Lizard Trail Map for Michaux. I really love these maps put out by Purple Lizard. They make it easy to plot routes that use combinations of dozens of trails including the AT with miles of snowmobile and dirt roads, old wagon and haul roads, and bridle paths. Purple Lizard really does PA hiking maps well and I have many of them. https://www.purplelizard.com/products/michaux-map
Michaux State Forest https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateForests/FindAForest/Michaux/Pages/default.aspx
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